Disputes over legal aid result in unrepresented suspects

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 at 6:55 pm

Disputes over legal aid in the Northern Ireland justice system have left almost 400 suspects without legal representation as criminal defence solicitors continue to refuse to take their cases.

The new legal aid pay rates, which have brought about pay cuts as significant as 50 per cent in some cases, have resulted in just five legal firms agreeing to defend crime suspects in new crown court cases.

Emergency plans are being finalised by the Justice Minister in a bid to avert the crisis, which has left many suspects accused of crimes as serious as murder, rape and robbery without criminal defence solicitors to represent them in court.

The Belfast Telegraph has reported that ‘urgent preparations are now underway to launch the Justice Minister’s contingency plan to establish a public defenders’ office.’ The formation of such an office would be a major transformation in the way criminal defence has been administered in Northern Ireland.

Until now, criminal defence cases have been provided solely through the private sector and funded from public money. A public defenders’ office would seek to recruit lawyers to act in unrepresented cases. However, the Law Society’s president Brian Speers, has warned that the system could result in miscarriages of justice and a lack of confidence in the legal system.

The justice minister is under immense pressure to end the deadlock in the courts system, with fewer and fewer criminal defence solicitors agreeing to work for reduced fees. Some legal practices that originally agreed to represent defendants for the new rate of pay, found that barristers across the country refused to work with them.

If the dispute is not resolved before the new crown court term in September, the public defenders’ office is likely to be established as a stop gap measure to ensure suspects have representation in court.