Category: evidence

Without prejudice communications – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted February 27th, 2013 in admissibility, contracts, evidence, interpretation, news, without prejudice communications by sally

“When a litigator enters into settlement discussions, the general rule is that the content of those communications are protected by the Without Prejudice Rule and cannot be relied upon as evidence in court if the case doesn’t settle. This rule, however, does not constitute a blanket ban. In this note James Barnard reminds us of the Without Prejudice Rule framework, its recognised exceptions and how the Supreme Court case of Oceanbulk Shipping & Trading SA v TMT Asia Ltd [2010] UKSA 44 created another wide-ranging exception.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, February 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Litvinenko inquest: newspapers launch challenge over withholding of evidence – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2013 in disclosure, evidence, inquiries, intelligence services, international relations, media, news, Russia, withholding information by sally

“Media groups will on Tuesday challenge what they describe as a ‘deeply troubling’ attempt by the government to withhold evidence from the inquest into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.”

Full story

The Guardian, 25th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Swimming in the Pool: relevant factors to satisfy the threshold criteria after the Supreme Court’s judgment in J (Children) – Family Law Week

Posted February 25th, 2013 in causing serious physical harm to a child or vulnerable adult, children, evidence, local government, news, parental rights by sally

“Ben Boucher-Giles of Fountain Chambers considers the Supreme Court’s judgment in J (Children) and considers how it fits into the wider picture of findings as they relate to threshold.”

Full story

Family Law Week, 25th February 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Should jurors have to take a literacy test? – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2013 in education, evidence, judiciary, juries, media, news by sally

“The judge in the Vicky Pryce trial last week dismissed the jury for ‘fundamental deficits in understanding’. Should jurors have to sit a test?”

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hacking: No charges for ex-NoW deputy editor – BBC News

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in evidence, inquiries, interception, media, news, prosecutions, telecommunications by sally

“The former deputy editor at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper will not face any charges regarding phone hacking, the CPS has announced.”

Full story

BBC News, 22nd February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Vicky Pryce retrial decision triggers defence of jury system – The Guardian

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in evidence, internet, juries, married persons, news, perverting the course of justice, retrials, road traffic offences by sally

“Britain’s jury system should not be judged by the outcome of a single, complex and highly unusual case, senior lawyers have warned following the collapse of the Vicky Pryce trial.”

Full story

The Guardian, 21st February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina v Dizaei – WLR Daily

Posted February 21st, 2013 in admissibility, bad character, crime, evidence, law reports, witnesses by sally

Regina v Dizaei [2013] EWCA Crim 88; [2013] WLR (D) 64

“When a court was assessing the probative value of the evidence of bad character of a witness in criminal proceedings, in accordance with the provisions of section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, among the factors relevant to the admissibility judgment, the court should consider whether the admission of such evidence might make it difficult for the jury to understand the remainder of the evidence, and whether its understanding of the case as a whole might be diminished. If the conclusion was that the evidence was not of substantial probative value in establishing propensity or lack of creditworthiness of the witness, or that the evidence was not of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole, or both, the preconditions to admissibility would not established.”

WLR Daily, 14th February 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Criminal Cases Review Commission – better the devil you know? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 18th, 2013 in appeals, Criminal Cases Review Commission, evidence, miscarriage of justice, news, suicide by sally

Eddie Gilfoyle’s case is one of a relatively small number of alleged miscarriages of justice that stubbornly refuse to go away. On 4 June 1992, his wife, Paula Gilfoyle, was found, eight and a half months pregnant, hanging from a rope tied to a roof beam in the garage. For the last 20 years Mr Gilfoyle has protested his innocence, arguing that Paula’s death was a tragic suicide. The prosecution argument was that expectant mothers don’t kill themselves, especially bubbly young women with everything to live for.

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 15th February 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

iPhone used to bring child sex attacker William Walker to justice – BBC News

Posted February 12th, 2013 in child abuse, evidence, investigatory powers, news, sexual offences, telecommunications, victims by sally

“A tattooist who raped a child has been jailed after his victim recorded a
conversation with him 20 years later.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Video journalist fights court application over EDL footage – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2013 in disclosure, evidence, media, news, police, video recordings by sally

“A video journalist is fighting a court application by police to force him to hand over footage he shot of the English Defence League.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judges ‘should talk to children before making care decisions’ – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2013 in bills, care orders, case management, children, evidence, family courts, judiciary, mental health, news, social services by sally

“Many children who end up in care are never interviewed by the judge who makes the decision to remove them from their families, according to a report by an influential group of MPs and child protection experts.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Firkin brothers’ murder convictions questioned after witness jailed – BBC News

Posted February 5th, 2013 in evidence, murder, news, retrials, sentencing, witnesses by sally

“The conviction of Robert and Lee Firkins for one of Cornwall’s most notorious
murders has been cast into doubt, the BBC has learned.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gay asylum seekers feeling increased pressure to prove sexuality, say experts – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2013 in asylum, evidence, homosexuality, human rights, immigration, news by sally

“Gay asylum seekers are increasingly going to extreme lengths to meet immigration officials’ demands that they prove their sexual identity or else be returned to countries where they face persecution.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New approach to expert evidence in family proceedings – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted February 1st, 2013 in evidence, expert witnesses, family courts, press releases by sally

“New rules come into force today which will mean judges can streamline proceedings in family courts by reducing the number of expert witnesses who have to give evidence.”

Full press release

Judiciary of England and Wales, 31st January 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Reducing delays in family courts – Ministry of Justice

Posted January 31st, 2013 in delay, evidence, expert witnesses, family courts, news by sally

“New measures have been introduced to ensure child care cases are dealt with more quickly and effectively in family courts. This is so children and families are spared unnecessary delays and the cost to taxpayers is reduced.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 31st January 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

What is a false allegation of rape? – OUPblog

Posted January 31st, 2013 in evidence, news, rape by sally

“What is a false allegation of rape? At first, this might appear to be a daft question. Reflecting the general tendency to think of the truth or otherwise of allegations in reductive terms of being either true or false, the meaning of “false allegation” is commonly taken to be self-evident. A false allegation of rape is an allegation that is false; the rape alleged did not, in fact, occur. In the abstract, this seems a perfectly logical and sensible approach.”

Full story

OUPblog, 31st January 2013

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Judging people – and a case about a Porsche 917 – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 23rd, 2013 in evidence, news, witnesses by sally

“Two types of readers may be interested in this case; the first, who are interested in the age-old judging problem of whom to believe when faced with a conflict of evidence, and the second (and I don’t want to do any gender-stereotyping) those who are fascinated in whether a replica Porsche 917 (think Steve McQueen in Le Mans) over-revved and blew because (a) it had a gearbox fault or (b) the Defendant driver missed a gear.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Treasury presses supreme court to consider secret evidence in bank case – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2013 in banking, closed material, evidence, Iran, news, sanctions, Supreme Court by sally

“The Treasury is urging the supreme court to consider secret evidence for the first time when it hears an appeal by an Iranian bank against sanctions imposed on it by the British government.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Van der Pijl) v Crown Court at Kingston upon Thames – WLR Daily

Posted January 23rd, 2013 in evidence, law reports, police, warrants by sally

Regina (Van der Pijl) v Crown Court at Kingston upon Thames [2012] EWHC 3745 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 14

“A search warrant had to be sufficiently clear and precise in its terms so that those carrying out the search and those whose premises were being searched could understand the warrant without reference to any other extraneous documents.”

WLR Daily, 21st January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Met police launch inquiry into historic child sex abuse claims – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2013 in child abuse, evidence, indecent photographs of children, news by sally

“The Metropolitan police have launched an official investigation into historic claims of child abuse after an MP alleged that a ‘senior aide of a former prime minister’ had links to a member of a paedophile ring.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk