Category: evidence

Trumping the Trump – or how to meet a claim to privilege following discontinuance in a fundamental dishonesty claim – Park Square Barristers

Posted October 7th, 2015 in disclosure, evidence, fundamental dishonesty, news, personal injuries, privilege by sally

‘It is common practice for an unscrupulous claimant, to run a doubtful personal injury claim to the door of the court, hoping to force a settlement, and then, at the last minute, to discontinue, in order to avoid the risk of failure, a finding of fundamental dishonesty and a costs liability.’

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Park Square Barrister, 18th September 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Part 3 of the 2015 Immigration Bill – enforcement – Free Movement

Posted October 1st, 2015 in bills, crime, documents, enforcement, evidence, immigration, news, stop and search by sally

‘Part 3 of the Immigration Bill gives a host of new, wide powers to immigration officers.

A person with leave to enter arrives in at the airport. Schedule 19(1) and (2) – the first section of Part 3 – gives immigration officers the power to curtail leave, rather to simply determine whether leave has been given and act accordingly. So someone arriving in the UK even with the appropriate leave will now have a lingering uncertainty as to whether they will be allowed in. This is likely to affect few migrants, but is indicative of the greater powers given to immigration officers throughout the Bill.’

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Free Movement, 1st October 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Unhappy returns of the day for copyright claim – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 24th, 2015 in artistic works, copyright, evidence, intellectual property, news by sally

‘A California judge’s ruling that Warner/Chappell can no longer collect royalties for Happy Birthday may not apply in England, says IP expert.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd September 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Should national security ever trump the right to a fair trial? – The Guardian

Posted September 23rd, 2015 in closed material, disclosure, evidence, human rights, murder, news, public interest immunity, trials by sally

‘A ruling on whether ‘secret’ evidence from convicted murderer Wang Yam can be heard at the European court of human rights has far wider significance.’

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The Guardian, 22nd September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court refuses bid to reconsider ruling because of missing page in bundle – Litigation Futures

Posted September 18th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, copyright, damages, evidence, judgments, news by sally

‘A party that accidentally omitted an important page from its trial bundle has failed in its attempt to persuade the judge to reconsider his ruling. The claimant in Absolute Lofts as West London Ltd v Artisan Home Improvements Ltd & Anor (No2) [2015] EWHC 2632 (IPEC) made the application the day after His Honour Judge Hacon handed down his decision.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th September 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Forensic review of sexual assault cases ordered after poor practice concerns – The Guardian

Posted September 17th, 2015 in criminal justice, evidence, forensic science, inquiries, news, sexual offences by sally

‘The forensic science regulator is reviewing a series of sexual assault cases to examine whether poor evidence gathering at crime scenes may be compromising criminal justice in the UK, she has told the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 17th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court finds Legal Aid Agency “asked itself wrong question” about means assessment – Free Movement

Posted September 9th, 2015 in evidence, law firms, legal aid, news, remuneration by sally

‘In a judgment that may be of interest to legal aid lawyers, the High Court has overturned a rejection by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) of a legal aid claim by Duncan Lewis solicitors. The Legal Aid Agency should have considered whether the means assessment conducted by Duncan Lewis, which had assessed a client KW as having provided sufficient evidence to show that she came within the financial threshold for legal aid, had made a reasonable judgement. The LAA had erred in refusing to fund the case on the basis that the documents relied upon were outside of the ‘assessment window’, Cranston J held in the case of R (On the Application Of Duncan Lewis (Solicitors) Ltd) v The Lord Chancellor [2015] EWHC 2498 (Admin).’
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Free Movement, 8th September 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Patrick O’Brien: Judges and Select Committees: A Developing Accountability Culture – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 7th, 2015 in evidence, inquiries, judges, news, select committees, statistics by sally

‘When is a judge not a judge? Lady Justice Hallett carried out a public inquiry into the ‘On the runs’ scheme in 2014. In its report on the same issue in March 2015 the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee commented rather sternly that

“we chose not to summon Lady Justice Hallett to attend, but we consider it to be a regrettable discourtesy to Parliament that she declined our initial invitation to give evidence to the Committee, especially as she had not acted in a judicial capacity when carrying out her review. [at para. 11]”‘

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th September 2015

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Tony Blair loses challenge against Daily Mail story – The Guardian

Posted September 3rd, 2015 in complaints, evidence, media, news, select committees by sally

‘The Independent Press Standards Organisation has rejected a complaint from Tony Blair seeking a retraction of a Daily Mail article that accused him of trying to “wriggle out” of an investigation by a committee of MPs.’

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The Guardian, 3rd September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Date fixed for Lord Janner hearing – BBC News

Posted September 2nd, 2015 in child abuse, disclosure, elderly, evidence, fitness to plead, mental health, news, sexual offences, trials by sally

‘A judge will decide at a hearing on 7 December whether Lord Janner, who is facing child sex abuse charges spanning three decades, is fit to plead.’

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BBC News, 1st September 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Chilcot report delays blamed on ‘vested interests’ – The Guardian

Posted September 1st, 2015 in delay, disclosure, documents, evidence, inquiries, Iraq, judges, news, reports, war by sally

‘Anger over continued delays in the publication of the report into the Iraq war has swung back against the government with allegations that “vested interests” have tried to suppress evidence.’

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The Guardian, 29th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Soviet dissident sues Crown Prosecution Service, alleging libel – The Guardian

Posted August 25th, 2015 in Crown Prosecution Service, defamation, evidence, indecent photographs of children, news by sally

‘The veteran Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is suing the Crown Prosecution Service for libel over a statement it issued in April announcing that he was being charged with child pornography offences.’

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The Guardian, 24th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lady Butler-Sloss criticised for giving evidence for defence in child rape trial – The Guardian

Posted August 24th, 2015 in assault, child abuse, evidence, inquiries, judges, news, rape, witnesses by sally

‘A prominent retired high court judge, who specialised in family matters, has been criticised for giving evidence for the defence in the case of a man accused of raping a girl – though she knew he had a previous conviction for violence.’

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The Guardian, 24th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Six appeal against convictions linked to Mazher Mahmood’s stories – The Guardian

Posted August 17th, 2015 in appeals, Crown Prosecution Service, evidence, news, perjury by sally

‘Six people caught in sting operations by the former News of the World investigations editor, Mazher Mahmood, are seeking leave to appeal against convictions resulting from stories about them in the newspaper.’

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The Guardian, 17th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Successful judicial review of social services age assessment – Free Movement

Posted August 11th, 2015 in children, documents, evidence, judicial review, local government, news, social services, tribunals by sally

‘R (on the application of GB by litigation friend, Francesco Jeff) v Oxfordshire County Council (age dispute- relevance of documents) IJR [2015] UKUT 429 (IAC) is an interesting and successful judicial review challenge to an age assessment. My colleague Shu Shin Luh was Counsel, instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associates.

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Free Movement, 10th August 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Lord Janner abuse proceedings to start in court – BBC News

Posted August 7th, 2015 in child abuse, elderly, evidence, mental health, news, trials by sally

‘Criminal proceedings against Lord Janner over allegations of child sexual abuse in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are to begin later. The Westminster Magistrates’ Court case comes after a review overturned a Crown Prosecution Service decision not to bring charges because of his dementia.’

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BBC News, 7th August 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Proof of reputational damage necessary for libel actions to succeed, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2015 in defamation, evidence, media, news by sally

‘Businesses and people that bring libel actions should not succeed with those claims unless there is proof that the published comments made about them damage, or are likely to damage, their reputation, the High Court in London has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Regina v Bhatti – WLR Daily

Posted August 4th, 2015 in admissibility, appeals, consumer credit, crime, evidence, law reports by sally

Regina v Bhatti [2015] EWCA Crim 1305; [2015] WLR (D) 346

‘Where the police obtained financial information from a credit ratings agency in reliance on section 29(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, such information having been obtained by the agency from customers who had expressly agreed in their credit applications and agreements that their data might be shared for the purpose of crime detection, prevention and prosecution, the procedural requirements of Schedule 1 to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 were not bypassed and the information was lawfully obtained, so that it was not precluded from admissibility in criminal proceedings.’

WLR Daily, 30th July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Officer who challenged racism in police cleared of sexual assault charges – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2015 in conspiracy, employment tribunals, evidence, inquiries, misfeasance in public office, news, police, racism, sexual offences by sally

‘A retired Asian officer who fought racism in the police has been cleared of sexually assaulting a prisoner almost 30 years ago after claiming the charges against him were part of a vendetta by Scotland Yard.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pub landlord convicted of killing customer with ironing board – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 31st, 2015 in closed circuit television, evidence, homicide, news by sally

‘Jury finds Rostam Notarki guilty of manslaughter after hearing how he jabbed drinker with ironing board into path of oncoming van.’
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Daily Telegraph, 31st July 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk