‘Private law firms will be hired by police to pursue criminal suspects for profit, under a radical new scheme to target cyber criminals and fraudsters.’
The Guardian, 14th August 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘In May this year the Public Accounts Committee published a report titled the ‘Efficiency in the Criminal Justice System.’ The conclusions are unsurprising for those with any experience of the system; it is at breaking point. In the current climate it seems the courts will do everything in their power to ensure cases proceed often in spite of significant delay. Due to their nature, historical cases can often be besieged with disclosure problems, and while delay can be due to legitimate and understandable reasons it is also true that historical cases can face unjustifiably delay. The question which must be asked is, when a case suffers from both delay and disclosure issues can a defendant have a fair trial at all?.’
Crimeline, 3rd August 2016
Source: www.crimeline.info
‘Slow-motion video replays of crimes shown in courtrooms may be distorting the outcomes of trials, according to a US study.’
BBC News, 2nd August 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A telematics-based motor insurer has claimed a first after data from a “black box” recorder was successfully used in a defence at a collision liability trial.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 1st August 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Damian Stuart, Barrister, FOURTEEN, re-visits Baroness Hale’s seminal speech in Re W (Children) (Abuse: Oral Evidence) in the light of Lord Justice McFarlane’s recent judgment in Re E (A Child).’
Family Law Week, 22nd July 2016
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Justice Lowell Goddard will be unable to deliver justice or tackle child sex abuse if her inquiry sidelines survivors.’
The Guardian, 26th July 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Resolving neighbour disputes using iPhone evidence and a video hearing might be more effective than the parties travelling several miles to court, a senior government official has said, outlining significant developments to modernise the justice system.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 21st July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The first of hundreds of people are to begin giving testimony to a public inquiry into child sexual abuse, in an unprecedented national “truth-telling” project designed to catalogue decades of suffering.’
The Guardian, 25th July 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘In 2011, a group of men from the Isle of Wight was given a combined 104-year prison sentence for masterminding a £53m drug smuggling operation. Does new evidence suggest they were innocent?’
BBC News, 19th July 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The father of a 13-month-old girl who died after she was found with serious injuries at her home will not face any criminal charges.’
Daily Telegraph, 14th July 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Prosecutors are set to announce whether charges will be brought in connection with the death of a 13-month-old girl.’
BBC News, 14th July 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘When exercising the discretion to suspend a possession order where a tenant’s evidence was considered to be untrue in whole or part, the judge has to be persuaded by cogent evidence that there is a sound basis for the hope that the previous conduct will cease or not recur. Cogent evidence regarding future compliance does not need to stem solely from the tenant himself, without regard to how others might behave, rather the likelihood or possibility of action by others, or even the perception that others might take action, may in an appropriate case be evidence which supports an overall assessment that there is real hope of compliance in the future (post, paras 47–49).’
WLR Daily, 7th July 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘Torture is wrong, we all know that. But so too is its lesser known sibling – evidence obtained by torture. In this opinion article, Corallina Lopez-Curzi takes us through why this practice cannot be relied on in court and how we are ultimately responsible for making sure this does not happen in the UK.’
RightsInfo, 28th June 2016
Source: www.rightsinfo.org
‘Ashley Cukier considers the decision in McTear and another v Engelhard and others [2016] EWCA Civ 487, the successful appeal of a first instance judgment handed down after Mitchell but before Denton.’
Littleton Chambers, 9th July 2016
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
‘This article summarises a recent appeal against findings of fact made in the family court. It’s an interesting case as it serves to remind practitioners of the factors that should be taken into account in considering the investigation procedure when the court is dealing with uncorroborated children’s allegations. Will Tyler QC, a member of Park Square Barristers, acted for the appellant.’
Park Square Barristers, 21st June 2016
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘A government-sponsored review of possible racial bias in the criminal justice system must not be jeopardised by evidential shortcomings, the Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association have said.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 11th July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘More than 7 years after Gordon Brown first announced that a public Inquiry would be conducted to identify lessons that could be learned from the Iraq conflict, the Chilcot report was finally published on7 July 2016. However, it was worth the wait. This post does not seek to summarise the report: there are many other good overviews (such as the BBC’s ). The report’s executive summary, in particular the key findings section, is also well worth a read. The intention is to cover in this and subsequent posts some of the key legal issues raised by the report. This post considers the relevance of the Chilcot report’s findings to the broader issue of whether Britain’s intervention in Iraq was legal – an issue which was not itself within the remit of the inquiry.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th July 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Individuals with experience of sharia law are being urged to take part in an independent review into its use.’
Home Office, 4th July 2016
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Regina v Anwar (Umar) and others [2016] EWCA Crim 551
‘The victim was telephoned and offered a supply of cannabis, as a result of which he drove to the appointed place where he got into a silver car, joining the three occupants, to complete the purchase. The front passenger pointed a shotgun at his face while the driver brandished a knife. As the victim attempted to escape two men exited a white van nearby and attempted to take his car. The man with the shotgun fired two shots but the victim escaped. Six defendants stood trial on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to commit robbery. The Crown argued that this was a well-planned criminal enterprise as shown on the CCTV footage and by the frequent mobile phone calls between the defendants which showed that all the robbers had the necessary knowledge that a firearm was to be carried with the intention that it should be used during the course of the robbery with the required, if conditional, intention to kill. The trial judge ruled that, although there was a case for all defendants to answer in respect of the count of conspiracy to rob, there was no case in relation to attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent because there was no evidence to establish a prima facie case as to (a) any particular defendant being in the silver car; (b) any particular defendant holding the shotgun either in the silver car or when the shots were fired; or (c) crucially, any particular defendant being aware, by the time of travelling to the scene, that the shotgun was loaded, or that he was intending that it should be used if necessary specifically to kill. The Crown appealed against the judge’s ruling, pursuant to the provisions of section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.’
WLR Daily, 1st July 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘In this lecture I shall concentrate on one particular Australian invention, which we are now copying in England and Wales. That is concurrent expert evidence.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 30th June 2016
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2024