Lack of judges 'a sad indictment of system' amid Shropshire victims' long wait for justice
The lack of judges to deal with criminal cases at the county's main court is "a sad indictment of the justice system".
That is according to Judge Anthony Lowe, a resident judge at Shrewsbury Crown Court, which is understood to have one of the biggest backlogs of cases, meaning many victims of crime in the county face a long wait for justice.
Judge Lowe bemoaned the situation in open court as he deferred the trial of a defendant over offences alleged to have occurred more than three years ago. The case was due to be heard a week earlier, but there was nobody available to cover for Judge Lowe during his annual leave.
He said: "We had a court empty for a week when I was on holiday. A week of court time was wasted, and given I'm adjourning a trial for something that occurred in 2020, it is a sad indictment of the criminal justice system.
