135 recommendations in second Leveson report
The second part of a report on Britain’s criminal-justice system has made 135 recommendations aimed at reducing a backlog in the Crown courts in England and Wales.
The first part of Sir Brian Leveson’s report, published in July, included proposals that would see fewer cases heard by a jury, sparking criticism from lawyers.
Among the proposals in the second report is the creation of the post of ‘Prime Minister’s Criminal Justice Adviser’, who would be appointed by and answerable to Downing Street.
The adviser, whose role would be enshrined in law, would be solely focused on co-ordinating work to build a “single vision for a fragmented criminal-justice system”.
AI tools
According to the England-and-Wales Law Society Gazette, AI features significantly in Leveson’s recommendations, which include greater use of AI tools to summarise the initial details of the prosecution case.
Legal-aid recommendations include an annual review of fees and a new ‘staged’ payment system to incentivise earlier engagement and remuneration of lawyers.
The recommendations also include making bus lanes accessible to prisoner escort and custody-services vans to make journeys more reliable.
Traffic congestion
“Delays delivering defendants to court due to traffic congestion is one of the many reasons why defendants are arriving late for court, particularly for Crown courts, many of which are in urban areas,” the report states.
The Gazette quoted Law Society of England and Wales immediate past-president Richard Atkinson, a criminal-defence solicitor, as saying that the organisation supported recommendations that the British government take positive steps to help recruit and retain defence solicitors.
He added, however: “We disagree with some recommendations that may compromise the fairness and safety of the justice system – including providing legal advice by video link to people detained in police stations, and remote first court hearings after arrest, where people’s liberty is at stake.”