Family Court judge criticises “seriously flawed” investigation into injuries suffered by boy – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 20th, 2022 in child abuse, children, evidence, local government, news by tracey

‘A county council failed to establish that a child’s injuries were inflicted and the investigation into responsibility for those injuries was “seriously flawed”, a Family Court judge has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Speech by Dame Victoria Sharp DBE: The Challenges and Opportunities Created by Digital Evidence in Criminal Cases – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Dame Victoria Sharp DBE, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, has given a speech to the National Criminal Justice Conference.’

Full speech

Courts and tribunals Judiciary, 5th January 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Law Commission to review the trial process for sexual offences – Law Commission

Posted January 4th, 2022 in criminal procedure, evidence, Law Commission, news, rape, sexual offences by tracey

‘The Law Commission has today [17 December 2021] launched a project to review how evidence is used in prosecutions of sexual offences, and to counter misconceptions about sexual harm (“rape myths”).’

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Law Commission, 17th December 2021

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Court of Appeal decision in Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442: judicial evaluation of ‘uncontroverted’ expert evidence – St John’s Chambers

Posted November 2nd, 2021 in burden of proof, cross-examination, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘Jimmy Barber of our Personal Injury team summarises the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442, which was handed down on 7th October 2021.’

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St John's Chambers, 18th October 2021

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

High Court rules out 28 identical divorce petitions – Law & Religion UK

Posted October 14th, 2021 in divorce, drafting, evidence, news by sally

‘On 10 September 2021, Mr Justice Moor handed down the judgment Yorston & Ors, Re (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973: Improper Petitions) [2021] EWFC 80 concerning 28 petitions to the High Court. In each case, the allegations of unreasonable behaviour were absolutely identical.’

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Law & Religion UK, 13th October 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Claimant loses in Court of Appeal despite defendant offering no evidence – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Court of Appeal has found – albeit by a majority verdict – in favour of a defendant who offered no evidence to support their case and did not cross-examine the claimant’s instructed expert. The ruling on uncontroverted evidence in Griffiths v Tui will be a blow for personal injury firms with hundreds of holiday sickness claims waiting on the result.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

More rape trials to allow pre-recorded evidence – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Victims of alleged sexual violence in London and the north east will be spared live cross-examination from today, as part of a pilot scheme to make trials less traumatic for complainants.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th September 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barrister waived privilege in document by showing it to opposing counsel – Legal Futures

Posted September 22nd, 2021 in barristers, disclosure, evidence, news, privilege, repossession, witnesses by sally

‘Counsel for a defendant in possession proceedings voluntarily disclosed a draft witness statement to her opposing number and in doing so waived privilege, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Perpetuating Myths: The Need for Review in the Right Areas – Carmelite Chambers

Posted August 26th, 2021 in evidence, news, prosecutions, rape, reports by sally

‘Following the release of the Government’s Rape Review, second-six pupil, Anthony James, looks at the Review itself and recent criticisms of the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences.’

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Carmelite Chambers, 19th August 2021

Source: www.carmelitechambers.co.uk

A closed mind and a failed possession claim – Nearly Legal

‘Tower Hamlets LBC v Ali, County Court at Clerkenwell & Shoreditch. 21 July 2021. Tower Hamlets (“TH”) brought a claim for possession against Mr Ali after his mother, a secure tenant, died. His mother was herself a successor and, accordingly, he was not entitled to succeed under section 87 of the Housing Act 1985. He applied to succeed under TH’s discretionary policy for failed successors which stated that TH would grant a new tenancy to an occupant where they had lived with the tenant for 12 months before the tenant’s death, and they occupied the property as their only or principle home.’

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Nearly Legal, 16th August 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Underwriting on trial – Mills & Reeve

Posted August 3rd, 2021 in causation, disclosure, evidence, inducements, insurance, misrepresentation, news by sally

‘James Thompson and Suzanne El-Safty consider the importance of underwriting evidence for insurers attempting policy avoidance, in the context of Zurich Insurance plc v Niramax Group Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 590 (“the Niramax case”) and Jones v Zurich Insurance plc [2021] EWHC 1320 (Comm) (“the Jones case”).’

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Mills & Reeve, 30th July 2021

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Removal and substitution of Personal Representatives under s 50 Administration of Justice Act 1985 – Radcliffe Chambers

‘Nathan Wells examines judicial guidance on the appropriate procedure for issuing and hearing claims for the removal/substitution of personal representatives and the preparation of evidence in such claims.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 21st July 2021

Source: radcliffechambers.com

Lady Rose, ALBA Annual Lecture – Supreme Court

Posted July 13th, 2021 in evidence, speeches, statistics, trade marks by tracey

‘A Numbers Game? Statistics in Public Law Cases’

Full speech

Supreme Court, 5th July 2021

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Rape victims still face police phone trawl, says commissioner – BBC News

‘Proposals for England and Wales mean people who claim to have been raped will still face pressure to hand over their phones to police and prosecutors, says the victims’ commissioner.’

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BBC News, 17th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Manchester Arena Inquiry: Ex-GMP officer investigated over evidence By Daniel De Simone – BBC News

‘A former Greater Manchester Police officer is being investigated by a watchdog over his evidence at a public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bomb.’

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BBC News, 5th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

36 Crime Criminal Updates – The 36 Group

‘We are grateful to the contributors to this Newsletter. Sam Skinner’s case note on the recent decision in R -v- Brecani addresses the consequence of this important shift away from accepting as expert evidence the conclusive decisions made by civil servants within the Home Office on referrals for human trafficking and modern slavery. Kate Kelleher provides a timely reminder that the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 is in force from 29th June 2021 and provides a commentary on the most notable recent developments in the prosecutions of animal welfare offences. In April and May Catherine Rose and Tom Parker ran a 2-part webinar session on Open-Source Evidence with contributions from a panel of leading experts from the US and UK. Their article is just a taster of the material covered in greater depth in the sessions. A timely warning to apply the basic critical analysis we use in relation to evidence from many scientific fields to all such evidence before relying on it at face value. Mary Prior Q.C. has provided a comprehensive round up in the Crime Bulletin of all the recent decisions of importance in a broad spectrum of procedural and offence-based areas.’

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The 36 Group, 28th June 2021

Source: 36group.co.uk

The role of the surveyor-expert and their evidence in litigation – Falcon Chambers

Posted June 24th, 2021 in chambers articles, evidence, expert witnesses, news, valuation by sally

‘This article considers how the duties imposed on expert witnesses impact upon the functions of expert surveyors giving valuation evidence tendered in Court and in the Upper Tribunal. We will refer to all tribunals as “the Court” by way of shorthand.’

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Falcon Chambers, 8th June 2021

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

TCC debars Defendant during trial from relying on its three technical expert reports following numerous breaches of CPR Part 35 – Henderson Chambers

‘The Claimant made an application on day 7 of a TCC trial to debar the Defendant from relying on any of its three technical expert reports and to debar those experts from giving evidence at the trial.’

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Henderson Chambers, 4th June 2021

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Malleable memory and the reliability of witness evidence in a digital age – Litigation Futures

Posted June 22nd, 2021 in artificial intelligence, documents, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘One of the topics explored by a recent panel of international experts at London International Disputes Week was the malleability (and thus fallibility) of human memory and the resultant impact on reliable witness evidence.’

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Litigation Futures, 22nd June 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge throws out expert evidence during trial in excoriating ruling – Litigation Futures

‘The High Court has excluded three expert witness statements during the trial after ruling that their opinions appeared “directly influenced” by the instructing party.’

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Litigation Futures, 2nd June 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com