Judges and lawyers to receive scientific ‘primers’ – Litigation Futures

Posted April 15th, 2016 in DNA, forensic science, judiciary, legal education, news by tracey

‘The judiciary is teaming up with the UK’s leading academies of science to produce guides and training that aim to helps judges, lawyers and juries when handling scientific evidence in the courtroom.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th April 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Boffins offer primers for courtroom science – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 12th, 2016 in DNA, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘Easy-to-understand guides on scientific evidence could be introduced in courts as part of joint efforts to explore common interests between lawyers and scientists.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 12th April 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Sam Hallam and Victor Nealon denied compensation by Court of Appeal – BBC News

Posted April 12th, 2016 in appeals, compensation, DNA, evidence, miscarriage of justice, news by sally

‘Two men who served long sentences before their convictions were overturned have lost the latest round of their legal fight for compensation.’

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BBC News, 11th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Man guilty of Georgina Edmonds murder after fresh DNA clues – BBC News

Posted February 24th, 2016 in DNA, forensic science, murder, news by sally

‘A man has been found guilty of beating a pensioner to death with a marble rolling pin, four years after being cleared of the same crime.’

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BBC News, 23rd February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Identical twin found ‘not guilty’ of charges after DNA tests unable to determine which brother committed crime – The Independent

Posted February 10th, 2016 in dangerous driving, DNA, evidence, news, offensive weapons by sally

‘A man has been cleared of two charges after prosecutors were unable to provide evidence to disprove claims his identical twin brother was the real offender.’

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The Independent, 9th February 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Stephen Lawrence investigation: Police seek fresh DNA samples – BBC News

Posted February 1st, 2016 in complaints, corruption, DNA, evidence, forensic science, inquiries, murder, news, ombudsmen, police, racism by tracey

‘Police investigating the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 have contacted an unspecified number of people to request DNA samples.’

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BBC News, 30th January 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Human Genome and Human Rights recommendations: “aspirational and symbolic” – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 7th, 2015 in codes of practice, DNA, equality, human rights, medical ethics, news by sally

‘The International Bioethics Committee, under the auspices of UNESCO, has recently updated its guidance on the human genome and human rights. The Report of the IBC on Updating its Reflection on the Human Genome and Human Rights was published in October 2015, and takes into account the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (1997), the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (2003) and the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005). The following summary is based on Alison Hall’s review of the recommendations in the PHG Foundation’s bulletin.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Senior British judges decide if DNA evidence can ‘uncover affair’ and settle Scottish hereditary title dispute – Daily Telegraph

‘Norman Murray Pringle, an accountant living in High Wycombe, is attempting to prove his aristocratic entitlement as the next baronet of Stichill.’

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Daily Telegraph, 25th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Transcript of the Lord Chief Justice’s Annual Press Conference 2015 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, held his annual press conference on Tuesday, 17 November, 2015, at the Royal Courts of Justice.’

Full transcript

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 17th November 2015

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Regina v FNC – WLR Daily

Posted November 13th, 2015 in DNA, evidence, law reports, no case to answer, sexual offences by tracey

Regina v FNC: [2015] EWCA Crim 1732; [2015] WLR (D) 440

‘There might be a case to answer even where the prosecution relied on DNA evidence alone.The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so held when allowing an appeal by the prosecution against a decision made on 5 May 2015 in the Crown Court at Blackfriars (Mr Recorder Day QC) to terminate proceedings against the defendant, FNC, on the grounds that there was no case to answer on a charge of indecent assault contrary to section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.’

WLR Daily, 4th November 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Convicted burglar could be freed after claiming DNA came from identical twin – The Independent

Posted October 28th, 2015 in burglary, DNA, evidence, families, fraud, news by sally

‘A man is hoping to overturn his burglary conviction by disputing DNA evidence on the grounds that he is an identical twin.’

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The Independent, 27th October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Slovakian jailed for raping teenager ‘while high on glue-like substance’ – Daily Telegraph

‘Court hears Zdenko Turtak, a 22-year-old Slovakian Roma, clubbed his victim 18 times with a rock and left her for dead in the Beeston area of Leeds.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th October 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Approach of Home Office to nationality case “astonishing and grotesque” rules High Court – Free Movement

Posted October 16th, 2015 in citizenship, DNA, government departments, India, news, paternity by sally

‘The case is R (Bondada) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 2661 (Admin), a challenge to a refusal by British officials to recognise the British citizenship of a lady who was a survivor of domestic violence looking to rebuild her life.’

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Free Movement, 16th October 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Judge attacks government’s ‘grotesque’ conduct in denying woman UK passport – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2015 in citizenship, DNA, government departments, India, news, paternity by sally

‘The government tried to deny a passport to the daughter of a British citizen in conduct described as “grotesque” by a high court judge.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Queen intervenes to settle title feud opening way to title pretenders – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 12th, 2015 in DNA, evidence, news, peerages & dignities, precedent, Privy Council by tracey

‘DNA evidence could be used for the first time to resolve a feud over a hereditary title after the Queen personally intervened in the case.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th October 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Colin Pitchfork parole hearing: How to assess a killer’s risk – BBC News

Posted September 7th, 2015 in DNA, mental health, murder, news, recidivists, rehabilitation, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘Thirty years ago, brutal child killer Colin Pitchfork became the first person to be convicted using DNA profiling.’

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BBC News, 6th September 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Call for open discussion of gene-editing in treatment of human embryos – Technology Law Update

Posted September 3rd, 2015 in DNA, embryology, health, news by sally

The rapid development of the powerful new CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology raises as many questions as it answers. Now a group of leading research organisations has thrown open the discussion to public debate. Is it now time, they ask, to the use these techniques to treat patients by altering the genes of reproductive cells and embryos to tackle genetic disease?
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Technology Law Update, 2nd September 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Lynette White: Civil action after failed police corruption trial – BBC News

Posted June 24th, 2015 in corruption, DNA, evidence, murder, news, police, trials by sally

‘A date has been set for High Court civil action following the collapse of the UK’s biggest police corruption trial.’

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BBC News, 23rd June 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rape victim falsely accused of lying by police wins £20,000 payout – The Guardian

‘A rape victim falsely accused of lying by detectives has won £20,000 in damages after suing police under the Human Rights Act. The woman, who cannot be named, was 17 when a man raped her in Winchester in April 2012 after a night out with friends. Her mother reported the attack hours later and the victim told officers her T-shirt may contain her attacker’s DNA.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gaughran v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening – WLR Daily

Posted May 15th, 2015 in criminal records, DNA, human rights, law reports, Northern Ireland, police by tracey

Gaughran v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening: [2015] UKSC 29; [2015] WLR (D) 214

‘The policy in Northern Ireland, England and Wales of retaining indefinitely the DNA samples and other information obtained from persons who were arrested and subsequently convicted of an offence was proportionate and justified, and was within the margin of appreciation afforded to member states. A convicted person’s the right to respect for his private life guaranteed by article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was therefore not infringed when the police refused to give him an assurance that his DNA samples would be destroyed.’

WLR Daily, 13th May 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk