Guilt by association?

Am I guilty? Am I corrupt? Am I lacking morals and am I failing to adhere appropriately to the Code of Conduct I have agreed to be bound by? These are the questions that keep flying around my head. Disturbing questions that may make you wonder exactly what I could have done to warrant them being asked at all.


What I have done is be a member of the legal profession.


I am, at the moment, deeply disturbed by the apparent readiness of others in my profession to ignore the rules and guidelines that have been carefully considered and written down over time, in favour of unquestioningly accepting the demands of political leaders. Yep, i'm talking of the sentencing guidelines and the manner in which they are being currently disregarded by Magistrates...Magistrates who are advised by people like me (though, I hasten to add, not me).


Now its a long time since I first studied the law but I do recall one of the first things I was taught was the need for there to be a level of certainty in how the law is applied and what sentences are passed. As its been such an age, I thought I should check so I wandered off to the website of the Sentencing Council. The Council, on the homepage of their website state:

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.

Nowhere that I can see on that website, does it say that guidelines don't really matter if a politician says otherwise.


I am far from an expert in this area, having studied it only as part of my academic legal training in the dim and distant past. I have never practiced criminal law. What I can offer is some level of understanding of how legislation and guidelines operate along with some basic commonsense. Applying these, I find the current situation lacking, seriously lacking.


I fail to understand how it can be considered acceptable to apply the harshest possible sentences to cases where there are no clearly aggravating factors, such as the case of the single mum who received a 4 month custodial sentence for handling a pair of stolen shorts. Can the fact that someone else went into a looted store, in the middle of a riot, really be an aggravating factor in her handling charge? I don't know but it certainly feels very, very wrong.


I am ashamed right now to think of myself as part of a profession which is willing to not only allow this to happen but also willing to aid and abet those demanding this despicable kind of rough justice.


Special thanks to Vicky, one of the brightest legal minds I know, for being my sounding board and for always seeing the good. For the record, she keeps the faith in the judiciary which I am still struggling to grab hold of.