Expert’s evidence was extraordinary and “shot through with breath taking arrogance” – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 11th, 2017 in conflict of interest, disclosure, evidence, expert witnesses, judges, news, trials by tracey

‘For those of who have a weekly blog to populate with content, the court’s summer recess can prove to be a challenging time. It leads us to cast our net further afield looking for ideas and cases to highlight. That is why, this week, I’m looking at two cases from August, one a personal injury claim from the County Court in Leeds, the other an intellectual property dispute from the Chancery Division. What both have in common are some choice words about the parties’ expert evidence. I know Jonathan has looked at this topic twice in recent months but, as I said, we’ve had the summer recess and these comments are just too bloggable to be ignored!’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Flasher conviction quashed because Facebook village gossip undermined fair trial – Daily Telegraph

‘A loner accused of chasing two women through a village while exposing himself has had his conviction quashed because residents had shared his image and gossiped about him on Facebook.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

DNA in the dock: how flawed techniques send innocent people to prison – The Guardian

Posted October 2nd, 2017 in criminal justice, DNA, evidence, forensic science, news by sally

‘Many juries believe crime-scene DNA evidence is watertight – but this is far from the case. As forensic technology gets ever more sophisticated, experts are only just realising how difficult interpreting the evidence can be.’

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The Guardian, 2nd October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Children’s evidence and ABE interviews Children’s evidence – Family Law

Posted September 21st, 2017 in child abuse, children, disclosure, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘In Wolverhampton City Council v JA & Ors [2017] EWFC 62, Keehan J dealt with a care case which involved allegations of sexual abuse of two young girls. They were aged 13 (X) and 12 (Y) at the time of his judgment. The proceedings are continuing. There were a variety of allegations against the children’s father and two male friends of the mother dating back nearly ten years.’

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Family Law, 20th September 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Police ‘may work with paedophile hunters’ – BBC News

‘Police have admitted they may have to work with “paedophile hunters” after research revealed a rise in their evidence being used in court. Figures obtained by the BBC show 11% of court cases in 2014 for the crime of meeting a child following sexual grooming used vigilante evidence, rising to 44% in 2016.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Grenfell Tower inquiry chairman refuses to let residents who survived fire help assess evidence – The Independent

Posted September 15th, 2017 in evidence, fire, health & safety, inquiries, news by tracey

‘The chairman of an inquiry into the deadly fire at Grenfell Tower has refused calls to allow a survivor of the disaster to be part of a team assessing evidence.’

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The Independent, 14th September 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Czech slaves gang forced Plymouth victim to lie – BBC News

‘Four gang members have been jailed for forcing a slavery victim to withdraw evidence, causing a trial to collapse.’

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BBC News, 12th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Consistory court evidence or “Call My Bluff”: Episode 2 – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 8th, 2017 in ecclesiastical law, evidence, news by tracey

‘The second of two posts on information submitted as evidence to consistory courts.’

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Law & Religion UK, 7th September 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Home Office funds new video enabled justice programme – Home Office

Posted September 5th, 2017 in courts, evidence, news, pilot schemes, police, victims, video recordings by sally

‘A new video link scheme designed to improve the way police officers give evidence and free up more time for front line duties will be piloted thanks to an £11m government cash injection.’

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Home Office, 4th September 2017

Source: www.gov.uk

Crime agency admits acting illegally in death penalty case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The National Crime Agency (NCA) has admitted acting unlawfully in assisting Thai police investigate, arrest and convict two Burmese men sentenced to death for the murder of two British backpackers. Campaigners against the death penalty said the disclosure raises questions about the UK cooperation with authorities in countries with dubious human rights records.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Consistory court evidence or “Call My Bluff”: Episode 1 – Law & Religion UK

Posted August 30th, 2017 in Church of England, courts, documents, ecclesiastical law, evidence, judgments, news by sally

‘In our monthly reviews of consistory court judgments, it is not uncommon to encounter assertions in the submissions of petitioners, the amenity societies, and even “experts” which are less than robust. However, in this ecclesiastical variant on “Call My Bluff“, the Chancellor/Commissary-General invariably sees through the weasel words, exaggerations &c, and the published judgments reveal how the perpetrators are diplomatically taken to task, as appropriate. However, whilst statements made on checkable facts are easy to identify, those that transcend the binary “true or bluff” question to matters of opinion or the assessment of a particular “expert” are more complex to assess. The following discussion includes a number of examples on which future petitioners might wish to ponder.’

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Law & Religion UK, 30th August 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

UK police broke law in case of British backpackers murdered in Thailand – The Guardian

‘The National Crime Agency in the UK has been forced to admit it acted unlawfully when it gave information to Thai police that helped send two men to death row for murdering two British backpackers.’

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The Guardian, 29th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Costs judge rejects £10k ATE challenge based on ‘hindsight’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 25th, 2017 in costs, evidence, expert witnesses, insurance, judges, negligence, news by sally

‘A costs judge has rejected a defendant’s attempt to deprive a clinical negligence claimant of their £10,000 insurance premium.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Talk about a revolution: the internet and children proceedings – Family Law Week

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in children, evidence, internet, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘Jennifer Kotilaine, barrister of 3PB, reflects on the various ways in which the application of children law has adapted to the internet and social media and on the further adaptations that may lie ahead.’

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Family Law Week, 17th August 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Where to draw the line? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted August 22nd, 2017 in boundaries, evidence, news by sally

‘Boundary disputes are among the most expensive and acrimonious litigation. It is rare to find an area of law in which a “point of principle” so often leads to such disregard of otherwise compelling considerations such as time, energy and cost. Kerry Bretherton QC of Tanfield Chambers provides a summary of some of the main legal principles applicable in boundary disputes that RICS professionals should be aware of.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 9th August 2017

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Privy Council: ‘fairness’ central to whether evidence must be put to party at trial – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 21st, 2017 in cohabitation, cross-examination, evidence, news, Privy Council, shareholders by sally

‘The question of whether a case will fall if a judge rejects a party’s evidence on grounds which that party has not had a chance to explain during the trial should be based on whether the overall trial is fair, senior UK judges have indicated.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th August 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Ann Maguire’s family lose legal challenge over inquest evidence – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2017 in evidence, families, inquests, news, school children, witnesses by sally

‘The widower and children of a teacher murdered by a student have lost their legal challenge against a coroner’s decision not to call pupils as witnesses at a forthcoming inquest.’

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BBC News, 14th August 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rape juries to hear more about men’s sexual history to increase chance of conviction – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 9th, 2017 in evidence, juries, news, prosecutions, rape by sally

‘Jurors in rape trials will be told more about the previous sexual behaviour of male defendants in a bid to increase the chances of conviction.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th August 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Greater Manchester police investigated over evidence in fatal shootings – The Guardian

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in complaints, evidence, firearms, news, police, unlawful killing by tracey

‘Officers from Greater Manchester police are being investigated over evidence they gave following two fatal shootings, the police watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 1st August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

The cost of resisting disclosure of sensitive police material in family proceedings – UK Police Law Blog

‘Who pays the costs of Special Advocates where closed material procedures are required to consider sensitive police documents in family proceedings? The police, according to Cobb J in Re R (Closed Material Procedure: Special Advocates: Funding) [2017] EWHC 1793 (Fam).’

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UK Police Law Blog, 30th July 2017

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com