Appealing convictions and sentences after the Court of Appeal – KCH Garden Sq

‘A defendant’s right to appeal following a magistrates or crown court conviction is widely recognised across the entire criminal justice system. What is much less well-known is what options are available should a defendant’s appeal be unsuccessful. There will always be cases where a defendant or counsel are sincerely of the view that there has been a miscarriage of justice in a particular matter, whether it be the conviction itself is unsafe, or the sentence passed is manifestly excessive. This view may be taken immediately after a failed appeal, or years down the line where new evidence has come to light, shining a different perspective over the case as a whole. But what can they do about it? The jury returned their verdict, the single judge and full Court of Appeal turned them down, what route do they have to have their case looked at again?’

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KCH Garden Sq, November 2020

Source: kchgardensquare.co.uk

Rashid v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2020] EWHC 2522 (QB), [2020] All ER (D) 02 (Oct) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in accidents, evidence, insurance, necessity, news, police, road traffic, wrongful arrest by sally

‘The court held that whereas reasonable grounds for suspecting someone has committed an offence sets a low evidential hurdle, the second requirement for an arrest to be lawful (for the Police to prove that there were reasonable grounds to believe the arrest was “necessary”) sets a comparatively high evidential hurdle and the police could not objectively evidence that the arrest was “necessary” when the GP would have been prepared to voluntarily attend the police station and the reasons given by the Police for the “necessity” of arresting the GP were baseless.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 11th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

The government and the judges – Counsel

Posted November 19th, 2020 in constitutional law, judiciary, news, parliament, Supreme Court by sally

‘Zealots bent on upsetting the constitutional applecart or the only friends we have? And what is the alternative? Thomas Grant QC takes a look at the Independent Review of Administrative Law, its context and the charges against the senior judiciary.’

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Counsel, November 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

What is the meaning of “good will”? The Court of Appeal continue the debate – Hardwicke Chambers

‘In Primus International Holding Company & Ors v Triumph Controls – UK Ltd & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 1228, the Court of Appeal grappled with the proper interpretation of “goodwill” in a commercial contract, considering the natural meaning of “goodwill” in the commercial context and the definition prevalent in accounting practice. The case provides a useful reminder of the approach taken by the courts when construing contracts, highlighting the need for parties to spell out clearly their intended meaning of a term in their contractual agreement if they wish to depart from its ordinary and natural meaning.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

More Likely Than Not: The Civil Standard of Proof Applies to All Short-Form and Narrative Conclusions at Inquests – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in coroners, inquests, news, standard of proof, suicide, Supreme Court, verdicts by sally

‘By a majority of three to two, the Supreme Court has held that the standard of proof for findings of suicide and unlawful killing at an inquest is the balance of probabilities: R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020]
UKSC 46.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 16th November 2020

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

Private prosecutor bringing High Court enforcement proceedings can claim costs from central funds (Mirchandani v Chancellor) – 5SAH

Posted November 19th, 2020 in confiscation, costs, enforcement, news, proceeds of crime, third parties by sally

‘The court held that a private prosecutor was entitled to recover their costs from central funds in relation to a High Court application for enforcement of a confiscation order. Such proceedings are “in respect of an indictable offence” for the purposes of section 17 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (POA 1985). The court also held that, where the private prosecutor, in the same proceedings, had been ordered to pay the costs of a third party (having unsuccessfully asserted that the third party had been in receipt of a tainted gift), then those costs were also recoverable from central funds. While the confiscation proceedings in question had arisen under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA 1988), the court held that the same principles would apply under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002).’

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5SAH, 13th November 2020

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

A Local Authority v GP (Capacity – care, support and education) [2020] EWCOP 56 – 3PB

‘This was the first time that the Court of Protection had been asked to identify the relevant specific decisions that GP had to be able to make in relation to the aforementioned issues within the meaning of s3(1) and 15(1)(a) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”) and to consider what the relevant information in respect of each of those decisions was that GP must have been able to understand, retain, use or weigh in accordance with s3(1) of the 2005 Act.’

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3PB, November 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Is Lockdown 2 Lawful? – 39 Essex Chambers

‘The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 impose a second lockdown on England. They prohibit persons from leaving their home unless they have a reasonable excuse. They severely restrict the ability of persons to meet anyone who is not a member of their household. Various outdoors activities are banned, such as most organised sport. Numerous businesses and other premises are closed, including pubs and restaurants, cinemas and theatres, hairdressers, indoor and outdoor sports and recreation facilities, and most non-food retailers.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 6th November 2020

Source: www.39essex.com

Who has jurisdiction and under what circumstances? – Falcon Chambers

‘This paper deals with one of life’s big questions: “why are we here?”, albeit the “here” refers to one or more of the County Court, the First Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), and sometimes two of them at the same time.’

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Falcon Chambers, 2nd November 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Property: Residential evictions: where are we now? – Lamb Chambers

‘Oscar Davies gives an update on where we are currently with residential evictions, the general ban and its exceptions.’

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Lamb Chambers, November 2020

Source: www.lambchambers.co.uk

Overstaying Does Not Break Lawful Residence For 10 Years Long Residence ILR – Richmond Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in domicile, immigration, interpretation, news, regulations by sally

‘This post provides an update on the current landscape of case law addressing the continuous lawful residence requirement for 10 year long residence ILR in light of the case of Hoque & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1357. Specifically, the Court considered the construction of paragraph 276B(v) regarding disregarding of current and previous overstaying.’

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Richmond Chambers, 10th November 2020

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Clinical negligence and COVID – Counsel

Posted November 19th, 2020 in causation, coronavirus, hospitals, negligence, news by sally

‘Spring 2020 forced fundamental changes on our healthcare system. Helen Mulholland examines the implications of COVID-19 for clinical negligence claims.’

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Counsel, November 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

What’s your poison? A selection of recent trade mark decisions concerning the drinks industry – 3PB

Posted November 19th, 2020 in news, trade marks, trade names by sally

‘The Sazerac group is responsible for a wide variety of well-known spirits, including Southern Comfort. This case concerned one its bourbon brands, Eagle Rare. Sazerac had a UK and EU registered trade mark for “EAGLE RARE” in respect of class 33.’

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3PB, 3rd November 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel case set for first High Court hearing – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 19th, 2020 in defamation, internet, media, news by sally

‘Rebekah Vardy has strongly denied Coleen Rooney’s accusations about leaks to a tabloid newspaper, and has sued for damages for libel.’

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Daily Telegraph, 19th November 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

What is the evidence that mediation works in child protection? – Transparency Project

Posted November 19th, 2020 in care orders, children, dispute resolution, families, family courts, news by sally

‘Both the Family Justice Review led by David Norgrove back in 2011 and the Care Crisis Review report in 2018 have asked whether child protection mediation in public law could offer anything useful over and above the usual methods of best engaging and involving families in or on the edge of care proceedings. Current methods include Public Law Outline (PLO) processes, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) and problem-solving courts like the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC). The Care Crisis review noted that mediation in public law was an under researched area.’

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Transparency Project, 18th November 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Judges “most likely to discriminate” against Black barristers – Legal Futures

Posted November 19th, 2020 in barristers, judiciary, magistrates, news, race discrimination, racism, reports, statistics by sally

‘Black barristers are most likely to experience racial discrimination from judges or magistrates than other lawyers, a report has found.’

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Legal Futures, 19th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

We need to talk about race: a mid-term report – Counsel

Posted November 19th, 2020 in barristers, diversity, minorities, news, race discrimination, racism by sally

‘Microaggressions in court and everyday racism: what white colleagues don’t have to put up with and a 10-step plan for improving diversity and inclusion. By Professor Leslie Thomas QC.’

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Counsel, November 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Comparethemarket fined £17.9m by competition watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 19th, 2020 in compensation, contracts, fines, insurance, internet, news by sally

‘The competition watchdog has imposed a £17.9m fine on price comparison site Comparethemarket.com after it found that clauses in its contracts with home insurers broke competition law.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lord Chancellor rails against lawyers who “vaunt political views” online – Legal Futures

‘The Lord Chancellor yesterday told lawyers who “vaunt their political views” on social media to raise their profile and attract work that they are giving the profession a bad name.’

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Legal Futures, 19th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Windrush: two years on, victims describe long waits and ‘abysmal’ payouts – The Guardian

‘Applicants to the Windrush compensation scheme have spoken about the difficulties they have experienced in securing payouts. Some are concerned by the long delays between applying and being awarded damages, others have expressed unhappiness about the amount they have been offered.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com