Judge: Long delays in cases arriving at court are cutting sentences
Wolverhampton's most senior judge has criticised the length of time it is taking to resolve cases - especially those involving juveniles.
Judge James Burbidge QC warned the delays are cutting the sentences that can be passed because account had to be taken of the added anxiety for defendants facing long waits to know their fate.
The comments came as it was revealed it had taken over 15 months for a youth, who admitted repeatedly stabbing another teenage when aged 15, to be sentenced.
Judge Burbidge declared: "This case should have been brought speedily to court. This should happen in cases involving adults, let along those involving juveniles."
Earlier this year a four and a half year sentence imposed in a similar case at the same court was cut to three years by the Court of Appeal. One of the reasons given for the reduction was the amount of time the accused had been made to wait for the matter to be resolved. He observed: "The passage of time means that the appropriate sentence cannot be imposed."
The judge, who is the Honorary Recorder of Wolverhampton, said he was growing increasingly concerned about the number of cases held up by difficult-to-understand delays in the legal process. He vowed to hold talks with those involved to pin point the cause and find a solution.
The 15-year-old, now aged 16, twice stabbed another teenager who refused to give him a cigarette outside the Great Bridge branch of McDonald's on May 9 last year.
Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, explained that after refusing the request the victim returned to conversation with a friend and the pair started to laugh at something they saw on a mobile phone.
"The defendant thought they were laughing at him which incensed him and he pulled out a knife and stabbed the other young man twice causing unpleasant injuries."
The wounds to the back of the upper arm and on the back close to the armpit. They needed three and five stitches and will leave permanent scars, it was said.
The defendant was identified from CCTV footage of the scene by a police officer the same month as the attack and interviewed in July last year. He went 'no comment.'
It is understood that police sought initial advice on the case from the Crown Prosecution Service in August last year but a final decision on the prosecution was not reached until July of this year.
Mr Oliver Woolhouse, defending, said: "This offence was committed some time ago but the how and why it has taken so long to get before the court is not clear. There has been over a year's delay in bringing the proceedings.He was carrying a knife but this was a short outburst of violence."
The defendant from Smethwick, who is too young to name and currently serving 20 months detention for other offences, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife.
He was given a further three years detention by Judge Burbidge who told him it would be concurrent rather than consecutive to the term already being served 'because of the delay in pursuing you.'
