Local authority prosecutions and abuse of process – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 12th, 2024 in abuse of position of trust, licensing, local government, news, prosecutions by tracey

‘Recorder Zeb, sitting with two Justices in the Bristol Crown Court on appeal, recently found Bristol City Council had behaved in a way which “offends the sense of justice and fairness” in a prosecution against Wyldecrest Park Management Limited. Scott Stemp explains why.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Are the authorities powerless to stop Tommy Robinson’s online output? – The Guardian

Posted August 6th, 2024 in internet, media, news, prosecutions, public order by tracey

‘New laws may make it easier to pursue far-right activist over alleged role in spreading disinformation.’

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The Guardian, 6th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Southall Black Sisters’ chief calls out ‘racist’ UK legal system after assault case collapses – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2024 in assault, minorities, news, prosecutions, women by sally

‘The leader of an advocacy group representing black and minority ethnic women has criticised an “institutionally racist” and “unfair” legal system after an assault case against her and her two friends collapsed.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

CPS Statement: Decision not to charge in relation to fatal collision at The Study Prep School, Wimbledon – Crown Prosecution Service

‘CPS Statement: Decision not to charge in relation to fatal collision at The Study Prep School, Wimbledon.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 26th June 2024

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

The Post Office Horizon scandal and the role of prosecutors – Mills & Reeve

‘Largely thanks to the prime-time ITV dramatization, the Post Office Horizon scandal has brought to light the serious shortcomings in the way the Post Office handled the private prosecution of sub-postmasters. Whilst this has shocked the nation, unfortunately the actions of the Post Office in its role as prosecutor comes as no surprise for those with experience of public prosecutors.’

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Mills & Reeve, 26th June 2024

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Police pay legal fees over parking ticket – BBC News

Posted June 24th, 2024 in fees, news, parking, police, prosecutions by tracey

‘Police have agreed to pay the £1,500 legal fees of a driver they wrongly prosecuted for a parking offence.’

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BBC News, 24th June 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Woman who sued therapist for sexual assault wins £217,000 damages – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2024 in damages, negligence, news, personal injuries, prosecutions, rape by sally

‘A woman who claimed she was raped by a therapist who said penetration could help ease her trauma has been awarded more than £200,000 in damages in a high court ruling after she sued him over the alleged assaults.’

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The Guardian, 19th June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Acid offences up 75% in UK but only 8% go to court, data suggests – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2024 in assault, hazardous substances, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘Acid attacks and other offences involving corrosive substances in the UK have risen by 75% in a year but only 8% of cases led to criminal charges or a summons, figures suggest.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Domestic violence victims left open to attacks as restraining order breach prosecutions plummet for abusers – The Independent

Posted June 4th, 2024 in domestic violence, news, prosecutions, restraining orders, victims by tracey

‘Thousands of vulnerable women face the threat of a violent domestic abuser returning to the household, with convictions for breaches of restraining orders plummeting, The Independent can reveal. Analysis of Ministry of Justice data shows convictions for breaches dropped by 44 per cent between 2018 and 2023.’

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The Independent, 3rd June 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Post Office scandal: Police to deploy 80 detectives for criminal inquiry – The Guardian

‘Police are planning to deploy 80 detectives for their criminal inquiry into the Post Office scandal, the Guardian has learned, but victims will face a long wait to discover if charges will follow.’

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The Guardian, 27th May 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

First trial of Just Stop Oil activists under new anti-protest laws begins – The Guardian

‘Three Just Stop Oil supporters have appeared in what is thought to be the first trial brought under wide-ranging powers introduced last year to curb protest.’

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The Guardian, 8th May 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Post Office: Disclosure Lessons from a National Scandal – Guildhall Chambers

‘An estimated 736 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 2000 and 2014, Horizon software having been first introduced in 1999, and responsibility for prosecutions, in all but exceptional cases, being handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2014. Many of those prosecuted were imprisoned, 4 committed suicide and all faced the stigma and stress of criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeal in Hamilton v Post Office Limited [2021] EWCA Crim 577 quashed 39 convictions (of the 42 appellants) on the basis that there had been an abuse of process on two grounds: that a fair trial was impossible and that it was an affront to public conscience for the appellants to have faced prosecution. This judgment followed the Post Office Group Litigation in the High Court before Fraser J known as Bates and Others v The Post Office Limited [2019] EWHC 3408.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 11th March 2024

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

‘Guilty men have got away with it’: fears over rise of ‘sexsomnia’ defence in rape cases – The Guardian

‘Concerns that rare sleep disorder is being used as an ‘escape route’ in sexual offence trials prompt calls for safeguards to protect victims and the public.’

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The Guardian, 14th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

King Charles exempt from Wales’ farming-law prosecution – BBC News

Posted April 12th, 2024 in agriculture, immunity, news, prosecutions, royal family, Wales by sally

‘King Charles cannot be prosecuted under a new farming law in an exemption reluctantly agreed by the Welsh government.’

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BBC News, 10th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

SRA pulls prosecution after Foreign Office warning – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has withdrawn all its allegations against a solicitor and non-lawyer after the Foreign Office advised against taking evidence remotely from a crucial witness in Dubai without permission from the UAE government.’

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Legal Futures, 9th April 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Swansea: Case dropped after press photographer arrested on story – BBC News

Posted April 9th, 2024 in media, news, photography, police, prosecutions, public order, standards by tracey

‘Prosecutors have dropped what a judge called a “disturbing” case against a press photographer who was arrested while covering a breaking news story.’

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BBC News, 8th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Crown Prosecution Service lawyers trivialise teen sexual abuse, report says – The Guardian

‘Lawyers in the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales have trivialised teen sexual abuse, are “obsessed” about the credibility of rape victims and used victim-blaming language, according to a critical official examination into how the service deals with serious sexual crimes.’

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The Guardian, 11th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hundreds of small boat migrants charged with illegal entry to UK after new powers come into force – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2024 in asylum, children, immigration, news, prosecutions, young persons by tracey

‘Hundreds of small boat migrants have been charged with arriving illegally in the UK, or arranging the arrival of others, in the year after new powers came into force. New analysis from the University of Oxford and a coalition of charities shows that in the year following the expansion of the government’s new laws on restricting channel crossings, the Nationality and Borders Act, some 240 small boat migrants were charged with illegal arrival to the UK.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

£1.2bn Is Spent Convicting People By Association, Including Innocent Bystanders – Each Other

Posted February 21st, 2024 in bills, budgets, criminal justice, homicide, joint enterprise, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘A recent report by Manchester Metropolitan University, ‘The Mounting Cost of Injustice: Calculating the Economic Cost of Joint Enterprise’, reveals that £1.2bn of taxpayer money is spent annually to convict an average of 1,088 individuals under joint enterprise.’

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Each Other, 19th February 2024

Source: eachother.org.uk

DPP appeals to supreme court in case of protesters who called MP ‘Tory scum’ – The Guardian

‘The director of public prosecutions is appealing to the supreme court in an ongoing and expensive battle to overturn the acquittal of two protesters found to have acted reasonably in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum”.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com