Judge refuses to stand aside amid row over UK Covid trial delays – The Guardian

‘A senior judge has refused to step down from a case involving custody time limits after she replaced another judge who criticised the government over delays in delivering justice.’

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The Guardian, 18th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge makes formal complaint over Covid custody waits – BBC News

‘A judge has claimed he was put under “improper and undue influence” to keep a defendant in custody.’

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BBC News, 11th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge criticises UK government’s ‘inadequate’ efforts to aid Covid-19 backlog – The Guardian

‘A crown court judge has refused to extend the custody time limit for keeping a man in prison awaiting trial and accused the government of under-funding the criminal justice system during the pandemic.’

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The Guardian, 8th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus: Custody fight parents told not to exploit lockdown – BBC News

Posted April 22nd, 2020 in children, coronavirus, custody, families, judges, news, parental rights by sally

‘Separated couples exploiting the Covid-19 lockdown to stop an ex-partner from seeing their child could face court action, says a senior judge.’

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BBC News, 21st April 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK lawyers inundated by divorced parents arguing over lockdown custody – The Guardian

Posted April 8th, 2020 in children, coronavirus, custody, divorce, families, news by sally

‘Lawyers have been inundated with inquiries from divorced parents arguing about where their children should stay during the lockdown, with some trying to get their former partners sent to jail for breaking existing custody arrangements.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mother claims judge’s ‘outdated views’ on sexual assault led him to rule against her in child custody battle – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 6th, 2019 in bias, children, custody, domestic violence, judges, news, rape by sally

‘A mother has claimed that a judge’s “outdated views” on sexual assault led him to rule against her after she accused a former partner of rape during a child custody case.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Drink drivers escaping prosecution as officers have to drive more than an hour to police station – Daily Telegraph

‘Drink drivers are getting away with breaking the law because police are having to drive them up to an hour and 45 minutes to the nearest custody cells, it has been warned.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th August 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Custody fights blight four in ten break ups’ – A word of caution? – Transparency Project

Posted July 3rd, 2019 in children, custody, divorce, news, statistics by sally

‘At the beginning of May various news reports claimed that the number of separating couples going to court to resolve disputes about their children was 4 times higher than previously believed. See for example the Mail Online story, Custody fights blight four in ten break ups as 50,000 former couples battle in court rooms every year reporting new figures showing almost 4 out of 10 (38%) separating couples need the assistance of the court rather than 1 in 10 (10%), revealing “a large pool of hidden misery among broken families”.’

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Transparency Project, 2nd July 2019

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Boy must leave mother with ‘hateful feelings’ for father, judge rules – The Guardian

Posted April 23rd, 2019 in children, custody, news by sally

‘An eight-year-old boy has moved home after a judge was told he was being influenced by his mother’s “hateful feelings” towards his father.’

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The Guardian, 22nd April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Surge in parents forced to fight child custody battles with no legal representation – The Independent

Posted February 5th, 2019 in budgets, children, custody, families, legal aid, litigants in person, news, statistics by tracey

‘The number of parents forced to represent themselves in child custody battles at family courts has more than doubled in six years in the wake of legal aid cuts. Campaigners have warned “huge injustices” are taking place and children’s best interests are being “obscured”. Government data revealed 23,881 parents who applied to open private law cases for child arrangements in 2017 had no legal representation – up 134 per cent since 2011.’

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The Independent, 4th February 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Metropolitan Police strip-searching children in cases ‘not properly justified’, inspection findsMetropolitan Police strip-searching children in cases ‘not properly justified’, inspection finds – The Independent

‘Children are being strip-searched by London’s Metropolitan Police in cases that may not be “properly justified”, a watchdog has found.’

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The Independent, 16th January 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Who gets the children at Christmas? – Family Law

Posted December 20th, 2018 in children, custody, divorce, families, holidays, news by tracey

‘For many families, Christmas is a happy time of year. But for those who may be newly separated, it can be a time of heartbreak. This leads to the very important question – who gets the children at Christmas? Monica Blizzard, a director of KHQ Lawyers and head of the family and relationship law team, looks at the details.’

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Family Law, 19th December 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Leave to remove post-Brexit: appealing an appeal – Family Law

Posted April 9th, 2018 in appeals, brexit, children, custody, EC law, foreign jurisdictions, news by tracey

‘In the recent case of L v F [2017] EWCA Civ 2121 the Court of Appeal reinstated a first instance judgment that refused to grant a mother permission to relocate to Italy with the parties’ child. The case offers a reminder of the approach that the court must take when deciding whether or not to grant an appeal.’

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Family Law, 6th April 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Pets and divorce – who keeps the family pet? – Family Law

Posted December 4th, 2017 in animals, custody, dispute resolution, divorce, news by sally

‘For many couples pets are an integral part of family life. But when relationships break down, it is not uncommon for arguments to arise about who gets to keep the family pet. So how do these disputes get resolved and what are the rules?’

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Family Law, 1st December 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Article 15 transfer requests – what happens next? (FE v MR and Others) – Family Law

Posted November 20th, 2017 in brexit, children, contact orders, custody, divorce, EC law, jurisdiction, news by tracey

‘Family analysis: Analysing a case where the Family Court submitted a ‘highly unusual’ request under Article 15 of Brussels II bis to the Spanish court for it to transfer jurisdiction to the courts of England and Wales, Chris Stevenson, barrister at Fourteen, questions how such cases will be approached in a post-Brexit world.’

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Family Law, 17th November 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Divorcing parents who poison children against their former partner could lose custody – The Independent

Posted November 20th, 2017 in contact orders, custody, divorce, news by tracey

‘Divorcing parents could lose custody or be denied contact with their children if they attempt to poison them against their former partner, under the rules of a new pilot scheme.
The “groundbreaking” initiative, being trialled by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), is designed to tackle the problem officially known as “parental alienation” where one parent turns a child against the other so they do not want to see them.’

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The Independent, 19th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Surrogate mother who changed her mind must hand baby to gay couple, court rules – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 20th, 2017 in custody, news, surrogacy by tracey

‘A surrogate mother has lost custody of her child after a court ruled he would be better placed with the gay couple who arranged for her to have the baby.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th November 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Met Police holding children in custody for too long, says prison watchdog – The Independent

Posted November 9th, 2017 in children, custody, London, news, police, young offenders by tracey

‘Children are being held for too long in police custody once they are charged with an offence, the prison watchdog has warned. A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that too many children in north and north-east London were being kept in cells overnight and even at weekends, despite a statutory duty for authorities to provide them with alternative accommodation.’

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The Independent, 8th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Divorce and children – is shared care a right or responsibility? – Family Law

Posted October 9th, 2017 in children, custody, divorce, families, news, parental responsibility, parental rights by sally

‘‘I know my rights’ – With that statement a family lawyer will naturally turn to s 2A of the Children Act 1989 and the presumption of parental involvement.
‘Parents do not have rights, they have responsibilities’ – Arguably one is now considering the court’s overriding objective and paramount consideration as set out in s 1 of the Children Act 1989 which highlights the welfare of any child.’

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Family Law, 5th October 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Family court changes to protect children ‘lifesaving’ – BBC News

Posted October 2nd, 2017 in children, contact orders, custody, domestic violence, family courts, homicide, news by sally

‘New family court guidance to protect children from violent parents during custody disputes is “lifesaving,” domestic violence campaigners say.’

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BBC News, 29th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk