Ant McPartlin fined £86,000 for drink-driving – The Guardian
‘The TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been fined £86,000 and disqualified from driving for 20 months after admitting drink-driving.’
The Guardian, 16th April 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Category: alcohol abuse
Hayes crash: Drunk driver jailed for 13 years after killing three teenagers at London bus stop – The Independent
‘A drunk driver has been jailed for 13 years after killing three boys as they walked to a 16th birthday party in London. Jaynesh Chudasama pleaded guilty in February to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving over the incident near a bus stop in Hayes.’
The Independent, 28th March 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Drink driver jailed for killing girl returning from birthday party – Crown Prosecution Service
‘A man who drank nine pints of lager and took cocaine before crashing into a group of schoolchildren, killing a 16-year-old girl, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving and given a nine year driving ban.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 20th March 2018
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Domestic abusers could be electronically tagged in government crackdown – Daily Telegraph
‘Domestic abusers could be banned from drinking alcohol and electronically tagged under a Government crackdown. New civil orders will expand the potential restrictions courts and police can impose on criminals who torment partners, spouses and other family members.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th March 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Family Drug and Alcohol Courts to expand across London – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Family Drug and Alcohol Court ( FDAC) is to expand in London after a partnership of nine boroughs, led by Merton Council, commissioned the service from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.’
Local Government Lawyer, 28th February 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
The use of testing for drugs and alcohol in FDAC – Family Law
‘The FDAC National Unit (NU) coordinates quarterly meetings for all FDAC substance misuse workers, to provide a forum for discussing issues arising from working in FDAC, which is a very different experience to working within adult treatment services. Issues that arise include being part of a multi-disciplinary team, working within the tight timescales of care proceedings, and the need to focus on the welfare of the child and the child’s timescales rather than solely on the parent/s. Issues relating to testing are also discussed regularly.’
Family Law, 9th January 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Unreliable forensic toxicology tests – next steps – Family Law
‘Family analysis: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that it is treating some hair strand test results as potentially unreliable. Maud Davis, partner at TV Edwards LLP looks at what this could mean for proceedings involving children where there was a reliance on hair strand testing, and suggests next steps for family practitioners advising in this area.’
Family Law, 7th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Dodgy drug test results – what should I do? – Transparency Project
‘On 21 November the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal’s Service issued advice for those concerned about potentially unreliable forensic toxicology (drug) tests in some family cases. The advice also relates to criminal trials, but this post looks at the issue for people who have been involved with a family court case and who are worried that the test results may have been dodgy.’
Transparency Project, 23rd November 2017
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Regulator calls for better scrutiny of drug testing in family courts – The Guardian
‘The government’s forensic regulator has called for fresh scrutiny of drug and alcohol testing carried out for the family courts, after a scandal at a Manchester laboratory raised doubts about the quality of evidence used in thousands of child custody proceedings.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Family Drug and Alcohol Court and councils to receive £6m+ from social impact bond – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) and partner local authorities are to receive £6.2m over seven years through a social impact bond to support its work within the family court system, the Government has announced.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th October 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Life sentences for killer drivers – Ministry of Justice
‘Ministers confirm plans to introduce tougher sentences for those who drive irresponsibly and devastate lives.’
Ministry of Justice, 15th October 2017
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Criminals could be banned from drinking after they are released from prison – The Independent
‘Former prisoners could be barred from drinking alcohol after their release from custody under new measures aimed at reducing reoffending rates. The proposals would give probation officers across the country, the power to enforce tailored restrictions on criminals when they are released.’
The Independent, 12th October 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Battle crash driver Naomi Oxley jailed for killing mum-of-three – BBC News
‘A drunk driver who killed a mother-of-three has been jailed for four years. Debbie Masters, 37, was pushing her seven-month-old son in a pram in Battle, East Sussex, on 19 March when she was hit by Naomi Oxley’s car.’
BBC News, 5th October 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Judge who spared aspiring Oxford student from jail after she stabbed her partner is cleared following investigation into three complaints – Daily Telegraph
‘A judge who spared an aspiring Oxford University student from jail after she stabbed her boyfriend has been investigated over three complaints relating to the case.’
Daily Telegraph, 29th September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
An Oxford medical student stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife. So why did she not go to prison? – The Secret Barrister
‘Lavinia Woodward, the 24-year old Oxford student who pleaded guilty to stabbing her boyfriend with a bread knife, was sentenced yesterday at Oxford Crown Court for unlawful wounding. The case caused a splash back in May when, having entered her plea, the defendant was told by the judge that she was unlikely to receive an immediate custodial sentence, in part due to her promising medical career. Thus was born the tale of the rich, blonde, white Oxford student who was “too clever” to be sent to prison. “Too clever” appears in all headlines in quotation marks, notwithstanding that no-one in court, not least the judge, ever used these words; rather this is one of the those splendid auto-generated media myths, where one tabloid shorthand was adopted by all until everyone came to accept that these words must have been said.’
The Secret Barrister, 26th September 2017
Source: thesecretbarrister.com
Oxford medical student Lavinia Woodward spared jail for knife attack – BBC News
‘An “extraordinary” Oxford University student has avoided jail for stabbing her boyfriend in the leg.’
BBC News, 25th September 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Rugby player jailed for killing girlfriend in drink-drive crash – despite her family’s plea for leniency – Daily Telegraph
‘A rugby player who killed his girlfriend in a drink-drive car accident after being distracted by a “kiss” has been jailed for two years – despite her family’s plea for leniency.’
Daily Telegraph, 22nd September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Holiday fall gran accused of being ‘too tipsy’ for payout wins £30,000 compensation – Daily Telegraph
‘A grandmother accused of being “staggering drunk” and wearing “silly shoes” when she fell over while holidaying on a Greek island has won over £30,000 compensation.’
Daily Telegraph, 19th September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Tudor mansion arsonist jailed after being caught by single match – The Guardian
‘An arsonist who caused £5m worth of damage to a Tudor mansion has been jailed for four and a half years after being caught by a single match.’
The Guardian, 18th August 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Britons should stop getting so drunk during hen and stag parties, judge says – Daily Telegraph
‘Britons should stop getting so drunk during hen and stag parties, a judge said yesterday during an inquest into the death of a reveller killed during a bachelor party in Budapest.’
Daily Telegraph, 15th August 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
