Public supports virtual trials in England and Wales to combat covid backlog

More than half of the public are in favour of virtual trials to reduce the number of unheard court cases, according to a survey conducted by Crest Advisory.

For a justice system already troubled in several key areas, the impact of covid-19 has been severe. As such, the report indicates public backing for substantial reform. As well as a desire for virtual trials, the majority of those surveyed favoured the use of electronic tags and community service sentences over short jail terms for certain crimes. Crest advised a redistribution of budgets to metropolitan mayors and the formation of a new courts watchdog to oversee how prisons and the probation services are independently investigated.

Although Harvey Redgrave, chief executive of Crest Advisory, commented that “polling suggests the public do support greater use of digital technology” and that this should be a priority for the government, there will be complications to overcome as the number of remote hearings increases.

It is difficult, for example, for a jury to assess the non-verbal responses of a defendant or accuser over video and Crest’s same survey found people less willing to dismiss jury trials. Of the people surveyed, 47% stated that they found the prospect “very” or “fairly uncomfortable”. There are also communication delays to consider. A lead advocate cannot turn around to their team to discuss an unexpected witness comment or judicial question. Those conversations must happen via email or messenger.

The difficulty of virtual trials will also depend on the nature of the trial. Where those present are speaking multiple languages, an advocate’s question passes to a translator who will then translate that back to a witness and vice versa. Remote trials add an extra, technological, stage to this already lengthy communication. Where clients cannot travel to another time zone to appear in court, that must also be factored in and will mean client and counsel will have fewer opportunities to sit together to discuss the day’s proceedings.

With a reported wait of up to four-years for trials reaching the crown court system it is clear work needs to be done and there is public support for it. As methods of addressing lockdown restrictions continue to be tested, the future of judicial procedure is likely to look very different.