Harrogate Justice Centre has reopened today for the first time since lockdown to deal with a backlog in cases.
The centre, which encompasses both the Magistrates and County courts, is opening with social distancing guidelines in place.
From Monday to Wednesday this week it will solely deal with family law matters before it moves onto criminal matters on Thursday.
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials have assessed Harrogate Justice Centre and approved it to hold socially-distanced hearings.
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The Harrogate Justice Centre has put out stickers to mark where people can queue at a safe distance and blocked off the waiting area outside.
Around 159 courts and tribunals service locations have remained open throughout the pandemic and close to 100 more have reopened since the start of April.
Stickers for socially distanced queues outside the court.
There is a major backlog in cases which has been made worse by the lockdown. There were 483,678 cases waiting in Magistrates courts and 40,526 cases waiting in Crown courts in May according to the Criminal Bar Association (CBA).
But Caroline Goodwin QC, who is chair of the CBA, said that the courts estate is “on its knees” and has been for a long time.
“It is pretty low really to suggest that the backlog which we know is a pre COVID-19 issue and practically has nothing to do with COVID-19 is in fact due to COVID-19. What we are facing is a culmination of mismanagement and years of starving the system of investment. We are not blind.”
The MOJ has also started to identify suitable venues to house so-called ‘Nightingale’ courts.
These would use public spaces, such as civic centres or university moot courts, to allow traditional court buildings to manage more work while maintaining social distancing.
Currently, Harrogate Justice Centre is not aware of any ‘Nightingale’ courts planned in its area.
