4.7 What if special measures are not put in place on the day of the court hearing?
Although you may have assisted the client to apply for special measures and these could have been granted by the court, you may come across situations where the arrangements have not been made on the day of the hearing.
Clients will usually know if they have requested special measures. It is good practice to record a request on the Client permission and consent form [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] so that other volunteers who may be supporting the client are aware.
Prevention is better than cure, so volunteers should encourage the client to check with the court the day before the hearing that they have received the request and are actioning it (it is not for the volunteer to check in advance).
When assisting the client to ‘book in’ with the usher, volunteers should support the client to check with the usher that measures are in place.
Sometimes, a vulnerable client has not been to Support Through Court previously and arrives on the day of the hearing feeling frightened, but unaware that special measures might be available. In this case, support the client to ask the usher to ask the judge if it is possible to request the measure, but be aware that the request may be refused.
Activity 11
In our example, Jazmin applied for special measures. It is now the day of the first hearing and you are supporting Jazmin at the FHDRA. She is anxious that screens are in place for the hearing. The usher is unaware of the application for screens and none have been organised.
What could you do to support Jazmin?
Comment
In the event that the measures are not in place, you can assist the client to establish the reason why. It may be that the judge has not authorised the measure, in which case, there is little you can do to change that decision.
You can try and mitigate any issues, for example by ensuring the client is kept away from the other party. You could also organise with the usher to stagger the timing of the parties entering and leaving the court room and seating themselves between the parties.
If there has been an error or omission on the part of the court or client, then you should work with the client and the court staff to organise the special measures.
Did you know?
Did you know? It is important that the volunteer makes the Service Manager aware of any situation where special measures have not been put in place, so that issues are fed back to HMCTS through the appropriate channel.
4.6 How are special measures applied for?