NEW scheduling policies meant to speed cases up at magistrates' courts are causing problems for criminal lawyers, a Liverpool law firm has warned.
They say because of a desire to cut the number of afternoons the magistrates sit, morning lists are being crammed with too many cases.
This has left criminal lawyers over-stretched in the morning, but with little court appointments later in the day.
A defendant's first appearance after being charged by police used to take place in the afternoon, 12 clear days after the charge.
But now morning courts are increasingly being used for first appearances, on top of committals, pre-sentence reports hearings and pre-trial reviews.
LDP Legal understands afternoon court lists are "sparse", with few hearings.
A Courts Service Spokesman said magistrates court continued to sit in the afternoon and listings were flexible.
Rex Makin, senior partner at E Rex Makin & co., told LDP Legal the firm's solicitors "couldn't be in two places at once".
He added: "This is a nonsense. Instead of being remanded to an afternoon, they are now all remanded to a morning and there are not enough advocates to go around to service all the applicants.
"The advocates are finding it difficult to cover all the courts in the morning and have very little to do in the afternoon.
"It's a nonsense from the Ministry of Justice. We can't cut ourselves in pieces to be in the different courts."
Mr Makin added that he understood trials at the Magistrates' Court are running around two months in arrears.
The scheduling change has been implemented under the Ministry of Justice's "Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedier Summary" (CJSSS) scheme.
Courts Minister Bridget Prentice visited Liverpool last month to highlight the programme. New figures showed cases being dealt with in half the time they were a year ago.
She said the aim of CJSSS was to try to use a case's first hearing as its last. The different agencies - including police, Crown Prosecution Service and Probation Service - are being encouraged to distribute all paperwork before the case comes to court and ensure all necessary information is brought.
A Court Service spokesman said: "Local defence practitioners were involved in the Local Implementation Team when CJSSS was introduced.
"All cases adjourned at first hearing are closely monitored as part of the commitment of HMCS to avoid unnecessary delays.
"Defence availability has not been identified as an issue that has affected timeliness, resulting in adjournments. The court has mechanisms in place for regular consultation to enable advocates to raise any concerns. The court user group forum is one example coupled with the rigorous monitoring of the work-load."
Gary Bryan, a criminal lawyer with MJP Solicitors on Castle Street, said yesterday he found few problems the new scheduling regime.
Mr Bryan said: "I've got no particular problem with the Speedy, Summary Justice court. Because the Court sits daily the cases are evenly distributed throughout the week.
"The Speedy Summary Justice Court expects progress to be made on the first appearance. Nevertheless, adjournments will be allowed if the Defence can provide a good reason why a plea cannot be entered from the outset.
"The Court's request for progress is balanced with the prosecution also being expected to provide a greater degree of disclosure from the outset. It is up to the individual Solicitor to ensure that clients right to informed legal advice is not prejudiced. So long as that can be achieved Solicitor and Client often wish to avoid delay in any event."