Rapist who threatened to kill victim’s date has sentence reviewed – The Guardian

‘The government’s top law officials are reviewing a jail sentence handed to a man who forced a woman to have sex with him to save the life of a man with whom she was on a first date.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 20223

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal experts call for new UK offence of inducing sexual activity by deception – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2023 in consent, criminal justice, deceit, news, sexual offences by sally

‘A new criminal offence of intentionally deceiving a person into engaging in sexual activity should be created to address confusion in the law around consent, legal experts and lawyers have said.’

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The Guardian, 18th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Raab faces judicial review over criminal legal aid fees – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Law Society has issued an ultimatum to lord chancellor Dominic Raab over criminal legal aid fees: increase them by the minimum amount recommended by the government-commissioned Bellamy review or face a judicial review.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court of Appeal: UT should normally re-make decision instead of remitting case to FTT – EIN Blog

Posted January 9th, 2023 in appeals, criminal justice, deportation, immigration, news, trials, tribunals by sally

‘AEB v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1512 (18 November 2022). In this deportation case, Underhill, Nicola Davies and Stuart-Smith LJJ held that where, on an appeal from the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), the Upper Tribunal (UT) found that where the FTT’s decision involved an error of law, it would normally re-make the decision instead of remitting it to the FTT, unless it was satisfied that the error had deprived a party of a fair hearing before the FTT. Where the UT was so satisfied, it would normally remit the decision to the FTT. If the UT chose instead to re-make the decision itself, it would have to give cogent reasons for doing so. “AEB” appealed against a decision of the UT upholding a deportation order made by the respondent SSHD. The appellant was a Nigerian national who had been in the UK for 30 years and who was separated from his partner but helped to care for their three children, all of whom had significant disabilities and special needs. In 2017, he was convicted of dishonesty and sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment. As a result, the SSHD served a deportation decision under the automatic deportation provision set out in section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007. AEB appealed to the FTT relying on article 8 of the ECHR, which brought into play the provisions of Part 5A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. But the FTT dismissed his appeal and UT set aside that dismissal on the basis that the FTT had made errors of law which had deprived AEB of a fair hearing.’

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EIN Blog, 9th January 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Rape response overhaul delivers progress – Ministry of Justice

‘Victims are seeing significant improvements in the criminal justice system’s response to rape, a new report has revealed today.’

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Ministry of Justice, 15th December 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Prosecution crisis ‘will deepen’ without fee increase, CBA chief warns – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Ministry of Justice has hailed the “significant progress” that has been made since the government published its landmark rape review action plan – however, the Criminal Bar Association has warned that complainants will continue to wait years for a trial unless prosecutors’ fees are increased.’

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Law Society's Gazette,15th December 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Scathing report condemns police in England and Wales for ‘victim blaming’ in rape cases – The Guardian

Posted December 15th, 2022 in criminal justice, news, police, rape, reports, victims by sally

‘A damning official examination into how police forces tackle rape has exposed persistent failings in the criminal justice system, including a failure to track repeat suspects, “explicit victim-blaming” and botched investigations.’

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The Guardian, 15th December 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Street harassment: Wolf whistling to be banned in crackdown – BBC News

‘Sexual harassment on the street will be made a crime with jail sentences of up to two years, the government has said.’

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BBC News, 9th December 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nightclub spiking: Police apology after victim waits five months for test result – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2022 in assault, criminal justice, delay, drug offences, news, police, victims by sally

‘A woman who had been injected with morphine in a nightclub waited five months for test results after reporting the attack to the police.’

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BBC News, 5th December 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MoJ requests urgent use of 400 police cells for male prisoners – The Guardian

Posted December 1st, 2022 in criminal justice, detention, Ministry of Justice, news, police, prisons by sally

‘Dominic Raab has been accused of presiding over a “foolish and unrealistic” prisons policy after his department was forced to request the emergency use of 400 police cells for inmates for the first time in 14 years.’

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The Guardian, 30th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Access denied: The state of the justice system in England and Wales in 2022 – The Bar Council

‘Access denied: The state of the justice system in England and Wales in 2022.’

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The Bar Council, 25th November 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘Is the conviction sound? No’: lawyer vows to prove Michael Stone’s innocence – The Guardian

‘Mark McDonald believes Russell murders case will turn out to be a serious miscarriage of justice.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Restorative justice: Victims who meet offenders say it helps recovery – BBC News

Posted November 25th, 2022 in criminal justice, news, prisons, rehabilitation, victims by sally

‘More than 70% of victims in Greater Manchester who chose to communicate with offenders have said it helped their recovery, research has shown. Greater Manchester Combined Authority said 1,500 victims had been in touch with their perpetrator through the restorative justice system since 2019.’

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BBC News, 25th November 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police are failing crime victims, says UK neighbourhood officer – BBC News

Posted November 11th, 2022 in criminal justice, news, police, victims by sally

‘Police are spending too much time taking care of societal problems and are not tackling enough crime, the UK lead for neighbourhood policing says. Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney says officers can spend half their shifts working on behalf of other services.’

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BBC News, 11th November 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MPs warn court system is failing to support public understanding of justice system – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 10th, 2022 in civil justice, criminal justice, judgments, news, reports by sally

‘The Justice Committee has called for a “renewed focus” in the court system to remove barriers to the media and members of the public coming to court proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th November 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Burnett: “I can’t magic up lawyers to help reduce Crown Court backlog” – Legal Futures

‘It will be “very difficult” for the Crown Court to achieve the government’s target of reducing the backlog to 53,000 cases by 2025, the Lord Chief Justice has warned MPs.’

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Legal Futures, 9th November 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Neurodivergence in the CJS and the role of the Bar (1) – Counsel

Posted November 8th, 2022 in autism, barristers, criminal justice, disabled persons, diversity, dyslexia, news by sally

‘Thinking differently, engaging differently: the first of this two-part series by Dr Tom Smith looks at the experience of neurodivergent individuals in the criminal justice system and how barristers can mitigate/aggravate the challenges.’

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Counsel, November 2022

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

New powers for forensic science regulator by end of March – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Forensic science witnesses in criminal justice cases can expect to be subject to the Forensic Science Regulator’s statutory regime by the end of March 2023, incumbent regulator Gary Pugh said today.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th November 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Victim stalked for almost 20 years calls sentence ‘an insult’ – BBC News

Posted November 2nd, 2022 in criminal justice, imprisonment, news, restraining orders, sentencing, stalking, victims by sally

‘The Victims Commissioner for London has described the sentence handed down to her stalker of 19 years as “an insult”.’

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BBC News, 2nd November 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

In Britain, a jail sentence is often a death sentence. What’s going on in our prisons? – The Guardian

Posted November 1st, 2022 in criminal justice, death in custody, minorities, news, prisons by sally

‘Last year, 371 people died behind closed doors. We want justice for them – and an end to a cruel, complacent system.’

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The Guardian, 30th October

Source: www.theguardian.com