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Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1183528
www.canadianlawyermag.com 15 snatched away from you and placed on a high shelf beyond your reach." At the end, there is "no compensation. No assistance in piecing together, or even sweeping up, the fragments of your shattered existence. Not even an apology." While the innocent are imprisoned, the guilty walk free. The Secret Barrister writes: "Walk into any criminal court in the land, speak to any lawyer or ask any judge, and you will be treated to uniform complaints of court deadlines being repeatedly missed, cases arriving underprepared, evidence being lost, disclosure not being made, victims being made to feel marginalized and millions of pounds of public money being wasted. And, as a consequence, every single day, provable guilty people walking free." Victims of crime are treated with "institutional callousness," the author says. Their rights are subjugated "to the interests of the court; the interests of the prosecution; and the interests of the defendant." A 2016 study by the U.K. House of Commons Public Accounts Committee found that only 55 per cent of people who have been a victim or a witness in criminal proceedings would be prepared to go through such proceedings again. This is a stunning indictment of the U.K.'s criminal justice system. Worst of all, says the Secret Barrister, is that no one seems to care about this state of affairs. Members of the general public, uninvolved in the criminal justice system (if they're lucky) and observing it from a distance (if at all), pay no attention. Politicians have discovered they can win votes if they pander and "misunderstand, misrepresent and abuse" the law. The legal establishment, secure in its bubble, protected by a carefully created and self-enhancing mystique, doesn't seem troubled by this "catastrophic dissonance in public understanding." And the motivation of some lawyers is suspect. Lawyers have "a desperate need to be centre stage in the climactic scenes of people's lives." They seek "to play the action hero in the story of somebody else's life." The media bear much of the responsibility for all this. The newspapers' grasp of the law "appears looser every day. The financial strangulation of local journalism and dedicated court reporters means that national news outlets frequently rely on incomplete press releases from the police, or partial accounts from the victims. . . . Throw in a choice quote from a conveniently outraged MP, and you have a Twitter storm . . . " Does the Secret Barrister's devastating analysis apply to Canada's "The system's failings betray 'warped spending priorities whereby politicians persuade voters that 1p off a pint of lager is a better investment than a working justice system.'" criminal justice system? What do Canadian prosecutors and defence lawyers, those steeped in our criminal justice system, think about what happens in this country? For that we need a broad discussion. It is not enough for the legal profession to peer benevolently at its innards or for the government to do a study destined for the shelf. The public, particularly those who have experienced the criminal justice system directly, must be involved. And the media, still society's principal interlocutor, must be front and centre. By the way, the Secret Barrister has an acclaimed blog: www.secretbarrister.com. In 2016 and 2017, they were named Independent Blogger of the Year at the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards. In 2018, they were named Legal Personality of The Year at the U.K.'s law society awards. Someone is paying attention. And there's more to come. A new book from their pen, Fake Law, is expected in the spring of 2020. Philip Slayton was the dean of law at the University of Western Ontario, a Bay Street lawyer, president of PEN Canada and is now a best-selling author. His latest book, Nothing Left to Lose: Freedom in Canada, is forthcoming. What do your clients need? The means to move on. Guaranteed ™ . Baxter Structures customizes personal injury settlements into tax-free annuities that can help your clients be secure for life. Need more information? Contact us at 1 800 387 1686 or baxterstructures.com Kyla A. Baxter, CSSC president, baxter structures 10711_Baxter_QuarterPage_CndLawyer.indd 1 2019-10-23 1:50 PM