Personal circumstances often not disclosed in repossession cases

New research has found that the personal circumstances of defendants in home possession cases are often not disclosed to judges. Yet judges who were ed by the researchers said that knowing about personal circumstances - such as problems caused by age, mental infirmity, dependent children, and an inability to understand the proceedings - could have a major bearing on their judgement. The research also reveals that defendants who participate in the possession process or who have access to legal advice are more likely to have favourable outcomes. What influenced the orders made by judges in housing possession cases was one of the key questions in the report of more than 100 pages by Professor Susan Bright of Oxford's Faculty of Law and Dr Lisa Whitehouse of the University of Hull. They also found that when defendants were represented in court they were less likely to be evicted. However, the researchers' survey revealed that more than half of defendants failed to attend the court hearing in home possession cases. The report says there are currently no official statistics on the attendance rates of defendants in such cases.