British barristers are set to begin a protest over fees for representing criminal defendants that haven't been raised since 1997 for trials that last less than 10 days. Many barristers are expected refuse to appear in court or to refuse cases altogether until the fees are raised. Such cases represent more than 95% of the criminal cases tried in Great Britain.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
What would Rumpole say?
British barristers are set to begin a protest over fees for representing criminal defendants that haven't been raised since 1997 for trials that last less than 10 days. Many barristers are expected refuse to appear in court or to refuse cases altogether until the fees are raised. Such cases represent more than 95% of the criminal cases tried in Great Britain.
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2 comments:
"Protest" is much too nice a word for what appears to be an unlawful, coordinated joint boycott. I guess the Brits saw the success of the Massachusetts "Bar Advocates" -- 80% pay raise after using coercive boycotts and threats over two years, with no legal or ethical consequences -- and could not resist the temptation.
I've been following the Bar Advocate scandal since the summer of 2003 (see this page of blurbs and links). It culminated this July and August. (see Does Bar Advocate = Irresponsible Lawyer?)
Compare with the following: Los Angeles Times reports "San Bernardino County prosecutors and public defenders are clogging the already overburdened county court system with a flood of legal proceedings to protest stalled salary negotiations."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sbcourts5oct05,1,3450544.story?coll=la-headlines-california
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