‘An anonymous witness in the Pentonville prison murder trial has withdrawn after his cover was blown after less than an hour in court in what a judge described as a “very regrettable accident”.’
Daily Telegraph, 25th October 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Children, campaigners and some judges are calling for a change in the law so that children at the heart of family cases in England and Wales can talk in private to the judge if they so choose.’
BBC News, 17th October 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘”Significant failures” by Staffordshire Police over a gangland killing led to the unsafe convictions of five men, a police watchdog report has found.’
BBC News, 4th October 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In Wolverhampton City Council v JA & Ors [2017] EWFC 62, Keehan J dealt with a care case which involved allegations of sexual abuse of two young girls. They were aged 13 (X) and 12 (Y) at the time of his judgment. The proceedings are continuing. There were a variety of allegations against the children’s father and two male friends of the mother dating back nearly ten years.’
Family Law, 20th September 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Four gang members have been jailed for forcing a slavery victim to withdraw evidence, causing a trial to collapse.’
BBC News, 12th September 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The widower and children of a teacher murdered by a student have lost their legal challenge against a coroner’s decision not to call pupils as witnesses at a forthcoming inquest.’
BBC News, 14th August 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A police chief has said paying a child rapist £10,000 as part of an investigation into a grooming gang was the “right thing”.’
BBC News, 10th August 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Under-age girls and vulnerable young women were taken to parties in Newcastle and groomed with drugs before being raped and sexually abused, it can now be reported.’
The Independent, 9th August 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The substantive claim was a straight forward, low value personal injury claim arising out of a road traffic accident. Liability was admitted. Trial directions were given, requiring witness statements to be served by 3rd November 2016. At the eleventh hour, the Claimant’s solicitors sought an extension of two weeks from the Defendant, which was agreed (an “indulgence” in the view of the judge on appeal).’
Park Square Barristers, 27th June 2017
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘In Reece Gladwin v Adrian Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) the Court was concerned with an appeal by the Defendant in a road traffic accident claim against a decision to grant the Claimant relief from sanctions, following late service of the Claimant’s witness evidence.’
Park Square Barristers, 23rd June 2017
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘Seven expert witnesses who fabricated evidence about the cost of replacement hire cars for motorists in road crashes have been jailed.’
The Guardian, 16th June 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A High Court judge has said he will refuse to allow alleged domestic abusers to cross examine their victims in any future hearings he oversees.’
Law Society's Gazette, 31st May 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The case against five senior teachers accused of professional misconduct in the so-called “Trojan Horse” inquiry has been dropped.’
BBC News, 30th May 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘How should a judge direct a jury where an expert witness has given their opinion on the “ultimate issue” to be decided in the case? The answer, the Court of Appeal has confirmed, is: carefully. In R v Sellu [2016] EWCA Crim 1716, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of the Appellant, a consultant surgeon, for gross negligence manslaughter on the grounds that the trial judge had failed to adequately direct the jury as to the meaning of gross negligence, in circumstances where expert witnesses had expressly given their view as to whether the conduct of the Appellant amounted to the same.’
Full story (PDF)
Henderson Chambers, 19th April 2017
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘The Chancellor of the High Court has urged judges to “temper eagerness with restraint” in the way they conduct trials, after a circuit judge was found to have made excessive interventions while witnesses were giving evidence.’
Litigation Futures, 10th April 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘In the 21st century commercial practitioners often approach the question of whether the court will hear evidence by video link as one of practicality. Questions they will commonly ask themselves include the following: will the witness be in London during the trial timetable? Will the witness be able to find time (and obtain consent from a current employer) to fly to London? Where physically could the video evidence be given and is that a suitable location? How sure can the court be that the witness is not receiving clandestine assistance “off-camera”? How secure is the video link and what is the sound and picture quality? Indeed in preparing a case that involves a number of witnesses who live and work overseas the possibility of live video evidence may well feature in trial preparation as a necessity rather than an option.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 27th March 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Claims that evidence at an inquest into a baby’s death was deliberately falsified will not be pursued by police due to insufficient evidence.’
BBC News, 20th March 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Government plans for virtual court hearings and online guilty pleas for criminal offences are poorly costed, based on weak evidence and have not been subjected to proper consultation, a national justice charity says today.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 15th March 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Mark Roscoe, barrister of The 36 Group, outlines the provisions which the Government proposes to insert into section 31 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984.’
Family Law Week, 7th March 2017
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025