MoJ refused to repay living costs to wrongly convicted partly to save money – The Guardian

‘A controversial decision to refuse refunds to wrongly convicted prisoners who were charged for bed and board while in jail was made in part to save money, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Crime clerking in a time of backlog – Counsel

Posted August 21st, 2024 in barristers' clerks, courts, criminal justice, news by sally

‘A crucial part of the justice system jigsaw, what is it like being a criminal clerk in today’s acutely pressured environment? Dave Scothern offers insight, drawing out a framework of best practice points.’

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Counsel, 13th August 2024

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Bringing decolonisation to law teaching: fulfilling the promise of legal pedagogy – OUP Blog

Posted August 21st, 2024 in colonies, education, equality, legal education, news, universities by sally

‘Decolonisation can be described as a collection of repudiatory and resistant responses to the multifaceted inauguration of colonial ways of thinking, being, and doing in the world—this inauguration is often dated to the fifteenth century.’

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OUP Blog, 16th August 2024

Source: blog.oup.com

Outside Appointments – London Review of Books

Posted August 21st, 2024 in constitutional law, government departments, news by sally

‘Keir Starmer​ has made several eye-catching appointments to his new government from outside Parliament, continuing the practice of his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, who appointed David Cameron as foreign secretary last November, making him a peer in order to do so. Many find the practice of making outside appointments constitutionally suspect. However, the constitutional issue that requires rectification isn’t so much the way in which prime ministers appoint ministers but the way in which prime ministers themselves are appointed.’

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London Review of Books, 15th August 2024

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

Regulators “must warn lawyers against taking advantage of LiPs” – Legal Futures

‘Legal regulators must warn lawyers that they will face action to stop them unethically taking advantage of vulnerable litigants, a charity has urged.’

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Legal Futures, 21st August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Hotel fire risks: Duties and the law – Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog

Posted August 21st, 2024 in chambers articles, fire, hotels, news by sally

‘According to Home Office data, in 2023-2024 in England alone, 587 hotels, boarding houses or hostels had primary fires, of these 458 were accidental, two involved accidental fatalities and there were 92 non fatal casualties.’

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Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog, 19th August 2024

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Stop and search study in England and Wales ‘casts doubt’ on effectiveness – The Guardian

‘Stop and search is one of the less effective tactics to tackle rising violence such as knife crime, according to the results of a study.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Man jailed for shouting at police dog and using racist slurs – BBC News

‘A father of three who shouted at a police dog and used racist slurs has been jailed for 20 months for violent disorder.’

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BBC News, 20th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Guide sets out “consistent process” for AI approach to e-discovery – Legal Futures

‘The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) has published a draft best practice guide for the use in e-discovery of active learning (AL), a form of machine learning which can update and change its predictions as additional documents are reviewed.’

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Legal Futures, 16th August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Government drops appeal over climate activist who held sign outside UK court – The Guardian

‘The government has dropped an appeal against a judge’s decision to throw out a contempt case against a woman who stood outside a climate activist trial holding a placard about jury rights.’

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The Guardian, 15th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Strict duties under the DPA: does the decision in Vainker v Marbank bring us any closer to getting a firm answer on this? – Gatehouse Chambers

‘It was probably inevitable that the retrospective extension of time to 30 years for bringing claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 (the “DPA”), introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022, would lead to increased scrutiny of the DPA. Until then, with some honourable exceptions, the DPA had received relatively little attention, no doubt because, in most cases, it presented a more difficult route to ascend up the same mountain as would a claim in contract or tort. All that has now changed.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 22nd July 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Father who poured can of cider over police officer at Weymouth protest jailed – The Independent

‘A father-of-one who poured a can of cider over a police officer during a protest in Weymouth has been jailed for 21 months.’

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The Independent, 15th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Student psychotherapist wins apology over expulsion for gender-critical views – The Guardian

Posted August 16th, 2024 in education, equality, freedom of expression, gender, homosexuality, news by sally

‘A student psychotherapist who was expelled from his master’s course after expressing gender-critical views has received an apology from the training institute where he was studying.’

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The Guardian15th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge calls for tougher charges for rioters – BBC News

‘A judge has urged prosecutors to consider charging offenders playing central roles in disorder with an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.’

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BBC News, 15th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Claimant wins High Court challenge to council over failure to secure suitable accommodation, conduct lawful assessment of children – Local Government Lawyer

‘The London Borough of Bexley failed to secure suitable accommodation for claimant ZRR in breach of section 190 of the Housing Act 1996 and failed to conduct a lawful needs assessment of her children under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the High Court has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Thousands of train fare prosecutions to be quashed – BBC News

Posted August 16th, 2024 in compensation, fines, news, prosecutions, railways by sally

‘As many as 74,000 prosecutions for alleged rail fare evasion in England and Wales are set to be quashed following a landmark ruling.’

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BBC News, 15th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘It’s not like you were beaten’: The horrifying misogyny vulnerable women face from the judge’s bench – The Independent

‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being “retraumatised” by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’

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The Independent, 16th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Role of free legal advice “never been more critical”: Access to Justice Foundation – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 15th, 2024 in legal advice, legal aid, news, reports by sally

‘Providing free specialist legal advice could save the government £4.5billion for every half a million people who receive it, a new report has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Rioters jailed for ‘utterly terrifying’ attack on Rotherham asylum hotel – The Independent

Posted August 15th, 2024 in asylum, news, sentencing, violent disorder by sally

‘A father-of-three has been jailed for three years for storming a hotel housing asylum seekers in an “utterly terrifying” attack during riots in Rotherham.’

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The Independent, 14th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Steven Bartlett nutrition adverts banned for being misleading – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2024 in advertising, complaints, news, standards by sally

‘Adverts for nutrition products promoted by Diary of a CEO podcaster Steven Bartlett have been banned after a watchdog said they were misleading.’

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BBC News, 14th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk