Youth the one mitigating factor for teenage girls who killed – The Guardian
‘The 15-year-olds were given the equivalent of an adult life sentence and could be detained indefinitely.’
The Guardian, 7th April 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Category: mental health
Legal aid cuts add to strain on divorcees – The Guardian
‘Nine out of 10 people who have gone through the family courts, under new rules that heavily restrict access to legal aid, suffer strain in their mental and physical health, working lives and finances, according to a report by Citizens Advice due out this week.’
The Guardian, 26th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Police guilty of misconduct over woman who died in cell – The Guardian
‘Two police officers and two members of police staff were found to have committed misconduct over the way they dealt with a “very vulnerable” woman who was found dead in a police cell.’
The Guardian, 18th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Deaths in detention a ‘national stain’, says report – BBC News
‘More than 200 people have died of “non-natural” causes in detention in Britain since the start of 2014, says the Equality and Human Rights Commission.’
BBC News, 18th March 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Boys brought up on tough council estate win right to sue local council over harassment that ruined their lives – Daily Telegraph
‘Two children who say they suffered “harassment and worse” whilst being brought up on a tough council estate have won the right to sue for massive compensation.’
Daily Telegraph, 16th March 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Inquest criticises care of woman who killed herself in police cell – The Guardian
‘An inquest jury has criticised failings in the care of a woman who killed herself in a police cell, saying that insufficient steps had been taken to protect her welfare.’
The Guardian, 11th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Judge challenges government over legal representation for vulnerable people – The Guardian
‘A senior judge has challenged the government to provide legal representation for vulnerable people as a backlog of safeguarding cases that cannot be tried builds up in the court of protection.’
The Guardian, 10th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Police fail to respond to psychiatric units amid rise in attacks on staff – The Guardian
‘Police refused to respond to calls for help from staff at psychiatric units covering a large swath of east London and Essex on more than 125 occasions last year. The figures were released in response to a Guardian freedom of information request that sheds new light on how overstretched staff in mental health units are increasingly on the receiving end of violence.’
The Guardian, 7th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Is a mere roof enough? – Nearly Legal
‘An application for interim relief in a judicial review of Lambeth’s refusal to provide interim accommodation pending review of the claimant’s homeless application, but one that leaves me thinking (or perhaps hoping) that there must have been more to this than appears in the Lawtel note.’
Nearly Legal, 24th February 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Burns v Burns – elderly testators, mental impairment and the ‘golden rule’ – Tanfield Chambers
‘What if an elderly client, whose state of mental health is uncertain, approaches you and asks you to prepare her will?’
Tanfield Chambers, 8th February 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Practice Note on ‘Capacity’ – Zenith PI Blog
‘PI practitioners are not safe from capacity considerations. With an aging population and an increasing population of adults with learning disabilities, queries around capacity, whilst not quite ubiquitous yet, is nonetheless becoming an integral part of a PI practitioner’s essential knowledge. The only problem therefore being that in fact most of us know very little about it. For example that it is not a binary matter – a person can have capacity for one type of decision but not for another. In the PI arena we are most likely to be concerned with capacity to litigate but practitioners should be aware that they may also become embroiled in other questions about capacity for example in relation to welfare issues and/or the management of property and affairs.’
Zenith PI Blog, 18th February 2016
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
Violent domestic abusers to be tackled by new programme – BBC News
‘Men who pose a high risk of domestic violence are to be given one-to-one support to change their behaviour. ‘
BBC News, 17 February 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Restricting the use of police cells for those experiencing a mental health crisis – Home Office
‘Banning the use of police cells as a place of safety for under 18s and ensuring they are only used for adults in exceptional circumstances’
Home Office, 8th February 2016
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Judge orders caesarean if needed for mentally ill mother-to-be – The Guardian
‘A specialist judge has given doctors permission to perform a caesarean section to deliver the baby of a 21-year-old woman detained under mental health legislation.’
The Guardian, 11th February 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
High Court ruling outlines extraordinary scale of allegations against Blavo & Co – Legal Futures
‘A High Court judge has said there is a “strongly arguable case” that collapsed firm Blavo & Co, formerly the UK’s leading mental health practice, made “many thousands” of false legal aid claims.’
Legal Futures, 2nd February 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
An open or shut case? – UK Human Rights Blog
‘R(C) v. Secretary of State for Justice [2016] UKSC 2. When is it right to keep the names of parties to litigation a secret? That was the difficult question the Supreme Court had to grapple with in this judgment, handed down on Wednesday. The decision to allow a double-murderer to remain anonymous led to outraged headlines in the tabloids. Yet the Court reached the unanimous conclusion that this was the right approach. Why?.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 29th January 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Paroled murderer wins fight to remain anonymous – The Guardian
‘A convicted murderer, recently released from a psychiatric hospital, has won his supreme court battle to keep his identity secret.’
The Guardian, 27th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
People with advanced dementia have no place in court – The Guardian
‘The Law Commission has recommended a new test of incapacity after the Greville Janner case. We must be cautious about punishing those no longer in control of their actions.’
The Guardian, 19th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
We must choose our words carefully when covering complex legal cases – The Guardian
‘A recent case that caught the public’s attention shows how writers’ choice of words can, however unintentionally, create a misleading impression.’
The Guardian, 18th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
