Category: evidence

More than 30 criminal cases involving ‘Fake Sheikh’ to be reviewed in light of Tulisa trial – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 25th, 2014 in Crown Prosecution Service, evidence, news, perjury, prosecutions by tracey

‘ More than 30 criminal cases that relied on evidence given by undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood are being reviewed in light of the collapse of the Tulisa Contostavlos drugs trial.
The Crown Prosecution Service is looking again at the cases -as well as three that are still going on – after a judge ended the pop singer’s trial because there were “strong grounds” to believe the Sun reporter had lied in court and manipulated evidence.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 24th July 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Jones (Nicholas) – WLR Daily

Posted July 23rd, 2014 in bad character, conspiracy, evidence, fraud, law reports, witnesses by michael

Regina v Jones (Nicholas) [2014] WLR (D)  319

‘A finding by a tribunal that an expert’s evidence was not as objective and independent as it might have been was not evidence of bad character with sections 98 and 112 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.’

WLR Daily, 16th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Mazher Mahmood could face perjury investigation after Tulisa trial collapse – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2014 in drug offences, evidence, news, perjury, trials by michael

‘Police and prosecutors are discussing whether any legal action could follow the collapse of the trial of singer Tulisa Contostavlos, which was abandoned after the judge ruled that the Sun on Sunday’s veteran investigative reporter Mazher Mahmood was likely to have lied about talking to another witness about changing their evidence.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tulisa Contostavlos trial collapses over Mazher Mahmood’s evidence – The Guardian

Posted July 22nd, 2014 in drug trafficking, evidence, media, news, trials, witnesses by sally

‘The trial of the singer and TV entertainer Tulisa Contostavlos over drugs allegations has dramatically collapsed after the judge ruled that the Sun investigative reporter whose evidence was central to the case had seemingly lied on oath.’

Full story

The Guardian, 21st July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina v Mehmedov – WLR Daily

Posted July 21st, 2014 in bad character, criminal records, evidence, foreign jurisdictions, law reports, murder by sally

Regina v Mehmedov [2014] EWCA Crim 1523; [2014] WLR (D) 325

‘A certificate of a conviction in a member state of the European Union was admissible in evidence under section 73(1) of the Police and Criminal Act 1984 even where the conviction preceded the accession of the member state concerned to the European Union.’

WLR Daily, 18th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Black female officer discriminated against by Met Police, tribunal finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 2nd, 2014 in compensation, damages, employment tribunals, equality, evidence, news, police, race discrimination, sex discrimination by sally

‘Britain’s biggest force faces a large compensation claim as a tribunal rules Carol Howard was treated unfairly because of her sex and race.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 1st July 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Nunn) v Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary – WLR Daily

Posted June 20th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, evidence, forensic science, law reports, murder, Supreme Court by tracey

Regina (Nunn) v Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary: [2014] UKSC 37; [2014] WLR (D) 265

‘Where, after a defendant’s trial had ended in his conviction, material came to light which might cast doubt on the safety of the conviction, the prosecutors’ duty of disclosure required him to disclose that material to the defendant, unless there were good reason not to do so, and, where there was a real prospect that further inquiry might reveal such material, to make that inquiry. There was, however, no indefinitely continuing duty on police or prosecutors to respond to whatever inquiries the defendant might make for access to case materials to allow re-investigation.’

WLR Daily, 18th June 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Open justice and freedom of information – Browning in the Court of Appeal – Panopticon

Posted June 18th, 2014 in appeals, closed material, disclosure, evidence, freedom of information, media, news, reporting restrictions by sally

‘The issue of just how open our justice system should be is an issue which is or should be of fundamental concern to all practising lawyers. If, as Jeremy Bentham once stated ‘publicity is the very soul of justice’ (cited by Lord Shaw in the leading case of Scott v Scott [1913] AC 477), then an open justice system is the corporeal expression of that soul. However, we now live in times where open justice is increasingly under threat. Indeed, as last week’s headlines reminded us all, matters have now got to a stage where some judges at least have been prepared to allow, not merely the deployment of a limited closed procedure to deal with certain aspects of a case, but a completely secret trial. It no doubt came as a relief to many that the Court of Appeal was not prepared to sanction such a comprehensive departure from the open justice principle: Guardian News v AB CD. However, the mere fact that the judiciary was prepared to contemplate such a procedure shows how far we have come since the days of Scott v Scott.’

Full story

Panopticon, 18th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Supreme Court rejects Kevin Nunn’s evidence release plea – BBC News

Posted June 18th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, evidence, forensic science, murder, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A man serving life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend has lost his fight to have forensic exhibits retested.’

Full story

BBC News, 18th June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

R (on the application of Nunn) (Appellant) v Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary and another (Respondents) – Supreme Court

Posted June 18th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, evidence, forensic science, judicial review, law reports, murder, Supreme Court by sally

R (on the application of Nunn) (Appellant) v Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary and another (Respondents) [2014] UKSC 37 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 18th June 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Kevin Nunn: Judges to rule over fresh forensic tests eight years after murder conviction – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, evidence, forensic science, murder, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A salesman serving life in prison for murdering his former girlfriend will today find out the result of his Supreme Court fight to have key forensic exhibits retested.’

Full story

The Independent, 18th June 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Phone hacking trial: After eight months, jury today begins sifting the mountain of evidence – The Independent

Posted June 12th, 2014 in conspiracy, documents, evidence, interception, juries, media, misfeasance in public office, news, perverting the course of justice, telecommunications by sally

‘They are the two words the jury in the phone hacking trial may have waited months to hear. At 3.15pm in court 12 of the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Saunders said: “And finally.”’

Full story

The Independent, 12th June 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Expert court witnesses ‘ignored clients’ guilt’ – BBC News

Posted June 9th, 2014 in animals, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘An undercover Panorama investigation has found some paid expert witnesses prepared to provide helpful court reports despite a client’s confession.’

Full story

BBC News, 9th June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 3) – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in admissibility, appeals, consultations, evidence, fisheries, indigenous peoples, law reports, treaties by michael

Regina (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 3) [2014] EWCA Civ 708; [2014] WLR (D)  237

‘A leaked diplomatic cable published on the internet by a third party did not violate the archive and documents of the diplomatic mission which sent the cable since it had already been disclosed to the world by a third party. On that narrow ground it was admissible as evidence in court. However, even if the evidence in question had been admitted, it would not have led to a different decision and therefore was not a ground for allowing the appeal.’

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

MN (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; KY (Somalia) v Same – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in admissibility, anonymity, appeals, asylum, evidence, expert witnesses, law reports, reports, Supreme Court, tribunals by michael

MN (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; KY (Somalia) v Same [2014] UKSC 30;  [2014] WLR (D)  227

‘A tribunal conducting asylum proceedings could admit, as expert evidence, a report by an organisation based on a telephone interview with an asylum claimant in which its analysts commented on the likelihood of that person originating from his claimed place of origin, based on the person’s dialect and answers to questions about the area in question, even though the report was in the name of the organisation rather than an individual and those contributing to it were identified only by serial numbers. However it was necessary for the tribunal in each particular case to be satisfied that the anonymity was necessary, with safeguards for the claimant in place, and that the authors of the report had demonstrated that they had relevant expertise for each matter on which they had commented.’

WLR Daily, 21st May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) v MN and KY (Respondent) – Supreme Court

Posted May 28th, 2014 in asylum, evidence, expert witnesses, law reports by sally

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) v MN and KY (Respondent) [2014] UKSC 30 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 21st May 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

MoD denies access to files for Deepcut soldier’s family – The Guardian

Posted May 27th, 2014 in armed forces, disclosure, evidence, freedom of information, news, suicide by sally

‘The family of a teenage soldier who died after being shot twice in the head at the Deepcut barracks have been denied access to a cache of files they believe could shed light on his death, the Guardian can reveal.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK man who fought in Syria is first to be convicted of terror offences related with the conflict – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 21st, 2014 in evidence, news, telecommunications, terrorism by tracey

‘A man whose wife told him to “go die in battlefield” in a text message as he went off to fight in Syria has become the first person in the UK to be convicted of terrorist offences in connection with the conflict.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th May 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Boundary disputes: Evidence – The pitfalls and practicalities – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 12th, 2014 in appeals, boundaries, costs, evidence, news, trespass by sally

‘Boundary disputes are rarely cost effective and the courts often make orders that make them disproportionately costly for the winner as well as the loser. Two recent cases demonstrate that risk and the importance of fully exploring and considering the available and/or potential evidence as early as possible.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 7th May 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Metropolitan Police officers start wearing body cameras – BBC News

Posted May 8th, 2014 in evidence, London, news, pilot schemes, police, video recordings by tracey

‘Met Police officers are to start wearing cameras on their uniforms as part of plans to boost transparency and accelerate convictions.’

Full story

BBC News, 8th May 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk