The birds were found rotting in the roof insulation at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in July. Consequently, ‘the court had to close because maggots were literally raining down onto the lobby’, according to an anonymous source quoted in the report. Elsewhere, cases have ground to a halt due to asbestos, mould, inadequate air conditioning and dilapidated toilets.
At Hull Crown Court, lawyers endured several sewage leaks in the robing room, caused by a burst pipe ‘spraying personal items, carpet and desks etc,’ an anonymous source said. ‘This was a significant health risk which led to several counsel and solicitors being very ill.’
The report, ‘State of the courts’, published this week, investigates whether the court infrastructure is fit for purpose. Almost two-thirds (63%) of solicitors surveyed have experienced delays in hearings in the past 12 months due to poor infrastructure.
One in five said the technology in the courts was ‘not at all’ fit for purpose—a 7% increase compared to the 2022 ‘State of the courts’ survey. Tech glitches included poor quality remote hearings, software problems and a lack of working plug sockets in conference rooms and the courts.
Difficulties were heightened for solicitors with a disability, due to a lack of ramps and working lifts or other accessibility limitations. 45% said the physical state of the courts are ‘not at all fit for purpose’, compared to 25% of solicitors with no disability.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson highlighted that the Crown Court backlog is about 77,000 cases, while two-thirds of care cases in family courts take longer than the 26-week time limit.
‘Behind each of these statistics are tens of thousands of adults and children who could be freed from limbo and move forward with their lives if they could have their day in court,’ Atkinson said.
‘This could be an easy win for the government, which has rightly recognised the need for capital and sustained investment in the courts but must go further.’
