Unfitness to Plead Consultation Responses - Law Commission ...

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4 supposition is correct, it will again raise the question of the current very low age of criminal responsibility in the UK and will add to the evidence that it needs to be raised significantly. I have expanded on this and related points in my recent response to the Law Commission’s Eleventh Programme of Law Reform Consultation Paper. In that response I am suggesting that the Law Commission should consider a full review of the age of criminal responsibility, in line with recommendations from many organisations including the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Vizard 2006), the Prison Reform Trust (2010) and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children( APPG)(2010). I append my response to the Law Commissions Eleventh Programme of Law Reform, to which I will allude in some of my answers to the current CP. I am very willing to attend the Law Commission in person to give evidence on all of these issues if that would assist the Consultation process. I have also appended various papers and presentations which I hope will be helpful to supplement my response to this CP. Dr Eileen Vizard FRCPsych Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist Clinical Director NSPCC National Clinical Assessment & Treatment Service (NCATS) Honorary Senior Lecturer UCL Alexandra Ciardi House 7‐8 Greenland Place London NW1 OAP
PART 9 LIST OF PROVISIONAL PROPOSALS AND QUESTIONS PROVISIONAL PROPOSALS 9.1 We provisionally propose that: 5 (1) The current Pritchard test should be replaced and there should be a new legal test which assesses whether the accused has decision-making capacity for trial. This test should take into account all the requirements for meaningful participation in the criminal proceedings. [Paragraph 3.41] I agree with this proposal. However, in relation to children and young people facing a criminal trial, the new legal test must be based on developmental principles and it must be firmly research evidence based. The implementation of the test should be monitored to ensure that only appropriately trained child mental health practitioners apply the test and that they do not deviate from the recommended procedures. (2) A new decision-making capacity test should not require that any decision the accused makes must be rational or wise. [Paragraph 3.57] I agree with this in relation to adults. However, in relation to children and young people, it should be remembered that young children may often make unwise or irrational decisions from which they learn as part of growing up – i.e. ‘learning from experience’. That is partly why the Children Act 1989 stipulates that Parental responsibility (PR) should rest with the child’s parents until age 18 years old so that an adult person who can make rational decisions can protect the child from the adverse consequences of his often impulsive choices. With adults who have capacity and who still make foolish or irrational decisions, it is fair to say that they knew what they were doing when they made that decision and they must then take the consequences. However, with children their natural developmental immaturity means that their brains are not yet fully developed. Those regions, such as the frontal lobes, which are thought to be implicated in evaluating future consequences are not mature enough to help the young child to make balanced and farsighted judgments about his own best interests. In our letter to the Times (appended) we summarised the neuroscience in relation to this issue as follows: ‘First scientific research has demonstrated that significant psychological and neurobiological development takes place throughout adolescence. Crucially, at age 10, children show marked immaturity in a network of frontal brain regions implicated in social cognition, planning, perspective taking and evaluating future consequences. This psychological and neurodevelopmental immaturity is such that the capacities of a child of ten are not comparable to an older adolescent or adult.’(The Times 7 th July 2010). (3) The legal test should be a revised single test which assesses the decision-making capacity of the accused by reference to the entire spectrum of trial decisions he or she might
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Unfitness to Plead Consultation Res
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CONSULTEES, LISTED ALPHABETICALLY A
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Sarkar, Sameer Searle, Geoff Sense
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o The UN Committee on the Rights of
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Rethinking the Criminal Responsibil
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asic competencies of young people a
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parliament to consider rather than
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preventing crime. Graham and Bowlin
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other areas of the law’ and this
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absolute minimum age of criminal re
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The views of the judiciary in the U
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all children who are alleged to hav
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39 Trevor Jones‘Public Opinion, P
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Charity No 1137430 Company No 60065
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Charity No 1137430 Company No 60065
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From: Bickle Andrew Sent: 10 Januar
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Comments on “Unfitness to Plead,
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8. It would be very easy to insert
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himself at trial. The Court did not
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-----Original Message----- From: Br
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Response The Society welcomes the o
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for the task in hand. This would ap
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1. Introduction “UNFITNESS TO PLE
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On the other hand, the so-called co
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The Law Commissioners, Steel House,
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Law Commission consultation on unfi
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could possibly mean that they take
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whether present at the time of the
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disposals. We consider that the ref
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difficulties may or may not be fit
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profession to treatment, the civil
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of the decision the accused must ma
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25. We consider that Provisional Pr
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Provisional Proposal 5: Decision-ma
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giving evidence, it is unlikely tha
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Provisional Proposal 7: A defined p
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42. The difficulty lies in that the
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envisages that there could be an ac
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Reply 50. We consider we have alrea
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Question 6: Are there circumstances
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uilds upon the disposal of the case
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determination of jurisdiction as ap
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age” in which term we include the
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The assumption that has been made i
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which the court is satisfied that t
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The current section 4A procedure re
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The CPS then re-reviews the case in
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cases, there should be a single tri
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magistrates/District Judges, keepin
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Law Commission Consultation paper N
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From: Enys Delmage Sent: 16 March 2
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for meaningful participation in the
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(7) A defined psychiatric test to a
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(13) In the event of a referral bac
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[Paragraph 6.153] N/A (5) Should a
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[Paragraph 8.68] YES (12) How far i
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Question 1: Do consultees agree tha
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Question 5: Should a jury be able t
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Question 7: Should an accused who i
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Question 9: Do consultees think tha
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Question 11 Do the matters raised i
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Summary of comments regarding propo
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4. Antoine probably reflects a reas
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succeed in doing so, but at the cos
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kept in a shared wardrobe at the ho
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acquittal save those arising from a
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From: Ernest Gralton Sent: 14 Decem
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then the Home Secretary, said that
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Law Commission Consultation Paper N
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Provisional Proposals 6 and 7 There
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Dear David, HHJ Wendy R. Joseph QC
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I totally agree that the test must
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Just for Kids Law: Response to the
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We agree with this approach for a r
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Provisional Proposal 6: Where a def
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Article 6 protection would also giv
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Question 6: Are there circumstances
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judges, politicians, advocates, and
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Appendix One GRISSO CRITERIA Thomas
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Justices’ Clerks’ Society Law C
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measures might have a beneficial im
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Question 9: Do consultees think tha
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Response to the Law Commission Cons
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liberating and immensely challengin
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However it is where these two areas
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Pearson was detained for three mont
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wholly agree with, focuses predomin
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Whilst this is a submission in rela
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SECTION 1 : KC RESPONSE TO PROVISIO
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Provisional Proposal 3: The legal t
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Provisional Proposal 5: Decision-ma
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that the defendant’s capacity is
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Question 2: Can consultees think of
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Provisional Proposal 8: The present
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Option 4 which looks at reform to m
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Question 5: Should a jury be able t
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Please note the exploitative scenar
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out in Crown, magistrate and youth
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In the case studies of Mr Y and Mr
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APPENDIX I Case Study: Mr A [This c
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unwell. Mr A was being seen every c
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APPENDIX II Case study: Mr Z [This
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sensitively. A lawyer was obtained
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elease accompanied by a nurse. Kids
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At this time, Mr O ceased engaging
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APPENDIX V MIND: STATICTICS: FACTSH
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per 100,000 in the general populati
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Prisoners and the Mental Health Act
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RESPONSE TO LAW COMMISSION CONSULTA
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3 Admission for treatment. (1) A pa
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(8) Do consultees think that the ca
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UNFITNESS TO PLEAD Response by the
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Example 3E UNFITNESS TO PLEAD Respo
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Law Commission consultation paper n
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(1) understand the charges (2) be c
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Further, given that some clinicians
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In addition to the above proposals,
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that defendants with mental health
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Response to the Consultation Paper
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We consider that the concerns about
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Unfitness to plead - Some Responses
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or made the omission charged and th
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(6) Are there circumstances in whic
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statistics. In 2008 there were 484
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LAW COMMISSION CONSULTATION: UNFITN
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Our Comments We are not criminal pr
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4. We have been asked to suggest or
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particular tool should necessarily
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My comments refer to the recent Con
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NATIONAL BENCH CHAIRMEN’S FORUM A
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National Bench Chairmen’s Forum T
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RESPONSE TO THE LAW COMMISSION’S
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There is a real danger in conflatin
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physical strength and sexual awaken
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The group felt that many experts’
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Tel: Fitzwilliam College Fax: Cambr
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Unfitness to Plead: the place to fi
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court proceedings” (at para 149).
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processes, and, indeed, on the comp
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of the European Court of Human Righ
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Law Commission Steel House 11 Tothi
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obligations, it would be much easie
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Response to the Law Commission’s
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fit to plead, the availability and
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disability) there should be a power
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Disposal under the Mental Health Ac
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I agree. There should be a test of
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Gray, N.S., O’Connor, C., William
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On the Friday, the day before she w
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The following Thursday at The Black
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Cases involving the learning disabl
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Graham Rogers and Associates Limite
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In this case, it is being proposed
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Being able to ‘read’ The Sun or
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test, it may also begin to indicate
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subjected to the new provisions mus
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introduction, more than ten times t
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Response to Consultation paper 197,
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emand have significant personal cos
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Where possible an individual should
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epetition of evidence or the provis
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months, and are unlikely to refer b
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Question 12: How far if at all, doe
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Consultation Proposals Provisional
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agreement on the primary issue enga
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It would of course be concerning if
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Page 402 and 403: - Congenitally deafblind children a
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Page 416 and 417: QUESTION 9 Do consultees think that
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Page 427 and 428: 1. Introduction Victim Support is t
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Page 431 and 432: We are in support of this provision
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Page 435 and 436: Preliminary Comments Dr Eileen Viza
Page 437: 3 ‘developmental immaturity’ co
Page 441 and 442: 7 (9) If the accused is acquitted p
Page 443 and 444: 9 (9) Do consultees think that if a
Page 445: 11 Other References All Party Parli
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