Terrorist prisoners hit record high in British jails amid warnings of radicalisation – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2020 in bills, Ministry of Justice, news, prison officers, prisons, recidivists, statistics, terrorism by tracey

‘A record number of terrorists are being held in British prisons, new figures show amid warnings over radicalisation inside “chaotic” jails. Statistics released by the Home Office on Thursday indicate there were 243 people in custody for terror-related offences, up 24 on the previous year.’

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The Independent, 17th September 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

More deferred sentences in shake-up of criminal justice in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Ministers are to encourage courts to make more use of deferred sentences – when judges give offenders a chance to turn themselves around before being punished – as part of a £500m shake-up of criminal justice in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 16th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

A Smarter Approach to Sentencing – Ministry of Justice

‘This White Paper sets out the government’s proposals for important changes to the sentencing and release framework in England and Wales.’

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Ministry of Justice, 16th September 2020

Source: www.gov.uk

Serious criminals to serve two-thirds of jail term in justice shake-up – BBC News

‘Sexual and violent offenders will serve at least two-thirds of jail terms, rather than half, as part of changes to the criminal justice system in England and Wales.’

 

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BBC News, 16th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Drivers who kill others could receive life sentences under new laws – BBC News

‘Drivers who kill others after speeding, racing or using a phone could receive life sentences under new legislation.’

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BBC News, 14th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Scale of failure in prison system staggering, say MPs – The Guardian

Posted September 11th, 2020 in budgets, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, standards, statistics by tracey

‘The scale of failure in the prison system in England and Wales is “staggering”, with only 206 out of 10,000 promised new prison spaces delivered by the government, parliament’s spending watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 11th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge makes formal complaint over Covid custody waits – BBC News

‘A judge has claimed he was put under “improper and undue influence” to keep a defendant in custody.’

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BBC News, 11th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge criticises UK government’s ‘inadequate’ efforts to aid Covid-19 backlog – The Guardian

‘A crown court judge has refused to extend the custody time limit for keeping a man in prison awaiting trial and accused the government of under-funding the criminal justice system during the pandemic.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘I Spent 12 Years In Prison For A Crime I Didn’t Commit. Here’s What I Learned’ – Each Other

‘“There are so many people in British prisons that don’t deserve to be there,” said ex-inmate-turned-journalist Raphael Rowe.’

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Each Other, 24th August 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Court rejects JR over LASPO post-implementation review – Litigation Futures

‘The High Court has rejected a judicial review that argued the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) failed to carry out an adequate review of the impact of the LASPO reforms on those with asbestos-related diseases.’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Ban on prison visits in England and Wales breaches children’s rights, say lawyers – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2020 in children, coronavirus, families, human rights, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons by sally

‘The children of prisoners in England and Wales are having their human rights breached by the ban on jail visits and a lack of video contact, lawyers have claimed, as they begin the first step of legal action against the Ministry of Justice.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs fear firms, chambers and law centres collapsing – Legal Futures

‘MPs have expressed concern that law firms, chambers and law centres may collapse because of the impact of Covid-19.’

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The Guardian, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Spotlight Review on domestic abuse – where does it fit in with other court reforms? – Transparency Project

‘The work undertaken by the “spotlight panel” appointed by the Ministry of Justice, reported in what is being referred to as the “harm report”, has already been commented on here and here. Its full title is “Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Cases”. The purpose of this blog post is to try to see how the harm report fits in with the wider reforms discussed by the President’s Private Law Working Party (the PrLWG) in its two reports.’

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Transparency Project, 24th July 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Justice secretary drops plan to replace jury trials – Legal Futures

‘Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland has dropped a widely criticised plan to replace juries in some criminal trials with a judge and two magistrates.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“Our goodwill has run dry” – hundreds to refuse out-of-hours hearings – Legal Futures

‘Hundreds of crime lawyers have issued public refusals to attend hearings in evenings or at weekends as new figures show that backlogs in courts and tribunals were growing even before the coronavirus.’

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Legal Futures, 24th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Young CICA solicitor was not unfairly dismissed – Legal Futures

‘A young solicitor at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), who left only six months after completing her traineeship because her fixed-term contract (FTC) had expired, was not unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 20th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Coronavirus: Ten ‘Nightingale Courts’ in England and Wales to open – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2020 in coronavirus, courts, delay, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, trials by sally

‘Ten temporary courts are being set up to help clear a backlog of hearings caused by the coronavirus pandemic.’

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BBC News, 19th July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

G4S fined £44m by Serious Fraud Office over electronic tagging – The Guardian

‘Security firm G4S has been fined £44m by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of an agreement that will see it avoid prosecution for overcharging the Ministry of Justice for the electronic tagging of offenders, some of whom had died.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The end of the jury trial as we know it? – 6KBW College Hill

‘The Secretary of State for Justice recently confirmed that the government is considering whether to introduce primary legislation to suspend jury trials for offences triable either way as a way to address the backlog of criminal cases arising from the public health crisis. This development has caused alarm amongst practitioners who might be hoping that Humphreys J was right when he said: “I cannot bring myself to believe that there are any persons other than the inmates of a lunatic asylum who would vote in favour of the abolition of trial by jury in serious criminal cases” (Do We Need a Jury? [1954] Crim LR 457).’

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6 KBW College Hill, 30th June 2020

Source: blog.6kbw.com

High Court could get power to depart from EU case law – Litigation Futures

Posted July 10th, 2020 in brexit, consultations, courts, EC law, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is considering whether to allow the High Court as well as the Court of Appeal to depart from European Union case law from next year.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com