‘Hot courting’ is causing havoc, says criminal bar – Law Society’s Gazette

‘So-called “hot courting” is delaying trials and fuelling job insecurity for barristers, the criminal bar has warned. Caroline Goodwin QC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said that the practice of different judges using the same courtroom back-to-back has caused backlogs of cases – just for the sake of “saving electric”.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 22nd October 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Imprisoned former LiP fails Denton test over appeal four months late – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Lawyers have become used to running the gauntlet of the Denton test for relief from sanctions – but now the yardstick for out-of-time applications has resulted in a litigant staying behind bars.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 22nd October 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court asked to consider if PM’s Brexit delay tactic is lawful – BBC News

Posted October 21st, 2019 in appeals, brexit, constitutional law, delay, news, parliament, Scotland by sally

‘Scotland’s highest court is to consider whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson has fully complied with a law requiring him to ask for a Brexit delay.’

Full Story

BBC News, 21st October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Suzanne Brown killing: Essex Police cleared of wrongdoing – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2019 in complaints, delay, domestic violence, murder, news, police by tracey

‘A police force that took nearly three hours to respond to a 999 call in the case of a man who stabbed his partner 173 times has been cleared of wrongdoing by the watchdog.’

Full Story

BBC News, 17th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Millionaire’s son who threatened barman with toy gun has sentence deferred so he can holiday in Barbados – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 10th, 2019 in delay, firearms, guilty pleas, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A Sandbanks Yacht Club guest, who threatened a barman with an imitation gun, has had his sentence deferred so that he can holiday in Barbados.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Unprecedented’ level of special needs complaints upheld – BBC News

‘Breaches of children’s legal right to have special educational needs support have reached unprecedented levels, says an official complaints body. England’s local government ombudsman said not only had there been a spike in complaints, but nine out of 10 of them were upheld in 2018-19.’

Full Story

BBC News, 4th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Majority of care cases continue to miss 26-week deadline – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The average time it takes to conclude care proceedings remains significantly high, according to latest quarterly statistics published today. Figures released by the Ministry of Justice, covering April to June, show that the average time for a care and supervision case to reach first disposal remained the same as it did for January to March – 33 weeks. This is the longest average time since the last quarter of 2013.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 26th September 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Family judges must justify delaying final decisions – Court of Appeal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 24th, 2019 in adjournment, delay, family courts, news by tracey

‘Judges have been warned by the Court of Appeal not to adjourn final decisions in family cases simply to “press the pause button”.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 23rd September 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers accuse MoJ of false economies in crown court backlogs – The Guardian

Posted September 24th, 2019 in barristers, Crown Court, delay, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘A dispute over delays to crown court trials has broken out after criminal barristers accused the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of making false economies by not reducing case backlogs.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Staggering’ Home Office disregard for innocent people saw thousands lose visas in cheating scandal, MPs say – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2019 in delay, examinations, fraud, government departments, news, universities, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office showed “staggering” disregard for innocent people during the visa scandal that saw more than 50,000 overseas students accused of cheating and cost taxpayers nearly £20m, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee found that hundreds of people were still protesting their innocence at “great personal cost” more than five years after being accused of fraudulently passing English language tests due to the Home Office’s delay in responding to indications that some may have been wrongly caught up in the probe.’

Full Story

The Independent, 18th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bar delays ‘anti-abuse’ written contracts for pupils – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 17th, 2019 in barristers, codes of practice, contracts, delay, news, pupillage, standards by tracey

‘The bar regulator has delayed the introduction of compulsory written pupillage agreements which could tackle the “abusive” treatment of pupils.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 16th September 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

BSB delays introduction of written pupillage agreements – Legal Futures

Posted September 13th, 2019 in barristers, codes of practice, delay, news, pupillage by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has delayed plans to require chambers to enter into written agreements with pupils, which were due to come into force in just two months’ time.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 13th September 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

77 more courts in England and Wales to close – The Guardian

Posted September 13th, 2019 in budgets, courts, delay, HM Courts Service, live link evidence, news, ombudsmen, statistics by tracey

‘Nearly 80 more courts in England and Wales are due to close under a justice transformation scheme that is falling behind schedule, a watchdog’s report has revealed.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 13th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Student had to have testicle removed after errors in medical care – The Guardian

Posted September 12th, 2019 in delay, hospitals, medical treatment, news by tracey

‘A university student was left in severe pain for six days and ended up having his right testicle removed after medics failed to act quickly enough, a report has said. An investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch found errors in the care given to the 20-year-old, known only as Ryan, including by GPs and hospital medics.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 12th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Failure to attend trial “means more than turning up late” – Litigation Futures

Posted September 5th, 2019 in appeals, civil procedure rules, debts, delay, loans, news, striking out, trials by tracey

‘The High Court has set aside an order made by a recorder striking out a claim because the claimants were two hours late for a trial in Cornwall.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 5th September 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

County to pay mother £24k after Ombudsman report into overcrowding and failure to comply with care order – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 3rd, 2019 in care orders, compensation, delay, families, housing, local government, news, ombudsmen, standards by sally

‘A county council has agreed to pay £24,000 after a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation into a case where a mother of three, who also took on the care of her two grandchildren, had to sleep on a mattress in her living room for more than 10 years because the local authority did not deliver the support it had agreed to.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 29th August 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How will the UK immigration system cope with no deal Brexit? – Garden Court Chambers

‘UK immigration reform is imminent. The Government’s 2018 White Paper proposals for a new immigration system appear to be here to stay and a no deal Brexit looks more likely than ever.’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 22nd August 2019

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

“The Trouble with Release Under Investigation”. Lesley Bates writes about the impact of release under investigation upon a client acquitted 828 days after his arrest – 23 Essex Street

Posted August 23rd, 2019 in bail, delay, news, rape, school children, sexual offences, young offenders by sally

‘Changes to the use of police bail were designed to prevent suspects remaining on pre-charge bail for months on end pending investigation and decision about charge. Criticism of the use of Release Under Investigation (‘RUI’) has mostly focussed on the high numbers of suspects it is used for, the sharp fall in charging decisions and the fewer cases reaching court.’

Full Story

23 Essex Street, 20th August 2019

Source: www.23es.com

Criminal cases delayed across England and Wales as courts lie idle – The Guardian

Posted August 20th, 2019 in courts, criminal justice, delay, news by sally

‘Nearly half of all crown courts across England and Wales were left empty on Monday, a survey suggests, even though lawyers say they have never known the backlog of criminal cases to be so bad.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 19th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal charities urge government to delay whiplash reforms – Legal Futures

‘Four leading legal charities have urged the government to delay next year’s whiplash reforms over fears that litigants in person and the organisations supporting them will be overwhelmed by the new regime.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 13th August 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk