UK – Liverpool Crown Court to pilot ‘Covid-19 operating hours’

Covid-19 operating hours’ are to be piloted in Liverpool as part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s coronavirus recovery plan, the Criminal Bar Association has revealed.

Starting on 17 August for at least a month, one of the courtrooms at Liverpool Crown Court will hear cases based on a different listing pattern. The court will have separate lists for the morning and afternoon. The morning list will operate from 9am to 1pm. Between 1pm and 2pm the courtroom is cleared and cleaned. The afternoon list will operate from 2pm to 6pm.

The CBA posted details about the pilot on its website yesterday afternoon. According to an HMCTS document, the available sitting time will be eight hours. Trials continuing from the morning session go into the morning session on the following day. It states that custody trials involving a female or young defendant will not be listed in either session. Trials involving vulnerable witnesses or a large number of witnesses are unlikely to be suitable.

More at  https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/liverpool-crown-court-to-pilot-covid-19-operating-hours/5105231.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New+lockdown+rules+%7c+Court+hours+pilot+%7c+%27Abolish+Supreme+Court%27_07%2f31%2f2020