Author: sally

‘Previous canonical writings on racism and policing have focussed on the shift from overt to covert articulations (Loftus 2010; Holdaway and O’Neill 2013), finding that racism is communicated primarily by white, heterosexist men in “white spaces” (Loftus 2008). This paper moves beyond individualistic conceptions of racism to explore how police officers subscribe to a white racial ideology (Bonilla-Silva 2018). By drawing upon over 600 h of observations and interviews and discussions with over 60 officers, this paper explores four police discourses that underplay, defend and maintain the unequal racial status quo in policing: (1) individualization, (2) historicization, (3) discursive deracialization and (4) racial stories.’

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Bitish Journal of Criminoloy, March 2025

Source: academic.oup.com

‘An attempt to judicially review Manchester City Council’s decision to allow construction of a nine story block of student accommodation in Hulme has failed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘This study evaluates the effectiveness of an experiential learning assignment designed for criminology and forensic psychology students, requiring them to attend a Crown Court trial in the public gallery or to engage with a virtual mock trial. 48 students were surveyed to measure the impact of experiential assignments in helping students better understand the module content, the criminal justice system and if the experience increased their motivation to continue with their course. Findings indicate strong student support for the assignment, with 81.3% stating it as valuable and 79.2% wanting more experiential learning opportunities in their criminal justice related courses. We found that in-person experiences received slightly higher student ratings, however, both in-person and virtual contributed positively to learning outcomes. We highlight the importance of experiential learning in improving student engagement, and real-world application of their degree.’

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Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 8th May 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘A man who fatally strangled her on the night she planned to end their relationship has been jailed for life and told he will spend a minimum of 35 years behind bars.’

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The Independent, 8th May 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘R. (on the application of CPS) v Maidstone Crown Court [2025] highlights a shift in the interpretation of custody time limits (“CTLs”) under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (the “Act”). The High Court tackled the difficult question of what truly constitutes “good and sufficient cause” for depriving a defendant on remand of their liberty beyond statutory CTLs. At its core, this case examines whether a sick defence barrister, alongside subsequent judicial diary clashes, justified keeping a defendant remanded past their CTL. Fatima Jama scrutinises the court’s reasoning, explores the practical implications for criminal cases, and considers the potential effects on defendants’ rights within an already overly stretched criminal justice system.’

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Mountford Chambers, 6th May 2025

Source: www.mountfordchambers.com

‘The Central London County Court has overturned a decision by the London Borough of Hounslow on the suitability of accommodation offered to a family with a disabled son.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Calls for law change after “cruel and unnecessary investigation” into Nicola Packer that CPS brought to trial.’

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The Guardian, 8th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A recent UK First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision rectifies legislation passed during the pandemic that inadvertently excluded cider from a provision preventing alcohol from benefitting from a temporary VAT reduction, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th May 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘Public Law Newsletter May 2025; with case updates within the Court of Protection and other Public Law matters.’

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Spire Barristers, 6th May 2025

Source: www.spirebarristers.co.uk

‘A man who murdered Metropolitan Police sergeant Matt Ratana has lost bids to challenge his conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal.’

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The Independent, 8th May 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘A claimant legal team demonstrated “appalling professional misbehaviour” by submitting fake cases to the Administrative Court in a judicial review against the London Borough of Haringey and should be reported to their respective professional bodies, Mr Justice Ritchie has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A criminal who shot dead a 20-year-old man in a case of mistaken identity should have been arrested months before the murder, the police watchdog has said.’

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BBC News, 8th May 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘The charity that hosts Wikipedia is challenging the UK’s online safety legislation in the high court, saying some of its regulations would expose the site to “manipulation and vandalism”.’

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The Guardian, 8th May 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The EAT has dismissed CNN’s appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal which held that it had both territorial and international jurisdiction to hear the claims of British presenter and international correspondent, Saima Mohsin, injured on assignment and later fired.’

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Old Square Chambers, 7th May 2025

Source: oldsquare.co.uk

‘There is little understanding of how documented ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes in England and Wales come to be and, consequently, how to address them. We argue that disparities in sentence outcomes could stem from how cases are constructed. We hypothesize that case characteristics determined through a high degree of judicial discretion and an assessment of the offender have a high risk of being racially determined, and therefore, operate as precursors of ethnic disparities in sentencing. We test this using Crown Court Sentencing Survey and Court Proceedings data. We identify three sentencing factors (remorse, good character and ability to rehabilitate) clearly favouring White offenders. We contextualize their operation and argue that all three should be classified as racially determined and sources of ethnic disparity. We conclude by setting out targeted policy solutions.’

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British Journal of Criminology, March 2025

Source: academic.oup.com

‘The matter concerned F, a six-year-old girl, (referred to in the first instance decision as ‘C’ and in the appeal as ‘F’) who presented at A&E in mid-2023 and was tested positive for gonorrhoea. At this time, F lives with her maternal grandmother and maternal uncle, X (referred to in the first instance decision as ‘P’ and in the appeal as ‘X’). X had also tested positive for gonorrhoea prior to F’s diagnosis, F’s mother, M, also tested positive.’

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Parklane Plowden, 7th May 2025

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

‘Some British media outlets ran stories in April 2025 on how a regional Police Force (West Yorkshire) has put ‘applications from white Brits on hold’ and how the Chief Constable wants to discriminate against white candidates (Foreman, 2025; Bolton & Martin, 2025; Siddell, 2025). However, as may be inferred from the inconsistent tense, only a very limited version of positive discrimination is permitted under British law – and the facts of the story are not what may be, perhaps intentionally, implied from the phrasing used.’

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UK Labour Law, 8th May 2025

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

‘A hotel manager who was fired for playing loud music and allegedly having sex with a colleague in one of the rooms has won an unfair dismissal claim.’

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The Independent, 7th May 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘It is a rare event where, in an appeal against a first instance judgment, all parties unequivocally say that the judgment was wrong. So it was in J v Bath and North East Somerset Council [2025] EWCA Civ 478, which concerned a profoundly disabled 14 year-old (‘J’) in respect of whom the respondent local authority had been granted a full care order under section 31 of the Children Act 1989. Everyone agreed that J’s liberty needed to be restricted to a certain extent to properly look after him. The question was whether this meant that the elements of a ‘deprivation of liberty’ under Article 5 ECHR (the right to liberty) were satisfied as respects J’s care arrangements, so that a court had to make a deprivation of liberty (‘DoL’) order to render those care arrangements a lawful deprivation of liberty. In the High Court, Lieven J had held that the elements were not satisfied, and so no DoL order was necessary because there was no deprivation of liberty under Article 5 ([2024] EWHC 1690 (Fam)). The Court of Appeal (Sir Andrew McFarlane PFD, King and Singh LJJ) came to the opposite conclusion: J’s care arrangements amounted to a deprivation of liberty, and so a DoL Order was necessary to render those arrangements lawful under Article 5 and section 6 HRA 1998. The Court drew particular assistance from the submissions of the Secretary of State for Education, who intervened in the appeal. The Education Secretary was represented by Joanne Clement KC, who led this Blog’s very own Samuel Willis.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 7th May 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

‘The inconsistent use of technology at the Bar is driven by structural factors such as limited funding, time constraints, and the self-employed nature of the profession, a report for the Bar Standards Board has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk