Thousands of Train Fare Convictions to Be Refunded in Ruling on Swift Justice Process

Tens of thousands of rail passengers who were prosecuted and fined for fare evasion under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP) will be refunded after a judge said their convictions were void. In a ruling on Thursday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring declared that six test cases were a “nullity,” so it was “as if as though the proceedings had never existed.” Goldspring added that a list of all those affected could hopefully be compiled by the end of September, where the cases could be handled in a bulk hearing by the end of October and declared void by a “similar direction” so that “everybody is in the same position.”...