Legal aid cuts on cards
Friday 17th September 2010, 2:30PM BST.
MANY islanders could soon lose help with fighting their legal battles because of a major review of legal aid.
Funding for the service, which helps islanders who cannot afford an advocate, could soon be cut.
In a recent speech to Chief Pleas, the Bailiff said the cost of legal aid had become unsustainable after spiralling upwards in the last few years due to a 20% rise in caseloads and family hearings.
Now the Policy Council has said it is seriously concerned about the growing bill and that two reviews of the system will be carried out.
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Introducing a three strikes and your out policy might help
How many times do you read the same old names in the paper being done time and time again for assault / disorderly conduct /found lying drunk etc.
Because these morons are rich enough on a Friday to get sloshed but not rich enough on a Monday to sort out their own defence the legal aid provided must nearly always exceed the value of any fine or 30 minute community service order
I’m sure there was a case within the last three months where a guy damaged a private CCTV camera because it pointed in the general direction of his flat up Cornet Street?
He was represented by an Advocate on legal aid ( I think ) and pleaded not guilty even though the CCTV film showed him climbing up to the camera with a half brick in his hand,moments before the screen went blank
Thankfully the Advocate’s weasel words failed on this occasion but if that is the sort of case that is being defended with my taxes then yes let’s get it sorted pronto
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Legal aid should not be cut,fees charged by the legal profession should be.When you consider that we have to use these people sometimes in our lifes,due to island laws ,surely the states should regulate them.What they charge an hour is totally obscene.
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If its cut like will that mean it runs out at the end of the year? will I have to do all my nicking in the first part of next year Prefer sumemr hols as theres more lite. More environmentally friendly like
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Let’s be clear about this.
If the results of these proposed cuts mean that if ANYONE finds themselves in a position that they cannot have access to adequate legal advice, then we lose all sense of modern democratic values.
Of course it is unclear from this reporting what the repurcussions are – a given – but let’s think about it: are we a banana republic by supporting such an outcome?
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If its justice you want then go and see a lawyer as he/she will quite happily see you lose everything in the process of giving you your day in court, so long as you can pay their outrageous fees. They dont really care if you have to sell all your worldly goods just so long as they get paid. They will obviously say that they ensured your good name is cleared and you have got the justice you deserve. Shouldnt fair justice be a basic human right and not something that only the rich can afford. Its time this cosy cartel was broken up and properly regulated so everyone can seek proper representation without the risk of losing everything in the process just to sate the greed that is the legal profession
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When it comes to the point where cost stops someone receiving fair justice, then it becomes an infringement of his /her civil rights.
This island like many places in the world today has become greedy and probably top of the local tree are the Advocates, because they now have a huge finance industry to feed off to whom £500 – £600 pound an hour is acceptable.
The States need to ensure that each Advocate’s Practice is responsible for supplying people to serve the legal aid system on a rotation basis at peppercorn costs. The Advocates are getting fat off this island, its time they put something back into it.
Obviously each case has to be assessed on its merits.
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