Justice advisory council’s future up in the air after reshuffle – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Uncertainty surrounds the future of the advisory council set up by former lord chancellor Michael Gove to examine ways to eliminate waste and abuses in the criminal justice system.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 25th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

JR jurisdiction ‘disadvantage’ for criminal cases – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has dismissed a bid to reconsider a judicial review decision, highlighting jurisdictional differences between criminal and civil proceedings.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 19th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Met ‘may be overly targeting BAME youths as gang members’ – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police may be overly targeting black and ethnic minority youths as gang members, resulting in them being treated more harshly by the courts, prisons and justice system, a review has found.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Increased risks for employers, says expert, as new illegal working offences come into force – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 13th, 2016 in criminal justice, employment, immigration, news, prosecutions, sentencing by sally

‘New immigration offences have now come into force, meaning it will now be easier to prosecute those who employ illegal workers.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

The digital drive – Counsel

‘Catherine Baksi considers whether lawyers, judges, courts and clients are ready for a digital revolution, the drivers for change, and impact on access to justice.’

Full story

Counsel, July 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Evidence concern over race review in criminal justice – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 12th, 2016 in criminal justice, evidence, news, race discrimination, racism, reports by sally

‘A government-sponsored review of possible racial bias in the criminal justice system must not be jeopardised by evidential shortcomings, the Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association have said.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 11th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Chief Justice calls for codification of criminal law – Legal Futures

Posted July 8th, 2016 in criminal justice, judges, legislation, news by sally

‘The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) has revived Lord Bingham’s call for criminal law to be codified in a single document.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 8th July 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Greater Manchester to get devolved criminal justice powers – The Guardian

Posted July 7th, 2016 in criminal justice, devolution, local government, news by sally

‘The acting mayor of Greater Manchester is to sign a deal with the government, committing to the transfer of criminal justice and offender management powers to the new devolved authority.’

Full story

The Guardian, 7th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hundreds of responses inform Lammy race review – Ministry of Defence

‘The first stage of a ground-breaking investigation into race and ethnic bias in the criminal justice system is now complete.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 1st July 2016

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Legal professional privilege under fire – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Sometimes the most fundamental principles can be most vulnerable to attack and/or erosion. As the government strives to tackle the threat posed by those who seek to undermine our democratic values in the context of an increasingly digital age, legal professional privilege (LPP) is in danger of becoming just that kind of principle.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 28th June 2016

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Battle to stop Jack Straw facing Libya rendition charges – The Guardian

‘The government has spent at least £600,000 of taxpayers’ money trying to prevent a civil case being brought against it by a husband and wife who allege that British intelligence was complicit in their detention, rendition and torture.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

What to expect from the new criminal legal aid contracts – Legal Voice

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in advocacy, contracts, criminal justice, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Richard Miller explains what may be in store when the new criminal legal aid contracts come into force next year.’

Full story

Legal Voice, 23rd June 2016

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

They think they’ve got away: How to catch a historical sex offender – BBC News

‘Sex offenders think they’ll get away with it. And often they do. Sometimes it can take years to bring them to justice, while others escape retribution altogether. So how do you go about making sure perpetrators of horrendous crimes committed in the distant past are caught and convicted?’

Full story

BBC News, 20th June 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Revenge porn’ threats could be made a crime in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘The threat of circulating “revenge porn” would be criminalised and the evidence threshold lowered to bring England and Wales in line with Scottish law, under changes to be proposed by a former Lib Dem cabinet minister.’

Full story

The Guardian, 11th June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New protocol for criminal defence on prosecution ‘failures’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A practitioner group is challenging what it claims to be ‘repeated’ failures by prosecutors to disclose information on time by issuing a step-by-step guide for criminal defence solicitors.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 8th June 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Regina v AXN; Regina v ZAR – WLR Daily

Regina v AXN; Regina v ZAR [2016] EWCA Crim 590

‘Where an offender convicted of a crime has rendered assistance to the police or other law enforcement authorities, the police may provide the court with information regarding the assistance rendered in a confidential letter signed by a senior police officer, known as a “text”, but the obligation of the police to provide a text when requested by the offender is a very limited one. Although the court will always expect the police to inform the court of the fact that the police have made a decision not to provide a text as matter of case management, it is sufficient if the police merely state that they will not provide any information to the court in relation to the offender’s assertions of assistance. The police are not required to give any explanation of their reasons for the decision, or the stage at which they decided not to provide any information. The police need do no more than say that the police will not provide any information to the court. Such a statement to the court can generally be provided by letter and not by text. There may unusually be circumstances where the police would have to reveal in the reply the assertions of the offender that he had provided assistance; in such a case it might therefore be necessary to provide the response in the form of a text. Whether it is provided by letter or text, it must be signed by a senior officer of police (normally a superintendent) or an equivalent senior official in other law enforcement agencies (paras 6, 18, 22).’

WLR Daily, 27th May 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Legal highs ban will fail to eradicate spice, warns government adviser – The Guardian

Posted June 8th, 2016 in criminal justice, drug offences, drug trafficking, news, statistics by sally

‘The ban on legal highs will not lead to the disappearance of spice and other synthetic, cannabis-like drugs because they are so profitable to dealers, a senior government drugs adviser has warned.’

Full story

The Guardian, 7th June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rough justice – New Law Journal

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in criminal justice, miscarriage of justice, news by sally

‘The 25th anniversary of the release of the Birmingham Six serves as a powerful reminder of the fallibility of our justice system, says Jon Robins.’

Full story

New Law Journal, 2nd June 2016

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Relatives campaign for ‘Robin’s law’ to oblige care homes to inform family if a loved one is ill – The Guardian

‘As a new inquest approaches into the death of their autistic sister, family continues to fight for a law to boost the rights of relatives.’

Full story

The Guardian, 1st June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council responds to PAC report on criminal justice – The Bar Council

Posted May 31st, 2016 in barristers, criminal justice, press releases, reports by tracey

‘The Bar Council has responded to today’s report from the Public Accounts Committee, on the criminal justice system.’

Full story

The Bar Council, 27th May 2016

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk