By Ashley Young-
Close to half of 260 available courtrooms in Crown courts that hear criminal cases are sitting idle today, according to an figures compiled by a barrister. Criminal barrister Jonathan Dunne, of KCH Garden Square in Leicester, listed the courts discovered through a ‘homespun exercise’ .
His findings show that 127 out of 260 courtrooms that would normally deal with crime cases sat idle today. These include 13 out of 26 in Manchester, two out of three in Cambridge and Carlisle, four out of seven in Chelmsford, two out of four in Northampton and Warwick, five out of nine in Cardiff, four out of eight in Bradford, and four out of six in Leicester. By contrast, the courtrooms are ‘fully utilised’ in Chester and Southampton.
Dunne appealed for listings information yesterday after seeing a tweet from barrister James Mulholland QC about Southwark Crown Court. The Criminal Bar Association has been critical of the government for not injecting enough cash to support the courts and to legal firms. A spokesperson for The Criminal Bar Association told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”The idleness of the crown courts on a normal working day evidences the big and ongoing problem of funding shortage for the courts. Judges and staff are generally underpaid and court time schedules are often unreliable, with delays in hearings very characteristic of courts these days”.
A spokesperson for HMCTS said: ‘There is no shortage of judges in the Crown court, and sitting day requirements and waiting times are reviewed throughout the year, with additional recorders deployed according to demand. Last year saw a 12% reduction in Crown court trial cases and the allocation of sitting days reflects this. Waiting times for these cases are the shortest since 2014.’