Legal complaints scheme ‘will lead to higher fees’ – The Times

Posted April 16th, 2007 in complaints, legal profession, news by sally

The cost of seeing a lawyer is expected to rise with the disclosure that estimates for setting up a new legal complaints scheme have soared to nearly £50 million.

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The Times, 16th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Deportation reprieve for boy, 7, and HIV-positive parents – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2007 in children, HIV, immigration, news by sally

“A seven-year-old boy and his HIV-positive parents at the centre of a deportation battle have been granted a legal reprieve after coming within hours of being put on a plane to Malawi.”

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The Guardian, 16th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MPs to debate mental health plans – BBC News

Posted April 16th, 2007 in mental health, news by sally

“Controversial plans to allow mentally ill people to be detained against their will, even if they have not committed a crime, are due to be discussed by MPs.”

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BBC News, 16th April 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Related link: Mental Health Bill 2006-07

Magistrates quit over government demand to impose charges – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2007 in fines, magistrates, news by sally

“Three senior magistrates have resigned over surcharges on fines for offenders in what could be the start of a wave of revolts against the scheme. Other magistrates are angry about the Home Office-inspired initiative, which they say interferes with their discretion to make the punishment fit the crime and turns them into unofficial tax collectors.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bribery and drugs exposed at private jail – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“An investigation by an undercover reporter working as a prison officer has exposed conditions in a private jail where inmates have easy access to drugs and mobile phones and subject overstretched staff to intimidation if they are too diligent in their work.”

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The Guardian, 16th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Asbo breach OAP to be sentenced – BBC News

Posted April 16th, 2007 in ASBOs, elderly, news, sentencing by sally

“An 81-year-old woman is due to be sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after being found guilty of harassment and breaching her Asbo.” 

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BBC News, 16th April 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawyers who made a fortune from miners’ claims must repay millions – The Times

Posted April 16th, 2007 in news, solicitors by sally

“Solicitors have been ordered to pay back tens of millions of pounds from the profits they made by handling compensation claims for sick miners.”

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The Times, 16th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Widow pins hopes on fresh evidence in jail cell killing – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Britain’s prison system faces scrutiny this weekend over its treatment of ethnic minority prisoners as new evidence is revealed about how an Asian inmate was killed by his white cellmate.”

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The Guardian, 15th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge’s £58,000 for staying at home – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 16th, 2007 in judges, news by sally

“An immigration judge involved in an alleged blackmail love triangle has been paid more than £58,000 for staying at home since a formal investigation began into his behaviour, it emerged yesterday.”

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Daily Telegraph, 14th April 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

British judge limits wife’s share of income – Financial Times

Posted April 16th, 2007 in divorce, news by sally

“Wives divorcing high-earning husbands in the UK are not entitled to an unlimited share of their future income, a high court judge has ruled in the latest ‘big money’ case involving wealthy City of London figures.”

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Financial Times, 13th April 2007

Source: www.ft.com

Judge praises gambler for beating habit – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2007 in gambling, news by sally

“An Old Bailey judge yesterday praised Britain’s worst gambler for beating her online betting addiction and revealed that he also struggles to pick a winner.”

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The Guardian, 14th April 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tracking e-mails ‘a breach of human rights’

Posted April 16th, 2007 in human rights, news, privacy by sally

“A college worker in Wales whose e-mails and internet usage at work were monitored has successfully sued her employer for breaching the European Convention on Human Rights.”

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The Times, 14th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

One man’s legal fight for justice over bank fees – The Independent

Posted April 16th, 2007 in banking, news by sally

“He is the ultimate bank rebel. After months of controversy, Britain’s banks face a landmark court challenge over charges as a result of a one-man campaign waged by a barrister who is risking his professional career to prove they are acting illegally.”

Full story

The Independent, 14th April 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judge criticises 21/7 trial delay – BBC News

Posted April 16th, 2007 in criminal justice, delay, news by sally

“The judge in the 21 July trial has said a further delay has shown the criminal justice system in a ‘very poor light’.” 

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BBC News, 13th April 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Digitizing the Hanging Court – Smithsonian.com

Posted April 13th, 2007 in legal history, trials by sally

“Cutpurses! Blackguards! Fallen women! The Proceedings of the Old Bailey is an epic chronicle of crime and vice in early London. Now anyone with a computer can search all 52 million words.”

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Smithsonian.com, April 2007

Source: www.smithsonianmagazine.com

Related link: Proceedings of the Old Bailey  

Sumukan Ltd. v. Commonwealth Secretariat – Times Law Reports

Posted April 13th, 2007 in appeals, arbitration, law reports by sally

Power to hear appeal on whether exclusion agreement valid

Sumukan Ltd. v. Commonwealth Secretariat

Court of Appeal

“The Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to determine an appeal from a judge’s decision on whether the parties to an arbitration agreement had agreed to exclude an appeal to a court on a point of law under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.”

The Times, 13th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Stretford v. Football Association Ltd. and Another – Times Law Reports

Posted April 13th, 2007 in arbitration, human rights, law reports by sally

Parties to an arbitration waive Convention right to fair trial

Stretford v. Football Association Ltd. and Another

Court of Appeal

“An arbitration agreement in the rules of a national football association did not contravene the right to a fair trial guaranteed by article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”

The Times, 13th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Persistent young offenders bulletins – Department for Constitutional Affairs

Posted April 13th, 2007 in statistics, young offenders by sally

“The bulletin gives overall national figures for arrest to sentence, for England and Wales, as well as figures for the Magistrates Court and Crown Court separately. On a quarterly basis, the figures are further broken down by Criminal Justice Areas.”

January 2007 (PDF)

Department for Constitutional Affairs, 13th April 2007

Source: www.dca.gov.uk

£185,000 in fines for householders who put rubbish out at wrong time – The Times

Posted April 13th, 2007 in environmental health, fines, news by sally

“Thousands of people across the country have been fined for putting out their rubbish on the wrong day. More than a dozen councils have levied fines since the introduction of legislation a year ago enabling local authorities to pursue residents, a Times investigation has found.”

Full story

The Times, 13th April 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Opportunity knocks – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 13th, 2007 in solicitors, women by sally

“With women now achieving great things in many fields, Fiona Woolf asks: Is there anything left to fight for?”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 13th April 2007

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk