Pressure on court system

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Former Essex barrister and judge Nigel Lithman QC says courts are being put under strain. It's thought that there may be as many as 60,000 Crown Court trials waiting to be heard. This week the government announced magistrates in England would be able to sentence people to a year in prison in the hope it would stop more cases being sent to the crown courts. Previously magistrates could only hand down six-month jail terms.