“Magistrates were urged to abandon sentencing guidelines when dealing with rioters last month because ‘nothing like this was envisaged’, according to court documents released to the Guardian. The text of two controversial emails circulated to justices’ clerks immediately after August’s disturbances raises questions about judicial independence and the use of blanket guidance irrespective of individual cases. One human rights group described the emails as ‘disturbing’.”
The Guardian, 14th September 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
