On the morning of 20th April 2020, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association and Trinity Regulatory and Criminal Silk, Caroline Goodwin Q.C. was interviewed in BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Caroline Goodwin Q.C. was asked about the implications of the Coronavirus crisis on the criminal justice system, including the suggestion of remote hearings by way of video conferencing and the conduct of Crown Court jury trials.
During the interview she made it clear:
“let’s not run before we can walk”, adding that “we have no idea how a jury is going to react to information being provided to them just simply through a small screen, certainly from what I have seen that is not going to be workable at all”.
During the discussion, Caroline, who is also a sitting Crown Court Recorder, highlighted the challenges that the criminal justice system faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calling for extensive investment, she said that the current crisis has exacerbated an already desperate situation, particularly in terms of the growing backlog of criminal trials.