Save Legal Aid, Save Justice, Save Yourselves

Ordinarily, when writing for LawScape, I seek to present a recent legal development and then breakdown the facts and law. This week, however, I will deal with a hugely important issue, one which will potentially destroy the justice of our society. I do not exaggerate when I say destroy the justice of our society. Unfortunately, this is a real and pressing threat to us.

The Government is planning to make enormous changes to criminal legal aid. Broadly speaking, legal aid funds legal representation for you if you are ever unfortunate enough to face criminal charges. These changes, if they become reality, will destroy our country’s reputation as a beacon of justice.

‘Why should I care?’ you make ask. ‘I have no intention of ever facing criminal charges’. You quite rightly intend this. But consider the following scenarios:

(a)       you are driving along a dark road one night and all of a sudden hit a person you did not see. They die. You now potentially face a charge of death by dangerous driving and 14 years in prison;

(b)       you are out one night with a friend. They are then attacked by a drunken individual. You instinctively react and punch the attacker as hard as you can before they strike your friend again. You blind them in one eye. You now potentially face a charge of grievous bodily harm (GBH) and either up to five years in prison or up to life in prison (depending on the type of GBH); and

(c)       you are home alone one night. You hear an intruder in your property and you go downstairs. They see you and begin to approach you. You instinctively grab the knife on the side and in fear stab the intruder. They die. You now potentially face a murder charge. If you are convicted you will receive a life sentence.

I hope these scenarios demonstrate just how easy it is to be on the receiving end of serious criminal charges. With the best will in the world you can easily be in need of criminal defence. You quite justifiably, in a democratic society, expect to have a competent individual of your choice to defend you. However, if the Government’s plans become reality then you will find yourself in the following position:

(a)      you will not be able to choose your own solicitor. You would be prevented from choosing your own family solicitor (unless you can afford to pay privately) and could not opt for a specialist solicitor;

(b)      you may not even get a solicitor at all (unless you pay privately). If you have a joint disposable income of over £37,500 you will have to fund your own legal representation. By the way, an average three day trial costs in the region of £10,000;

(c)        if you do get a solicitor they are likely to be employed by the likes of Stobart’s (the trucking group ) or G4S (the goons who fouled up the Olympics security);

(d)     those solicitors will receive a fixed fee for every piece of work they do, regardless of how time consuming it is. So your case will have to be dealt with as quickly as possible so the solicitor makes enough money to live. It will not necessarily get the attention or expertise it deserves. It might not even get the attention of a solicitor. Instead, the solicitor will have to employ under qualified case workers to deal with your case because they are cheaper to employ and will help keep the solicitor in business; and

(e)        if you need a specialist barrister - someone to persuade the court you are not guilty - they might be paid only £14 a day. Yes, you read it correctly, £14 a day to keep you out of prison. That’s if you even get a barrister.

Welcome to the new world of British justice. You have turned up at court to potentially be found guilty of a serious offence and imprisoned. Your barrister has arrived too, although their train ticket cost more than their daily fee. I wager your're feeling really confident right about now that you will be protected by British justice?

I hope I have made it clear just how desperate the situation is. The UK is rightly regarded as a beacon of justice. That beacon is about to be extinguished unless we collectively will it not to happen. Sign this Government petition and the issues might be debated properly and stopped.

Save legal aid, save justice, save yourselves.

Thank you.