Police force which lost vital evidence into toddler Poppi Worthington’s death, failed other youngsters too, watchdog reveals – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 26th, 2017 in children, evidence, news, police, reports, social services by tracey

‘A “troubled” police force heavily criticised after the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington needs “immediate” improvement in order to protect children, watchdogs have said.’

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Daily Telegraph, 26th January 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Munby: video-links in family courts ‘a disgrace’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 24th, 2017 in courts, evidence, family courts, judges, news, victims, video recordings, witnesses by sally

‘The president of the Family Division has berated the state of equipment in family courts, including his own court in London’s Royal Courts of Justice.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd January 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Review into child abuse in football makes first call for evidence – The Guardian

Posted January 12th, 2017 in child abuse, evidence, news, sexual offences, sport, victims by tracey

‘The independent review into allegations of child abuse in football has made its first call for evidence. Set up by the Football Association and led by Clive Sheldon QC, the review has written to all football clubs in England and Wales, amateur and professional, asking for information about allegations of child sexual abuse between 1970 and 2005.’

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The Guardian, 11th January 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Counter-terrorism money being spent on redacting evidence to inquiry on undercover policing – The Independent

Posted January 12th, 2017 in evidence, inquiries, investigatory powers, news, police, terrorism by tracey

‘Counter-terrorism money is being used to redact police evidence to an inquiry into undercover policing tactics, it has been revealed.’

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The Independent, 12th January 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sexual history evidence: fair game? – Counsel

Posted December 9th, 2016 in admissibility, consent, evidence, interpretation, news, rape, retrials by sally

‘Ali Naseem Bajwa QC and Eva Niculiu examine the issues raised by use of the complainant’s sexual history in the Ched Evans rape retrial.’

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Counsel, December 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Marine’s conviction for killing Afghan insurgent could be quashed – The Guardian

‘A former Royal Marine serving a life sentence for murdering a wounded Afghan insurgent faces the “real possibility” of having his conviction quashed following the presentation of new evidence, an independent review has found.’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Taxonomy of Evidence: Experts, Facts, Opinions and the Courts by Grahame Anderson – Littleton Chambers

Posted December 1st, 2016 in admissibility, evidence, expert witnesses, news, opinions by sally

‘In Darby Properties Limited and another v Lloyds Bank plc, Master Matthews has given judgment in a case concerning the admissibility of expert evidence in an interest rates hedging products case.’

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Littleton Chambers, 24th November 2016

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

When is an injury not an injury? – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted December 1st, 2016 in evidence, industrial injuries, insurance, news, noise, personal injuries by sally

‘The overworking of the de minimis argument in noise-induced hearing loss claims shows the need for proper evidental preparaton and some clearer guidance from the senior courts following Rothwell.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 21st November 2016

Source: www.doughtystreet.co.uk

Hot-tubbing report sparks rule committee decision to take wider look at expert evidence – Litigation Futures

Posted November 30th, 2016 in civil procedure rules, evidence, expert witnesses, news, reports by tracey

‘The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CRPC) is to look into the provision of expert evidence in court as it considers the recommendations of a recent report into concurrent evidence, known as hot-tubbing.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th November 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Poppi Worthington: CPS backs decision not to charge father over death – The Guardian

Posted November 29th, 2016 in child abuse, Crown Prosecution Service, evidence, inquests, news, prosecutions by sally

‘No criminal charges will be brought over the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.’

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The Guardian, 28th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ted Heath’s accuser ‘gave child abuse inquiry fantastical evidence’ – The Guardian

Posted November 28th, 2016 in child abuse, evidence, inquiries, news, sexual offences by tracey

‘A woman who accused Sir Ted Heath of satanic child abuse contributed to “a catalogue of fabrication” by making outrageous allegations after hypnosis, a leading criminologist has claimed.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Torture evidence ignored by Home Office, says charity – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2016 in asylum, evidence, news, torture by sally

‘The Home Office is “disregarding and mistreating” medical evidence of torture in UK asylum claims, a report by a charity suggests.’

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BBC News, 21st November 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

British born children entitled to citizenship but caught in an evidence trap – Legal Voice

Posted November 18th, 2016 in children, citizenship, evidence, news, social services by sally

‘There are many impediments to children registering their entitlement to British citizenship. Solange Valdez and Steve Symonds have previously written for Legal Voice on the separate issues of good character and Home Office fees. A whole other set of difficulties arises for many children in relation to evidence.’

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Legal Voice, 18th November 2016

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Coroner halts baby’s inquest over hospital evidence tampering claim – The Guardian

Posted November 18th, 2016 in children, evidence, hospitals, midwives, news by sally

‘A coroner may refer a hospital trust to the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations that a senior midwife’s evidence on the death of a five-day-old baby was tampered with.’

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The Guardian, 17th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Surveillance Skulduggery? – Zenith PI Blog

Posted November 17th, 2016 in case management, damages, evidence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘In Stewart v Kelly Blake J dealt with an application, made by a Defendant in a personal injury claim, to adduce surveillance evidence. The ex tempore judgment – currently available only in summary form – deals with the principles to be applied in relation to ambushes and surveillance.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 15th November 2016

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Whiplash reaction: claimant lawyers vent fury at government – Legal Futures

Posted November 17th, 2016 in compensation, consultations, evidence, insurance, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Today’s announcement of government plans to reform personal injury claims has predictably split the market, with claimant representatives incensed and defendants pleased.’

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Legal Futures, 17th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Fake rape’ woman Layla Ibrahim fights to clear name – BBC News

‘A woman sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of faking her own rape says she is now fighting to clear her name.’

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BBC News, 15th November 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Committal Applications in the Absence of the Defendent: Two Recent Cases, By Ashley Cukier – Littleton Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in committals, disclosure, evidence, loans, news by sally

‘Ashley Cukier considers two recent judgments of the High Court (Alfa Bank v Reznik [2016] EWHC B21 (Comm) and Taylor v Van Dutch Marine & Others [2016] EWHC 2201 (Ch)), which demonstrate the courts’ willingness, if the circumstances justify it, to hear committal applications in the absence of the defendant.’

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Littleton Chambers, 6th October 2016

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Regina v Sardar (Anis Abid) – WLR Daily

Posted November 8th, 2016 in anonymity, appeals, conspiracy, disclosure, evidence, explosives, law reports, murder, witnesses by sally

Regina v Sardar (Anis Abid) [2016] EWCA Crim 1616

‘The defendant was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and, as an alternative count, conspiracy to cause an explosion. It was the Crown’s case that the defendant had been directly involved in the construction and/or deployment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one of which had caused the death of an American soldier near Baghdad in September 2007. The defendant’s case was that he had been acting in lawful and proportionate defence of Sunni communities who were under threat from Shia militia; his fingerprints had been found on two of the bombs, although not the one which had resulted in the fatal explosion. The defendant was convicted of murder and conspiracy to murder; no verdict was sought on the alternative count of conspiracy to cause an explosion. He appealed against conviction on the ground, inter alia, of fresh evidence from two anonymous witnesses (C and D) who were now available to give evidence as to the frequency and quality of attacks by the Shia militia on the Sunni communities and the need for the Sunnis to act in self-defence. C and D were prepared to disclose their identities to the court and, within a strict “confidentiality ring”, to counsel for the Crown, the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer and two senior investigating officers with undertakings that there should be no further disclosure to anyone. However, the Crown was not prepared to give such undertakings. The defendant applied for an order under section 87(3) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (which required the defendant to inform the court and the prosecutor of the identity of the witness) for anonymity measures to be put in place. It was submitted that although the “prosecutor” had to be informed, that did not necessarily envisage disclosure beyond the person of the prosecutor.’

WLR Daily, 18th October 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Appeal court finds Sammy Lee gave false evidence over Bolton transfer deal – The Guardian

Posted November 8th, 2016 in agency, appeals, contracts, evidence, news, sport by sally

‘A high court judgment in which the current England assistant manager, Sammy Lee, was found to have knowingly given false evidence has been upheld by the court of appeal. Lee, when manager of Bolton Wanderers for a short period in 2007 having taken over from Sam Allardyce, was found to have lied about his club’s involvement in signing the midfield player Gavin McCann, who had been poached by the agents SEM.’

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The Guardian, 7th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk