Member

At the moment, when proceedings are live in the Crown Court, if the prosecution wants an adjournment to give it more time to do something, it has to persuade the judge, who will listen to what both sides have to say and then make a decision in the interests of justice. There is a significant risk with this amendment that, if the judge refuses an adjournment, the prosecution will simply discontinue, leaving everybody in limbo, possibly for ever. At best, there is a risk of significant delay and uncertainty for both victims and defendants.