Court only discovers criminal in jail by reading Chester Chronicle

Apr 30 2008 by Richard Fletcher, Chester Chronicle

by RICHARD FLETCHER

MAGISTRATES only found out a criminal was in jail when they read about it in The Chester Chronicle.

Puzzled court staff could not work out why Liam Anthony Guest, 18, had not turned up for his trial.

But the question was solved when they were handed a copy of The Chronicle – and read that Guest was already in prison.

The Court Service has admitted it does not check whether a defendant has already been sent down for another crime, and relies on solicitors to let them know.

Chair of magistrates Mike Cooper told alleged assault victim Chris Murphy and his family: “We attended this morning hoping to try him. Unfortunately we were not aware he was in custody. All I can do is apologise to you on behalf of the court for your wasted time.”

Mr Murphy, who took a day off work to attended court and give evidence, said: “It‘s a total mess-up – I’m a bit disappointed.”

Guest, from Queensway, Frodsham, pleaded guilty to punching unconscious dad-of-two Gareth Gregory, from Elton, in October last year. Last month Chester Crown Court sentenced him to six months in a young offenders institute.

He was then due to appear at Vale Royal Magistrates Court on Tuesday (April 29) for an alleged beating in January.

But the trial had to be rescheduled to June 27 as no transport was arranged to get Guest to court.

The clerk to the court told defending solicitor James Robertson: “You could have avoided this situation today if you knew he was inside. I would have thought it was fairly obvious he was in custody, why he was in custody and how he would get to court. It would have made sense to have averted it.

“It seems to me an entirely avoidable situation.”

An HM Courts Service spokesman said: “I can confirm that courts do not routinely check if defendants are in custody. Parties to criminal cases are under a positive duty to inform the court if information comes to their attention that may impact on the conduct of a trial.

“In this case the court received no such notification and the trial could not go ahead.”