It often took a long time to get court dates even before lockdown; many courts had been closed and there was a backlog of cases. Court closure due to COVID-19 made matters even worse and in Cheshire the criminal justice system almost ground to a halt; at one point the only criminal court open was Warrington Magistrates Court.
Things are starting to look up. The Ministry of Justice has taken over all sorts of different buildings; from an ancient cathedral outbuilding in Peterborough, to a town hall in Teesside and in the North West, Fleetwood Magistrates Court, which had been closed since 2018. These courts will hear a variety of different cases including family and civil claims. Called ‘Nightingale Courts’, in line with the emergency Nightingale Hospitals set up in conference centres at the beginning of the pandemic, hopefully they will start to ease the backlog.
The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
