Barrister Jessica Sobey comments on the criminal court backlog, in Global Legal Insights

Barrister Jessica Sobey comments on the decision to make four former Nightingale Court buildings permanent, a move intended to address mounting concerns around court capacity and resourcing across the criminal justice system.

Jessica’s comments were published in Global Legal Insights, 28 January 2026.

“Whilst an acknowledgment that the system is in dire need of additional court capacity is undoubtedly welcome, this announcement ultimately does little to appease the catastrophic backlog of criminal cases in England and Wales (78,619 in September 2025).

“Providing new court buildings is a step in the right direction, as is the promise of improving infrastructure. However, when one’s news feed is populated by reports of courts not sitting because of a failure to produce defendants, flooded hallways and electricity failures, or no one available to prosecute the case, this is perhaps too little too late.

“There is also the retention crisis amongst both duty solicitors and criminal barristers, with many feeling forced from the vocation they love because they are unable to make the job financially viable whilst meeting the standards that they expect from themselves and the profession as a whole.”