West Burton power station: 21 protesters sentenced – BBC News
“Twenty-one people who occupied a power station for a week have avoided custodial sentences.”
BBC News, 6th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Author: sally
Conor Gearty: Legal Aid Changes – UK Constitutional Law Group
“The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has already brought to an end the availability of legal aid across a whole range of areas of law that have direct relevance to the poor. Under cover of generalised claims about opportunistic litigation, the goal has clearly been to remove the capacity for challenge to the implementation (whether lawless or not) of the coalition’s various attacks on benefits. The same legislation also withdrew state support from foreign nationals in prison who are threatened with deportation, as many are – regardless of how long they had been here and how British they are in fact. The idea behind this change was to prevent resistance to removal by showing an infringement of the right to respect for private life in the Human Rights Act (a matter on which government now also intends to legislate separately). In both these cases, the government appears close to accepting that their goal is to prevent meritorious cases getting to court, on the ground that the laws that make them meritorious (human rights legislation; equality law; the common law of procedural fairness) are not laws they like. They have been tempted to remove the litigants rather than the laws, hoping there’ll be less fuss.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 10th June 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
CCTV: new controls on private security cameras to stop homeowners snooping on neighbours – Daily Telegraph
“Homeowners who set up their own CCTV cameras to improve security could face new controls, after an official said there had been a surge in complaints about snooping neighbours.”
Daily Telegraph, 9th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Polish trio convicted of insurance fraud murder of Catherine Wells-Burr – The Guardian
“A factory worker has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend after hatching a plot with his secret lover and her uncle to secure a £120,000 life insurance payout and a share of a house.”
The Guardian, 7th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Devout Christian awarded £100k in Blu-Tack sexual harassment case – Daily Telegraph
“A council has been forced to pay a devout Christian more than £100,000 after colleagues stuck mini models of male genitalia made of Blu-Tack on her telephone.”
Daily Telegraph, 7th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Suspected Jamaican rapist banned from UK for a decade as police employ new tactic – The Independent
“A suspected Jamaican sex-offender charged five times but never convicted for allegedly raping vulnerable women has been banned from Britain for a decade in a controversial new police tactic to target foreign criminals.”
The Independent, 7th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Five centuries of crime and punishment leave the Old Bailey in need of repairs – Daily Telegraph
“For nearly 500 years the Old Bailey has been one of the world’s most famous criminal courts, hosting the trials of notorious killers like Dr Crippen, Ruth Ellis, Peter Sutcliffe and Ian Huntley.”
Daily Telegraph, 9th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
UK to expect more colonial-era compensation claims – The Guardian
“Following news of payments over Mau Mau insurgency, more claims likely from Kenya, Cyprus and other former colonies.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lord Chief Justice calls for children to have evidence video recorded – Daily Telegraph
“Senior judges have called for children to be spared from the ‘damage’ of appearing in criminal trials, and instead have their evidence video recorded.”
Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
A fair split, or a ‘charter for cheats’? Supreme Court to rule in landmark divorce case – The Independent
“Millionaire businessmen will be able to ‘stick two fingers up’ at judges if the highest court in the land rules against a former wife in a high-profile divorce case this week, her lawyers said yesterday.”
The Independent, 9th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Student given community service for ‘extreme’ tweet about Lee Rigby murder – The Guardian
“Police arrested a student who complained to them about receiving threatening messages after she used Twitter to say that people wearing Help for Heroes T-shirts ‘deserve to be beheaded’ as news broke about the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, a court heard on Friday.”
The Guardian, 7th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Newham council’s decision to block betting shop goes before judge – The Guardian
“The proliferation of betting shops in poorer areas has led to increasing crime and underage gambling, fuelled by high-speed, high stakes gambling machines, a court will hear on Monday.”
The Guardian, 10th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Men jailed over rape of boy, 14, in Manchester Debenhams – BBC News
“Two men have been jailed for 15 years for raping a boy, 14, in the toilets of a Manchester department store.”
BBC News, 6th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Crown court judges oppose legal aid changes – The Guardian
“Crown court judges have delivered a damning response to government plans to prevent defendants from choosing their solicitor and slice a further £220m off the legal aid budget.”
The Guaridan, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Purpose of social networking will determine whether businesses have data protection responsibilities, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com
“Businesses that encourage staff to use social networks for commercial purposes are subject to UK data protection laws, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 6th June 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
EVENTS: Birkbeck – Law on Trial 2013
“What can legal education offer to the present and the future? In the midst of attempts to transform legal education into a commodity for the privileged few, our 2013 season of Law on Trial asks whether it is possible to engage the current climate of professionalization, vocational training and the narrowing of law as an education on citizenship and political imagination from more creative and alternative perspectives.”
Date: 17th – 21st June 2013
Location: Room B34, Malet Street Building, Birkbeck, University of London
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
Attorney general joins calls for police to confirm names in ‘secret arrests’ – The Guardian
“The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has intervened in the debate over so-called secret arrests and said police should confirm the name of a suspect if they have been correctly identified by the media.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lawyers block road outside Ministry of Justice in protest against legal aid cuts – The Guardian
“Lawyers waving placards and chanting blocked the road outside the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday evening in protest over proposals to slice a further £220m out of criminal legal aid and remove defendants’ ability to choose a solicitor.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Appeal of artist paedophile Graham Ovenden’s ‘unduly lenient’ sentence mooted to Attorney General – The Independent
“The Attorney General is considering referring the sentence of an internationally renowned artist from Cornwall to the Court of Appeal to see if it was ‘unduly lenient’.”
The Independent, 6th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
