Northampton Crown Court shuts while Magistrate's stays open for 'urgent cases only'
Northampton Crown Court has adjourned all criminal cases after closing its doors to the public today.
Only a handful of hearings have been listed today (March 30) at the court on Lady's Lane, and all of them are being handled over the telephone.
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Hide AdDozens of other sentences and hearings as a result, and are now listed as "adjourned to a date to be notified due to Covid-19". Other sentencing hearings have been pushed back to mid-June.
Meanwhile, Northampton Magistrate's Court is open only for urgent hearings and warrants, such as overnight arrests.
It comes after all jury trials were suspended in England and Wales last week to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Ministry of Justice guidance was for as many hearings as possible to be conducted using telephone and video conference.
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Hide AdThis was the case at Northampton Crown Court Friday last week (March 27) when three men were jailed for illegally slaughtering sheep.
The three convicted men appeared over video conference. Only one defence barrister appeared in person for the case, while the prosecutor and two other barristers spoke to the judge over the phone.
In 2018, the Chronicle & Echo reported how backlogs at Northampton Crown Court were so severe it took average six months longer to jail criminals than the rest of the UK.