Covert Recording : A hot potato lob by the Court of Appeal – Transparency Project

Posted October 26th, 2017 in children, evidence, families, family courts, news, social services by sally

‘The Court of Appeal delivered judgment in Re B (A Child) [2017] EWCA Civ 1579 last week. In it they consider (but do not resolve) the question of how the Family Court should deal with evidence obtained by covert recording. Whilst it took the Court of Appeal almost a year from the hearing of the appeal to the delivery of judgment (see our post about the appeal hearing itself here), this particular potato remains red hot. The topic of recording – covertly or overtly, of social workers or children or otherwise – is discussed daily on private groups on Facebook, openly on other social media platforms – and, from time to time, in judgments of the Family Court and by lawyers.’

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Transparency Project, 24th October 2017

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Justice in jeopardy: government defies backlash to confirm ‘reckless’ legal aid cuts – Law Society Gazette

‘The government is to press ahead with reform of legal aid fees paid to solicitors in criminal cases – despite 97% of submissions to a consultation vehemently opposing the plans. Representative bodies have this afternoon condemned the decision as ‘reckless’, claiming it places justice in jeopardy.’

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Law Society Gazette, 24th October 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Commercial Court Shrinks Scope to Challenge Arbitrations – Hailsham Chambers

Posted October 20th, 2017 in arbitration, choice of forum, Commercial Court, evidence, news by sally

‘In the internationally competitive market for arbitrations, there is much talk about which Courts are most “arbitration-friendly”. In a recent judgment Teare J, in the Commercial Court, has crushed speculation that the English Courts might be increasingly sympathetic to challenges to factual findings.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 12th October 2017

Source: zm4b8103lu53ydv9q1e2go51-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com

Case Law Update – Byrom Street Chambers

‘This paper examines a selection of those of the more interesting cases to those acting for defendants over the past two years.’

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Byrom Street Chambers, 26th September 2017

Source: www.byromstreet.com

Hodge urges judges and lawyers to improve “scientific literacy” to understand expert evidence – Litigation Futures

Posted October 20th, 2017 in evidence, expert witnesses, judges, judiciary, legal profession, news by sally

‘A Supreme Court justice has called for judges and lawyers to improve their “scientific literacy” to ensure they did their job effectively in cases involving expert evidence.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th October 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Better case management – Counsel

Posted October 12th, 2017 in case management, criminal procedure, Crown Court, evidence, news by sally

‘Two years on, how have collective efforts to make every court hearing count evolved? Peter Hungerford-Welch summarises the procedural changes and the message from case law.’

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Counsel, October 2017

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Expert’s evidence was extraordinary and “shot through with breath taking arrogance” – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 11th, 2017 in conflict of interest, disclosure, evidence, expert witnesses, judges, news, trials by sally

‘For those of who have a weekly blog to populate with content, the court’s summer recess can prove to be a challenging time. It leads us to cast our net further afield looking for ideas and cases to highlight. That is why, this week, I’m looking at two cases from August, one a personal injury claim from the County Court in Leeds, the other an intellectual property dispute from the Chancery Division. What both have in common are some choice words about the parties’ expert evidence. I know Jonathan has looked at this topic twice in recent months but, as I said, we’ve had the summer recess and these comments are just too bloggable to be ignored!’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th October 2017

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Flasher conviction quashed because Facebook village gossip undermined fair trial – Daily Telegraph

‘A loner accused of chasing two women through a village while exposing himself has had his conviction quashed because residents had shared his image and gossiped about him on Facebook.’

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Daily Telegraph, 28th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

DNA in the dock: how flawed techniques send innocent people to prison – The Guardian

Posted October 2nd, 2017 in criminal justice, DNA, evidence, forensic science, news by sally

‘Many juries believe crime-scene DNA evidence is watertight – but this is far from the case. As forensic technology gets ever more sophisticated, experts are only just realising how difficult interpreting the evidence can be.’

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The Guardian, 2nd October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Children’s evidence and ABE interviews Children’s evidence – Family Law

Posted September 21st, 2017 in child abuse, children, disclosure, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘In Wolverhampton City Council v JA & Ors [2017] EWFC 62, Keehan J dealt with a care case which involved allegations of sexual abuse of two young girls. They were aged 13 (X) and 12 (Y) at the time of his judgment. The proceedings are continuing. There were a variety of allegations against the children’s father and two male friends of the mother dating back nearly ten years.’

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Family Law, 20th September 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Police ‘may work with paedophile hunters’ – BBC News

‘Police have admitted they may have to work with “paedophile hunters” after research revealed a rise in their evidence being used in court. Figures obtained by the BBC show 11% of court cases in 2014 for the crime of meeting a child following sexual grooming used vigilante evidence, rising to 44% in 2016.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Grenfell Tower inquiry chairman refuses to let residents who survived fire help assess evidence – The Independent

Posted September 15th, 2017 in evidence, fire, health & safety, inquiries, news by sally

‘The chairman of an inquiry into the deadly fire at Grenfell Tower has refused calls to allow a survivor of the disaster to be part of a team assessing evidence.’

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The Independent, 14th September 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Czech slaves gang forced Plymouth victim to lie – BBC News

‘Four gang members have been jailed for forcing a slavery victim to withdraw evidence, causing a trial to collapse.’

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BBC News, 12th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Consistory court evidence or “Call My Bluff”: Episode 2 – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 8th, 2017 in ecclesiastical law, evidence, news by sally

‘The second of two posts on information submitted as evidence to consistory courts.’

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Law & Religion UK, 7th September 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Home Office funds new video enabled justice programme – Home Office

Posted September 5th, 2017 in courts, evidence, news, pilot schemes, police, victims, video recordings by sally

‘A new video link scheme designed to improve the way police officers give evidence and free up more time for front line duties will be piloted thanks to an £11m government cash injection.’

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Home Office, 4th September 2017

Source: www.gov.uk

Crime agency admits acting illegally in death penalty case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The National Crime Agency (NCA) has admitted acting unlawfully in assisting Thai police investigate, arrest and convict two Burmese men sentenced to death for the murder of two British backpackers. Campaigners against the death penalty said the disclosure raises questions about the UK cooperation with authorities in countries with dubious human rights records.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Consistory court evidence or “Call My Bluff”: Episode 1 – Law & Religion UK

Posted August 30th, 2017 in Church of England, courts, documents, ecclesiastical law, evidence, judgments, news by sally

‘In our monthly reviews of consistory court judgments, it is not uncommon to encounter assertions in the submissions of petitioners, the amenity societies, and even “experts” which are less than robust. However, in this ecclesiastical variant on “Call My Bluff“, the Chancellor/Commissary-General invariably sees through the weasel words, exaggerations &c, and the published judgments reveal how the perpetrators are diplomatically taken to task, as appropriate. However, whilst statements made on checkable facts are easy to identify, those that transcend the binary “true or bluff” question to matters of opinion or the assessment of a particular “expert” are more complex to assess. The following discussion includes a number of examples on which future petitioners might wish to ponder.’

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Law & Religion UK, 30th August 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

UK police broke law in case of British backpackers murdered in Thailand – The Guardian

‘The National Crime Agency in the UK has been forced to admit it acted unlawfully when it gave information to Thai police that helped send two men to death row for murdering two British backpackers.’

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The Guardian, 29th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Costs judge rejects £10k ATE challenge based on ‘hindsight’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 25th, 2017 in costs, evidence, expert witnesses, insurance, judges, negligence, news by sally

‘A costs judge has rejected a defendant’s attempt to deprive a clinical negligence claimant of their £10,000 insurance premium.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Talk about a revolution: the internet and children proceedings – Family Law Week

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in children, evidence, internet, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘Jennifer Kotilaine, barrister of 3PB, reflects on the various ways in which the application of children law has adapted to the internet and social media and on the further adaptations that may lie ahead.’

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Family Law Week, 17th August 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk