The Criminal Justice System is supposed to be fair. That’s the whole reason why we have Lady Justice with scales representing what’s known as one of the best legal systems in the world. It’s supposed to be a balance. Yet, the implementation and enforcement of the covid regulations have always been far from even.
It’s hard to comprehend that individuals who are elected to represent us and act in our best interests, are the exact same people who have manipulated the legislation and tried to secretly break their own laws. Families were kept apart, dying relatives were isolated from those they loved, and all whilst elected officials and employed staff failed to comply with rules they implemented.
Confusion between guidance and law has been the main defence put forward by those Government officials who have failed to comply. Admittedly, it was an ever-changing emergency legislation, only in place for two years to enforce protection on the masses. But when Partygate was leaked, how can the Government then continue in their attempts to make the public face criminal charges when they themselves should also be stood in Court?
When fixed penalty notices were issued, there was no automatic right to appeal. It was either pay the fine or go to court. This can be terrifying but what the public aren’t aware of, is that the courts had the power to change the amount on the fixed penalty notice. They also had to be sure, to the criminal standard of proof, that you were guilty of the offence.
Many people I have spoken to and dealt with over the last few years received these notices for genuinely doing nothing wrong but paid the fine because they feared being seen as a criminal in court. Many were also as confused about the ever-changing regulations as our own Government officials.
The only punishment for these types of offences was a financial penalty, but the range was huge. Because of the categorisation of the offence, it also meant people on low incomes or facing financial difficulties, were not eligible to obtain free legal advice. And yet, these were the people who needed it most.
Any new prosecutions should be subject to an abuse of process application. The law is clear, if a fixed penalty notice was issued, the police only have six months to take the matter to Court. They must comply with specific procedures in order to justify court proceedings but if you don’t have legal training, then you’re not familiar with the legal requirements. Nicholls & Nicholls are currently taking this argument to the High Court in a Judicial Review because it’s a live issue that seems to keep getting abused.
It’s about time those in power focus on the people affected most by the regulations that they implemented and broke; the members of the public that lost businesses, relatives, and the crumbling economy left to rebuild. How fining low-income individuals in questionable prosecutions is still seen as acting in the public interest is beyond the pale, not least when they can’t afford access to legal advice to prove the prosecutions are unlawful or not to the criminal standard of proof.
