It seems that too many people are being found innocent of offenses by the magistrates courts, so not only are these people having the cheek to not just pay fines for things they didn’t do but they’re costing the Government money by proving they didn’t do anything in the first place. This is obviously a shocking state of affairs, but worry not for it has come to my attention (via comments over at Leg Irons) that steps are proposed to address this terrible problem.
The cunning plan that our glorious leaders have come up with, is that if due to some mistaken belief in your own innocence you feel the need to not just accept a fine and any other associated punishment and have the temerity to go to court and actually win – well then to punish you for such behavior they’ll no longer pay your costs. Obviously this will in many cases mean that actually being innocent and defending that innocence will be more costly than just accepting the initial penalty , but you can’t put a price on justice can you and in these difficult times we all have to chip in to keep the wheels of state turning. It’s not as though there’s any risk that if there was no cost to prosecuting people, that the Government and their agents would be any less diligent in ensuring that there was a case to answer before taking 2innocent” people to court.
All that said it does appear that a few hot heads and self-interest groups are objecting, disreputable types like the Tory party, the bar association and the like. If for some odd reason you think it might be terribly unfair to be put of pocket by proving your innocence then here is a petition against it.
