Benjamin Hirst

London Barrister, also cat sitter

[CrimBarrister @CrimBarrister]

ONE FIFTH OF CROWN COURT ROOMS NOT EVEN OPEN TODAY...

And you're being lied to that juries are the problem! 🤯

[Joanna Hardy-Susskind @Joanna__Hardy]

Greetings, David Lammy!

I had hoped you & I could stop this merry morning routine. But here we all are. Staring into the abyss once more.

Could we, please, open the 21% of courtrooms closed today instead of restricting jury trial?

The horrors persist, but so do I,
Joanna

[BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking]

Law to come into force in UK this week making it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, after concerns over Grok AI tool
https://t.co/Ihuiu6VLXR

[The Secret Barrister 🦋 @BarristerSecret]

@DavidLammy This is disingenuous. There is no evidence at all that removing the right to jury trial will make any meaningful dent in the backlog.

Also, “victims first” is petty politicking that should be beneath you. Justice means justice for all. Not every accused person is guilty.

[The Secret Barrister 🦋 @BarristerSecret]

Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇

[Joanna Hardy-Susskind @Joanna__Hardy]

In all the noise about jury trials today - know this:

If you drive a car / go to work / socialise / use a mobile phone / go to the pub / date / interact in any way with other humans then you could be wrongly accused of a crime at any moment.

And you’d want one thing:

A jury.

[Kate Cronin @Katie_Cronin]

Here’s what HH Judge David Herbert KC had to say about the importance of jury trials following the conclusion of an eight-week murder trial in Northampton earlier this week https://t.co/pLqf3UQUfs

[The Secret Barrister 🦋 @BarristerSecret]

This government has not taken a single step to tackle the causes of the horrendous inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, instead rushing to dismantle trial by jury.

Legal professionals have offered many alternatives to address the backlog.

Ministers are not listening.

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

Judge blames lack of funding as he frees attempted murder suspect” @thetimes by @legalhackette

“Despite ‘significant risk’ of reoffending, shortage of courtrooms mean bail will be granted because the pre-trial custody time limit cannot be met.”

https://t.co/I5JrUEP4Le

[Anna Soubry 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇦🇪🇺🖤🤍 @Anna_Soubry]

A section of Nottingham Crown Court has been closed because it poses an “electric shock hazard”

The building is only 40 years old & undergoing £14 million of repairs (at one time it had more buckets collecting water from the leaking roof than courts).

Our courts are crumbling after decades of underfunding.
As the Budget approaches it would be in the interests of justice to invest in our criminal justice system that is at breaking point.

****BTW crime fees for barristers have been frozen for 3 years. No other profession would put up with this gross injustice.

[The Secret Barrister 🦋 @BarristerSecret]

While Shabana Mahmood has been a largely weak and ineffectual Justice Secretary - more concerned with rising to Jenrick’s clickbait than fixing justice - it is absurd that the Ministry of Justice now has its 11th Justice Secretary in 10 years.

No wonder the system is on fire.

[Larry the Cat @Number10cat]

The most important news from today's reshuffle:

[Benjamin Hirst @Bth_1995]

Been enjoying the Uncanny episodes and podcast but I must say they’re a bit harsh on the pub! Doesn’t look that shit to me?
#shitpub #Uncanny

[LKeane 🔴🌳⚪️ @liamkeane88]

He’s scum of the earth and deserves to rot in jail but we do not have the death penalty for a reason #AxelRudakubana

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Bumped into an old friend at the US Embassy Xmas party …

[Idle Courts @CourtsIdle]

100 days of the Government that promised change.

The Crown Court sitting on fewer days than before the election, with cuts on the way.

No further investment at all in the courts.

No backlog plan.

Where is the change?