Vulnerable victims will no longer have to give evidence in court, Chris Grayling says – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 11th, 2013 in cross-examination, evidence, news, trials, victims, video recordings by tracey

“Young and vulnerable victims of crimes should not be subjected to traumatic
cross-examinations in court, Chris Grayling has said.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 11th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

 

Lord Chief Justice calls for children to have evidence video recorded – Daily Telegraph

“Senior judges have called for children to be spared from the ‘damage’ of appearing in criminal trials, and instead have their evidence video recorded.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Court is just as traumatic’: Girl who faced aggressive cross-examination aged nine says she has never recovered – The Independent

Posted May 28th, 2013 in children, cross-examination, news, victims, video recordings, witnesses by sally

“Barristers and campaigners call for pre-recorded court interviews as girl who faced aggressive cross-examination aged nine says she has never recovered from her ordeal.”

Full story

The Independent, 24th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lawyers’ treatment of gang grooming victims prompts call for reform – The Guardian

“Campaigners demand urgent shake-up of court procedure after seven barristers cross-examined a girl every day for three weeks in child-grooming case.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prosecuting sexual assault: ‘Raped all over again’ – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2013 in cross-examination, news, prosecutions, rape, sexual offences, suicide, trials, witnesses by sally

“Frances Andrade’s experience in the witness box left her feeling violated. Within days she had killed herself. Is it time we changed the way we prosecute sexual assault?”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Defence lawyers exploit the weakness of sex abuse victims, says police chief Sir Peter Fahy – The Independent

Posted March 12th, 2013 in cross-examination, news, sexual offences, victims, witnesses by sally

“One of Britain’s most senior police officers has accused defence lawyers of ‘exploiting’ the weakness of sex abuse victims making prosecutors reluctant to bring cases to court.”

Full story

The Independent, 12th March 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Steamy windows: Setting the correct temperature for hot tubbing in international arbitrations – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 17th, 2013 in arbitration, cross-examination, evidence, expert witnesses, news, tribunals, witnesses by sally

“Much has been written about this subject but for the uninitiated this taking of oral evidence (usually from experts) ‘hot tub’ style, means having expert witnesses being questioned and cross-examined together – firstly by the judge or arbitrators and then by the parties’ representatives themselves – and indeed even by each other! Known in polite circles as concurrent evidence, hot tubbing can be used to great effect in construction related disputes, such as those involving design and build issues, measurement disputes, delays, and financial loss.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 7th January 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Judge orders cross-examination of officials over WikiLeaks documents – The Guardian

Posted July 26th, 2012 in cross-examination, Diego Garcia, disclosure, documents, news by sally

“A top judge has taken the unprecedented step of ordering two senior government officials to face cross-examination in court over a classified US document leaked by WikiLeaks. It is thought to be the first time that one of the WikiLeaks cables has featured in a UK court case.”

Full story

The Guardian, 25th July 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fresh battle looms between European human rights court and UK – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 13th, 2011 in cross-examination, evidence, human rights, news, Supreme Court, witnesses by sally

“Prosecutors could be forced to stop using evidence from victims and witnesses who do not attend court in another human rights battle between Britain and Europe.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 13th December 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Victims giving evidence: witnesses must be cross-examined – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 23rd, 2011 in cross-examination, evidence, news, trials, victims, witnesses by sally

“This week the Times exposed a leaked report into child sexual exploitation suggesting that the way that vulnerable victims give evidence in court should be changed in an attempt to ensure more abusers and rapists are convicted. The idea is that victims in this country should be spared the ordeal of answering questions during proceedings.”

Full story

Halbury’s Law Exchange, 22nd November 2011

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Legal aid cuts will put domestic abuse victims at risk, law groups warn – The Guardian

Posted October 24th, 2011 in child abuse, cross-examination, domestic violence, legal aid, news, victims by sally

“An increasing number of victims of domestic abuse, including children, will be cross-examined in court by their alleged assailants if the government goes ahead with plans to cut legal aid, a coalition of family and children’s charities has warned.”

Full story

The Guardian, 24th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Milly Dowler Trial – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted October 7th, 2011 in criminal procedure, cross-examination, murder, news, witnesses by sally

“The Milly Dowler trial raised a number of questions about the operation of the criminal justice system.Ali Naseem Bajwa QC argues that, despite criticisms, the trial process was a fair one.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog, 6th October 2011

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Sex abuse victims could suffer from legal aid cuts, MPs warn – The Guardian

“Victims of sexual abuse are in danger of being cross-examined in court by their tormentors unless the government makes legal aid available in such cases, according to a report by the Commons’ justice select committee.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th July 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The defence lawyer in the Milly Dowler case performed his duty professionally – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2011 in advocacy, cross-examination, news, victims by sally

“Any further ‘rebalancing’ of our justice system in favour of the accused risks imperilling the right to fair trial.”

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The Guardian, 4th July 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dowler case prompts added protection for victims in court – The Independent

Posted July 4th, 2011 in cross-examination, news, victims by sally

“Victims of crime and their families should be protected from aggressive and disrespectful cross-examination during trial under a charter of rights for witnesses, the Government’s ‘victims’ tsar’, will recommend this week.”

Full story

The Independent, 4th July 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Dowler family cross-examination puts advocates on the spot – The Guardian

Posted July 1st, 2011 in advocacy, cross-examination, news, quality assurance by tracey

“The furore over the cross-examination of Milly Dowler’s parents has placed advocacy in the courts under a fierce spotlight. Putting the rights and wrongs of the Dowler case to one side, the public debate has probably come at a good time for the Joint Advocacy Group (JAG), which will shortly introduce a controversial quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA) working in criminal law.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st July 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Kenneth Clarke backs judge over Milly Dowler murder trial – BBC News

Posted June 29th, 2011 in cross-examination, families, murder, news, trials, victims by sally

“Kenneth Clarke has said he recognises the ‘appalling’ treatment of Milly Dowler’s family at her killer’s trial.”

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BBC News, 28th June 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawcast 185: Gary Slapper, Director Open University Law School – Charon QC

Posted June 28th, 2011 in cross-examination, legal aid, legal education, podcasts, witnesses by sally

“Today I am talking to Professor Gary Slapper, Director of the Law School at The Open University. We look at the relentless march towards privatisation in legal education, the Legal Aid reforms and briefly examine the criticism of Jeffrey Samuels QC in the Dowler case.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 28th June 2011

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

Levi Bellfield defence was a charade driven by hatred, victim’s family claims – The Guardian

Posted June 28th, 2011 in cross-examination, defence, news, trials, witnesses by sally

“The family of one of Levi Bellfield’s murder victims has hit out at the way his defence was handled during his trial for the killing of Milly Dowler.”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th June 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Dowler family’s ordeal is no case for silent witnesses – The Guardian

Posted June 27th, 2011 in bad character, cross-examination, media, news, trials, witnesses by sally

“The judge in Levi Bellfield’s trial could not spare Milly Dowler’s parents the trauma of giving evidence.”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th June 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk