Domestic Abuse Bill: ‘More help for migrant women needed’ – BBC News
‘Help should be available to all domestic abuse survivors, no matter their immigration status, campaigners have said.’
BBC News, 6th July 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: domestic violence
Amber Heard can be in court for Johnny Depp’s evidence, high court rules – The Guardian
‘Johnny Depp has failed to stop his ex-wife Amber Heard from watching him give evidence in a libel case over allegations of domestic abuse.’
The Guardian, 4th July 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Why victims can sometimes inherit from their abusers- even if they kill them – OUP Blog
‘It is a basic rule of English law that a person who kills someone should not inherit from their victim. The justification behind the rule, known as the forfeiture rule, is that a person should not benefit from their crimes and therefore forfeits entitlement. Many other jurisdictions have the same basic rule for fundamental reasons of public policy, including the need to avoid incentivising homicide. Importantly, however, Parliament passed the Forfeiture Act 1982 to give courts in England and Wales discretion to modify the application of the rule in certain cases, so that some people could inherit from those they had killed after all. Such modification is also possible in some other jurisdictions: It allows judges to consider individual circumstances where the blanket application of a forfeiture rule would cause injustice.’
OUP Blog, 3rd July 2020
Source: blog.oup.com
Major overhaul of family courts to protect domestic abuse victims – Family Law
‘The government has announced an overhaul of how the Family Court deals with domestic abuse to provide greater protection to survivors of domestic abuse.’
Family Law, 1st July 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
UK judge rules against Johnny Depp over ‘drugs texts’ in libel case – The Guardian
‘Johnny Depp has breached an order in a libel case by failing to disclose texts that apparently show him trying to obtain drugs, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 29th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Family court judges given power to intervene in domestic abuse cases – The Guardian
‘Judges will be empowered to intervene in cases of domestic abuse to prevent the complainant from being re-victimised by aggressive lines of questioning, as part of a new raft of legal changes announced today.’
The Guardian, 25th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Domestic abuse charities predict call spike post-lockdown – BBC News
‘Charities supporting victims of domestic abuse have said they expect an increase in people seeking safety as lockdown eases.’
BBC News, 19th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Unrealistic’ appeals system fails prisoners who have been victims of abuse – report – The Guardian
‘One month window to challenge convictions in England and Wales means women who have experienced trauma are unfairly criminalised, campaigners say.’
The Guardian, 17th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Rough sex’ defence will be banned, says justice minister – BBC News
‘The so-called “rough sex gone wrong” defence will be outlawed in new domestic abuse legislation, a justice minister has told MPs.’
BBC News, 16th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Domestic Abuse Bill: Misogyny should be treated as a hate crime, say MPs – BBC News
‘A group of women MPs and charities are urging the government to treat misogyny as a hate crime within the government’s new domestic abuse laws.’
BBC News, 11th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wife who beat husband to death with a hammer permitted to inherit his estate: Challen v Challen [2020] EWHC 1330 (Ch) – New Square Chambers
‘On 15 August 2010 Sally Challen beat her husband to death with a hammer, wrapped him in a curtain before washing the dishes and driving home. She was convicted of murder on 23 June 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but last year that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. Before the retrial the Crown accepted a guilty plea to a lesser charge of Manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, and Mrs Challen was released, having already served her sentence. The Forfeiture rule prevented her inheriting her husband’s estate or taking their joint assets by succession, and in September 2019 she issued proceedings under the Forfeiture Act 1982 for relief.’
New Square Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
MPs call for register to monitor serial domestic abusers and stalkers – The Guardian
‘Serial domestic abusers or stalkers should be registered and monitored in the same way as serious violent and sexual offenders, a group of cross-party MPs have said, as they put forward a proposed change to domestic abuse laws currently passing through parliament.’
The Guardian, 10th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Legal aid: Woman in abuse case challenges rules – BBC News
‘A woman is challenging rules which deprived her of legal aid for action to protect her from her former partner.’
BBC News, 9th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
After Sally Challen, we now have a chance to tackle coercive control – The Guardian
‘The domestic abuse bill offers a once-in-a-generation chance to change our approach says the son of the woman whose conviction for murdering her husband was quashed.’
The Guardian, 7th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Relief from Forfeiture following Manslaughter: Challen v Challen [2020] EWHC 1330 (Ch) – Hardwicke Chambers
‘In this recent case, described by the presiding judge HHJ Matthews as “extraordinary [with] a fatal combination of conditions and events”, relief from forfeiture was granted despite the applicant having pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a resulting sentence of over nine years of imprisonment.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 29th May 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
Coercive Control and the consequences of forfeiture – Challen v Challen [2020] EWHC 1330 – St John’s Chambers
‘Sally Challen’s case has become well known in recent years, as a miscarriage of justice that resulted in a woman spending years behind bars for an offence she did not commit. The facts were not in dispute. In August 2010 she had reconciled with Richard, her partner and husband of forty years, after previously leaving the matrimonial home and starting divorce proceedings. Over lunch, she beat him to death with a hammer. Subsequently dissuaded from committing suicide, she was convicted of his murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the prosecution describing her as jealous and possessive, and the jury rejecting her defence of diminished responsibility. In 2019 the Court of Appeal allowed her appeal, quashed her conviction, and directed a re-trial to reconsider the defences of diminished responsibility and provocation, in the light of new expert evidence about the effect of coercive control in a relationship. Richard had behaved appallingly towards Slly during their relationship. Finally in September 2019 the Crown accepted the plea that Sally Challen had offered throughout, that of guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Edis J sentenced her to 9 years and 4 months imprisonment, with the effect that she was immediately released.’
St John's Chambers, 28th May 2020
Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk
Sally Challen can inherit controlling husband’s estate, rules judge – The Guardian
‘A woman who won an appeal over her conviction for murdering her controlling husband can inherit his estate, a judge has ruled.’
The Guardian, 27th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Hundreds prosecuted for coronavirus-related attacks on emergency workers – The Guardian
‘More than 300 prosecutions for assaults on police and emergency workers were completed during the first month of lockdown, the director of public prosecutions, Max Hill QC, has revealed.’
The Guardian, 21st May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Skegness woman jailed for boiling water attacks on husband – BBC News
‘A woman who threw boiling water over her husband, leaving him scarred for life, has been jailed for two years.’
BBC News, 13th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Separation REALLY is the last resort – Garden Court Chambers
‘In this case, the local authority successfully applied for an interim care order as a result of the mother’s longstanding drug addiction (which had led to the need for one leg to be amputated and the use of a wheelchair), her chaotic lifestyle, and domestic abuse concerns. The child was placed with her mother in a residential unit.’
Garden Court Chambers, 27th April 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
