Category: Crown Court

Regina (Panesar) v Central Criminal Court and another – WLR Daily

Posted August 22nd, 2014 in Crown Court, documents, HM Revenue & Customs, jurisdiction, law reports, search & seizure, warrants by tracey

Regina (Panesar) v Central Criminal Court and another; [2014] EWHC 2821 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 382

‘Notwithstanding that the material in question had been seized without good grounds and that the relevant warrants had been quashed, the Crown Court enjoyed jurisdiction to hear an application that material held subsequent to seizure in execution of search warrants should be retained by an investigating authority.’

WLR Daily, 14th August 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (M) v Crown Court at Kingston upon Thames – WLR Daily

Posted July 23rd, 2014 in Crown Court, hospital orders, judicial review, jurisdiction, law reports, mental health by michael

Regina (M) v Crown Court at Kingston upon Thames [2014] WLR (D)  328

‘The power under section 35 of the Mental Health Act 1983, to remand to hospital for a report on an accused’s mental condition, could not be used in order to obtain evidence about whether the accused had the intention or the capacity to form the intention to commit an offence under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.’

WLR Daily, 17th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Vulnerable witnesses allowed to give evidence pre-trial – BBC News

Posted April 28th, 2014 in cross-examination, Crown Court, evidence, news, pilot schemes, rape, sexual offences, witnesses by sally

‘Vulnerable witnesses can give evidence before a trial starts from Monday as part of a pilot scheme in three Crown Courts in England.’

Full story

BBC News, 28th April 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Reshaping Justice – Speech by The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice

Posted March 6th, 2014 in charities, civil justice, Crown Court, fraud, judges, rule of law, speeches by tracey

‘It is a pleasure and a privilege to have been asked to give this short address tonight. It is an important time for both Justice the organisation and for our justice system. With that in mind I want to focus on what I have described in the title as “Reshaping Justice”.’

Full speech

Judiciary of England & Wales, 4th March 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

A cautionary tale – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 7th, 2013 in assault, cautions, child abuse, Crown Court, drug offences, indecent photographs of children, news, weapons by sally

“Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced a ‘radical’ overhaul of simple cautions whereby their use will be banned in dealing with all indictable-only offences – ie serious offences such as robbery and serious assault that can only be tried in a Crown Court before a jury –and possession of any offensive weapon (including a knife), supplying Class A drugs and a range of sexual offences against children, including child prostitution and pornography.”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 4th October 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Benefit cheats could face jail terms of up to ten years – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 16th, 2013 in benefits, codes of practice, Crown Court, Crown Prosecution Service, fraud, news, sentencing by tracey

“Benefit cheats could face jail terms of up to ten years under plans to crackdown on people who ‘flout the system’, the country’s top prosecutor will say on Monday.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 16th September 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Three’s a crowd for simple magistrates court cases, says minister – The Guardian

Posted September 11th, 2013 in cautions, courts, Crown Court, fines, magistrates, news, police, sentencing by tracey

“Chris Grayling says it is absurd that benches of three magistrates are required to rubber-stamp ‘foregone conclusions.’ ”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Gibson) v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily

Posted September 11th, 2013 in assets recovery, confiscation, Crown Court, drug trafficking, interest, law reports, magistrates, sentencing by tracey

Regina (Gibson) v Secretary of State for Justice: [2013] EWHC 2481 (Admin);   [2013] WLR (D)  344

“Where the Crown Court fixed a term of imprisonment in default of a sum recoverable under a confiscation order the words ‘at the time the period of detention was imposed’ in section 79(2) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 meant the time when the default term was activated by the magistrates’ court, not the time when it was fixed by the Crown Court, for the purposes of calculating a reduction in the term of imprisonment.”

WLR Daily, 4th September 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Leicester Crown Court is ‘in crisis’ according to lawyers – BBC News

Posted July 26th, 2013 in courts, Crown Court, delay, judiciary, law firms, news by sally

“Victims of crime are being put through unnecessary extra stress because of a ‘crisis’ caused by a lack of judges at Leicester Crown Court, lawyers claim.”

Full story

BBC News, 26th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Television cameras may be allowed to film in crown courts – The Guardian

Posted July 2nd, 2013 in consent, courts, Crown Court, judiciary, media, news, sentencing, witnesses by sally

“The government is risking a fresh row with the judiciary by raising the prospect that television cameras could be allowed to film within crown courts.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Crown court judges oppose legal aid changes – The Guardian

Posted June 6th, 2013 in Crown Court, judges, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

“Crown court judges have delivered a damning response to government plans to prevent defendants from choosing their solicitor and slice a further £220m off the legal aid budget.”

Full story

The Guaridan, 6th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Revealed: Grayling’s plan to drive a wedge between bar and solicitors – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 25th, 2013 in barristers, Crown Court, legal aid, ministers' powers and duties, news, solicitors, tenders by sally

“Justice secretary Chris Grayling has sought to drive a wedge between solicitors and barristers over the drastic plans to cut criminal legal aid and restructure the market, the Gazette has learned.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 25th April 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

15 trials and 42 court hearings adjourned as barristers boycott crown courts in protest at plans to slash legal aid bill – The Independent

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in barristers, Crown Court, demonstrations, industrial action, legal aid, news by sally

“More than 400 barristers boycotted crown courts in northern England today in what was described as the first militant action against Government plans to slash the criminal legal aid bill by millions.”

Full story

The Independent, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regina v Bateman; Regina v Doyle: [2012] EWCA Crim 2158; [2012] WLR (D) 355 – WLR Daily

Posted November 30th, 2012 in committals, Crown Court, law reports, magistrates, sentencing by tracey

Regina v Bateman; Regina v Doyle: [2012] EWCA Crim 2158;   [2012] WLR (D)  355

“Where an offender was committed to the Crown Court by the magistrates’ court under paragraph 11(2)(a) of Schedule 12 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to be dealt with in respect of the commission of an offence committed during the operational period of a suspended sentence imposed by the Crown Court, the Crown Court’s sentencing powers in relation to other offences in respect of which the offender was committed under section 6(2) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 were limited by section 7(1) of the 2000 Act to those of the magistrates’ court.”

WLR Daily, 27th November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

R v Varma – WLR Daily

Posted October 12th, 2012 in conditional discharge, confiscation, Crown Court, law reports, proceeds of crime by sally

R v Varma [2012] UKSC 42; [2012] WLR (D) 270

“The Crown Court had the power and, in most cases, where the criteria in section 6 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 were satisfied, the duty to make a confiscation order against a defendant following conviction for an offence in respect of which the defendant had received an absolute or a conditional discharge.”

WLR Daily, 10th October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Chancery Lane warns against move to limit jury trial – Law Sociey’s Gazette

Posted January 18th, 2012 in budgets, Crown Court, juries, jurisdiction, news, trials by sally

“The Law Society president has defended the right to jury trial following reports that the government is considering removing some offences from the jurisdiction of the Crown court.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 18th January 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Prosecutors to be able to challenge bail decisions – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 12th, 2012 in appeals, bail, Crown Court, news by sally

“Prosecutors will be able to challenge crown court decisions to release suspected serious offenders out on bail after David Cameron announced a change in the law yesterday.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 11th January 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Crown Court Sentencing Survey – first results published – Sentencing Council

Posted October 18th, 2011 in Crown Court, news, reports, sentencing, statistics by sally

“The Sentencing Council has published a report with results from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey, an ongoing data collection exercise of sentencing decisions made in the Crown Court that is required for the Council to comply with the terms of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The report presents the findings of the first six months of the survey. It can be accessed here.”

Sentencing Council, 18th October 2011

Source: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk

Magistrates were told to send rioters to crown court, emails show – The Guardian

Posted September 14th, 2011 in Crown Court, magistrates, news, sentencing, violent disorder by tracey

“Magistrates were urged to abandon sentencing guidelines when dealing with rioters last month because ‘nothing like this was envisaged’, according to court documents released to the Guardian. The text of two controversial emails circulated to justices’ clerks immediately after August’s disturbances raises questions about judicial independence and the use of blanket guidance irrespective of individual cases. One human rights group described the emails as ‘disturbing’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th September 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Riot jail sentences in crown courts up to three times longer than average – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2011 in Crown Court, news, sentencing, violent disorder by sally

“Rioters sentenced in crown courts have received jail terms that are much more severe than usual, replicating the punitive response by magistrates, the Guardian can reveal.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th September 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk