Pressure builds for rethink on fast track’ justice after more outcries

DZ Pensioner with Alzheimer’s prosecuted over just £3.34 owed to the DVLA | DZ Domestic abuse victim fined after car insurance blunder by her controlling ex | Pensioner taken to court over TV licence mistake while caring for his gravely ill wife

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PRESSURE is mounting on the Government to investigate the controversial single justice procedure as the Evening Standard today uncovers more criminal cases brought against sick pensioners and vulnerable women.

At least 4,000 prosecutions a week are brought through the secretive fast-track court system, where hearings are allowed to take place behind closed doors and magistrates spend as little as 90 seconds considering cases.

A long-running Standard investigation has uncovered instances of children, parents and business owners being unlawfully prosecuted, and proof that key evidence in criminal cases is never even seen by prosecutors. New cases that can be revealed include:

● A pensioner with Alzheimer's prosecuted over £3.34 owed to the DVLA.

A domestic abuse victim fined after her controlling ex-boyfriend failed to insure the car.

● A sick pensioner prosecuted for not paying for a TV licence while caring for his gravely ill wife.

● A new mother fined when her car insurance lapsed, despite telling a court she had been airlifted to hospital during the birth of her son.

Letters from defendants go unread by prosecutors due to the way the single justice procedure is designed, missing the chance to stop the cases before convictions are handed out.