I saw a news report here about a barrister who has recommended that the UK needs a third tier of court between the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court. His name is Alex Chalk.

Forgive my ignorance, but aren’t there already three tiers? Crown Court, County Court, and Magistrates’ Court?

I can’t pretend to know the semantics, but Crown would be for the likes of murder and terrorism, County would be for the likes of personal injury claims and monetary claims, and Magistrates’ Court would be for the likes of motoring offences and minor damage offences. At best, that’s a guess, I’m not a legal expert.

So, yes, I’m a tad confused about a barrister calling for three tiers of courts - because I thought we already had them.

Incidentally, I did once read The Secret Barrister, a riveting book, accessible to a layman like myself. One common theme whenever justice is discussed here is that it isn’t seen as a “glamorous” thing to fund. Politicians do like to get elected talking about defence, trade, healthcare, etc. All important things. But it does often feel like justice is left behind. I mean, here in the UK, there is a backlog of court cases, some courts’ infrastructure is in decline, some cases won’t be heard for years, and it just seems like a topic the media and politicians aren’t interested in.

Not trying to start a discussion about specific politicians or parties, just being as general as I can, based on a news story I thought was interesting.

My cat, Gaby, passed away yesterday at the age of 16. She was a wonderful roommate, loved to lay down near me at nights to watch movies and TV shows. Kept my spirits up during the Covid lockdown. Her demise was sudden, I sensed something wrong when she stopped eating or drinking and stayed hidden most of the day. I was worried about what was to become of her if she outlived me. Things tend to work itself out, maybe for the better
I'll miss you Gaby. At this stage I can never have another pet. And none could ever replace you