About 100 chambers in England and Wales have refused to take on new publicly funded casesCriminal barristers are preparing to step up their protests over cuts to fees as Labour calls on the government to abandon a payments scheme for publicly funded cases. The CBA represents more than 4,000 criminal barristers. Criminal barristers may also decline to handle cases returned by other lawyers who cannot get to court – cooperation that normally relieves strains in the criminal justice system. As a result of the new scheme about 100 barrister chambers have refused to take on new publicly funded cases since 1 April. “Our justice system depends on those accused of serious crimes having access to proper legal representation.

Source: The Guardian May 08, 2018 16:30 UTC