"Chris John said he was shocked to find magistrate Phil Taylor was working from his home near the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to decide on criminal cases at Reading Magistrates' Court. The court legal adviser raised concerns about the unusual work-from-home set-up, arguing Mr Taylor's decisions that day on low-level crimes in the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), as well as thousands of other convictions and sentences he has overseen remotely, could be rendered unlawful and invalid."
"Mr John took his complaints to Justice Secretary David Lammy and Courts Minister Sarah Sackman, while senior judges and officials investigated the matter and concluded that magistrates should not dial in to hearings from outside the UK. However, Mr John said he faced resistance to the idea of a wider investigation into SJP practices, including using MS Teams links to administer justice and magistrates dialling in to court from unknown locati"
A court official, Chris John, says he was sacked after whistleblowing about magistrate Phil Taylor working from home in Portugal while deciding criminal cases at Reading Magistrates' Court. John reported that Taylor dialled in from near Lisbon to handle matters under the Single Justice Procedure, including low-level crimes. A court legal adviser raised concerns that decisions made in that unusual work-from-home setup could be unlawful and invalid. John complained to senior officials, including the Justice Secretary and Courts Minister. Investigations concluded that magistrates should not dial in from outside the UK. John also said he encountered resistance to broader scrutiny of Single Justice Procedure practices, including remote administration using MS Teams links and magistrates dialling in from unknown locations.
Read at www.independent.co.uk
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]