Kevin Clarke’s family denounce police discipline system after officers cleared – The Guardian

‘The family of a black man who died after being restrained by police officers who denied having heard him say “I can’t breathe” have condemned the police discipline system after two officers were cleared of gross misconduct.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Treasury seeks to intervene in Supreme Court motor finance case – Legal Futures

‘The government has applied to intervene in the Supreme Court hearing on motor finance, expressing concern that the Court of Appeal ruling could have a significant and potentially damaging impact on the market.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Revised terror laws will not include disruptive protest, says No 10 – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in children, demonstrations, murder, news, terrorism, violence, young offenders, young persons by sally

‘An overhaul of laws on terrorism after the Southport murders will not expand the definition to take in disruptive but non-violent protest, Downing Street has said, as MPs and senior lawyers warned about potential risks to the plan.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Parks and interpretation – Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in appeals, chambers articles, news, tribunals by sally

‘It’s time to unwrap Rule 7(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (‘the Tribunal Rules’): the Upper Tribunal (‘UT’) has held in Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) that the First-tier Tribunal (‘FTT’) is not entitled under Rule 7(6) to require one party to serve the Tribunal’s directions on another, but must do so itself.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 11th December 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

How the personal injury discount rate change affects you and your clients – St John’s Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in chambers articles, compensation, damages, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Following the 2024 Personal Injury Discount Rate (DR) review, the current DR of -0.25% will change to +0.5%, effective from 11 January 2025.’

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St John's Chambers, 12th December 2024

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Commerce over care: exploring legal advice given in potential economic abuse cases – Legal Ethics

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in debts, families, legal advice, news, solicitors, surety, women by sally

‘This paper argues that solicitors are required to lawyer relationally when delivering independent legal advice (ILA) to (predominantly) women set to provide suretyship for their intimate partner’s debts. Case law tells us that women providing suretyship may be entering the transaction under the coercion of their partner. Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse, which in turn is a form of domestic abuse. ILA in this context therefore provides an important intervention to potentially assist victims of abuse before entering (potentially more) debt at the hands of their abuser. To make ILA purposeful, solicitors must prioritise relational values/dynamics such as consultation, care, judgement, and empowerment; the anti-thesis of market-exchange lawyering which is characterised by the values such as objectivity and detachment. Market-exchange lawyering is also associated with ethical apathy as lawyers prioritise their client’s means-ends above all else, therefore failing to consider the broader implications of those ends (in terms of their client’s best interests and/or the public interest). Drawing on interview data with 22 solicitors, it is demonstrated that most interviewees provide tick-box ILA prioritising completion. That is, most interviewees prioritised values of commerce over values of care when acting for women who may be experiencing economic abuse.’

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Legal Ethics, 15th January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Private conversations and standards of propriety: DPP v Cobban – Journal of Media Law

‘This comment considers the decision of the Divisional Court in DPP v Cobban, looking at the application of s 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and the compatibility with Articles 8 and 10 of the ECHR. The comment argues that the decision is significant in imposing a criminal restriction to uphold standards of propriety in relation to a closed conversation between consenting adults. The comment also questions whether the reach of the decision can be limited to a context that involves police officers. The decision points to the limited protection of expression rights and highlights the ongoing problems of s 127 in applying a standard of gross offence in a speech crime.’

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Journal of Media Law, 10th January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Teenager in neo-Nazi satanist group jailed for encouraging suicide online – The Independent

‘A 19-year-old who was part of a neo-Nazi satanist group has been jailed for six years for encouraging girls to die by suicide and self-harm, as well as possession of a document for terrorist purposes.’

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The Independent, 16th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Privacy law and the dead – a reappraisal – Journal of Media Law

Posted January 17th, 2025 in human rights, news, privacy by sally

‘Privacy is regarded as a fundamental right that is protected in multiple and varying ways. This cannot be said for privacy of the dead. This article considers the importance of post-mortem privacy and reviews the law of privacy and post-mortem privacy in England and Wales including under the ECHR. It also considers medical confidentiality and whether common arguments that pertain to the dead (e.g. organ donation, burial, testamentary dispositions and posthumous copyright) lend support to post-mortem privacy arguments. This article introduces the concept of post-mortem privacy as envisioned by Harbinja and Edwards, and discusses whether the dead can be legal rights holders with a focus on the Interest Theory of rights. This allows for the discussion of post-mortem theories and harm. It concludes by supplementing Donnelly and McDonagh’s theories on ante-mortem anxiety and Davey’s theory on chilling effects with the jurisprudence of the ECHR to create a new legal right.’

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Journal of Media Law, 6th January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Ryan Wellings jailed after partner Kiena Dawes took her own life – The Guardian

‘A violent and controlling “monster” who subjected his late partner, Kiena Dawes, to repeated assaults, bullying and belittling has been jailed for six and a half years.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman with ‘distorted notion of revenge’ sentenced for stabbing transgender woman – The Guardian

‘A woman who carried out a transphobic stabbing attack motivated by a “distorted notion of revenge” has been sentenced to more than eight years in youth detention.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Kiena Dawes: The complex question at case’s heart – BBC News

‘At the heart of the trial had been a complex legal question – can an abuser be held criminally responsible for the death of a victim who has taken their own life?’

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BBC News, 17th January 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judiciary to produce new strategy to tackle underrepresentation of black judges in 2025 – Local Government Lawyer

‘Tackling the underrepresentation of black judges and improving accommodations for disabled judges will be the main areas of work on judicial diversity for 2025.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Sara Sharif’s killers in sentence appeal bid – BBC News

‘The father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif are seeking permission to appeal against their sentences for her murder.’

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BBC News, 16th January 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stronger age checks to come into force for online pornography sites in UK – The Guardian

‘Users accessing online pornography in the UK could soon be required to have their face scanned, under measures announced by Ofcom to stop children seeing the material.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court rules disability benefit reforms plan as unlawful – but Labour remains committed to cuts – The Independent

‘The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation into plans to cut billions in disability benefits has been ruled unlawful by the High Court for being “unfair and misleading”.’

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The Independent, 17th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Incapacity benefit cuts consultation was ‘misleading’ and unlawful, judge rules – The Guardian

‘Labour’s plan to push through £3bn of cuts to incapacity benefits has received a setback after a judge ruled an official consultation setting out the proposals was misleading and unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

A brave girl stood up to her friend’s violent ex. Minutes later she was murdered in front of horrified friends – The Independent

Posted January 17th, 2025 in children, murder, news, young offenders, young persons by sally

‘An aspiring human rights lawyer, Elianne Andam was described as an ‘amazing, beautiful girl’ by her friends and family before her tragic killing in Croydon, south London.’

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The Independent, 16th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Key provisions of Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act to be brought into force, but “burdensome” provisions scrapped, Education Secretary vows – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has promised that key provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will be brought into force, whilst “burdensome” provisions will be scrapped.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The killing of Fiona Holm: why was the life and death of this much-loved mother so overlooked? – The Guardian

Posted January 16th, 2025 in domestic violence, missing persons, murder, news by sally

‘More than 170,000 people go missing in the UK each year – and Holm was one of them. She was adored by her family, who say she was let down again and again by the state, the police and the media.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com