Judge criticises UK government’s ‘inadequate’ efforts to aid Covid-19 backlog – The Guardian

‘A crown court judge has refused to extend the custody time limit for keeping a man in prison awaiting trial and accused the government of under-funding the criminal justice system during the pandemic.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘I Spent 12 Years In Prison For A Crime I Didn’t Commit. Here’s What I Learned’ – Each Other

‘“There are so many people in British prisons that don’t deserve to be there,” said ex-inmate-turned-journalist Raphael Rowe.’

Full Story

Each Other, 24th August 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Court rejects JR over LASPO post-implementation review – Litigation Futures

‘The High Court has rejected a judicial review that argued the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) failed to carry out an adequate review of the impact of the LASPO reforms on those with asbestos-related diseases.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Ban on prison visits in England and Wales breaches children’s rights, say lawyers – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2020 in children, coronavirus, families, human rights, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons by sally

‘The children of prisoners in England and Wales are having their human rights breached by the ban on jail visits and a lack of video contact, lawyers have claimed, as they begin the first step of legal action against the Ministry of Justice.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 31st July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs fear firms, chambers and law centres collapsing – Legal Futures

‘MPs have expressed concern that law firms, chambers and law centres may collapse because of the impact of Covid-19.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Spotlight Review on domestic abuse – where does it fit in with other court reforms? – Transparency Project

‘The work undertaken by the “spotlight panel” appointed by the Ministry of Justice, reported in what is being referred to as the “harm report”, has already been commented on here and here. Its full title is “Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Cases”. The purpose of this blog post is to try to see how the harm report fits in with the wider reforms discussed by the President’s Private Law Working Party (the PrLWG) in its two reports.’

Full Story

Transparency Project, 24th July 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Justice secretary drops plan to replace jury trials – Legal Futures

‘Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland has dropped a widely criticised plan to replace juries in some criminal trials with a judge and two magistrates.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 23rd July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“Our goodwill has run dry” – hundreds to refuse out-of-hours hearings – Legal Futures

‘Hundreds of crime lawyers have issued public refusals to attend hearings in evenings or at weekends as new figures show that backlogs in courts and tribunals were growing even before the coronavirus.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 24th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Young CICA solicitor was not unfairly dismissed – Legal Futures

‘A young solicitor at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), who left only six months after completing her traineeship because her fixed-term contract (FTC) had expired, was not unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 20th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Coronavirus: Ten ‘Nightingale Courts’ in England and Wales to open – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2020 in coronavirus, courts, delay, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, trials by sally

‘Ten temporary courts are being set up to help clear a backlog of hearings caused by the coronavirus pandemic.’

Full Story

BBC News, 19th July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

G4S fined £44m by Serious Fraud Office over electronic tagging – The Guardian

‘Security firm G4S has been fined £44m by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of an agreement that will see it avoid prosecution for overcharging the Ministry of Justice for the electronic tagging of offenders, some of whom had died.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 10th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The end of the jury trial as we know it? – 6KBW College Hill

‘The Secretary of State for Justice recently confirmed that the government is considering whether to introduce primary legislation to suspend jury trials for offences triable either way as a way to address the backlog of criminal cases arising from the public health crisis. This development has caused alarm amongst practitioners who might be hoping that Humphreys J was right when he said: “I cannot bring myself to believe that there are any persons other than the inmates of a lunatic asylum who would vote in favour of the abolition of trial by jury in serious criminal cases” (Do We Need a Jury? [1954] Crim LR 457).’

Full Story

6 KBW College Hill, 30th June 2020

Source: blog.6kbw.com

High Court could get power to depart from EU case law – Litigation Futures

Posted July 10th, 2020 in brexit, consultations, courts, EC law, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is considering whether to allow the High Court as well as the Court of Appeal to depart from European Union case law from next year.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 9th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

MoJ favours ‘Nightingale’ crown courts to tackle huge backlog of cases – Thomas More Chambers

‘So reports Owen Bowcott, the legal affairs correspondent for The Guardian today. “Nightingale” courts being venues which have been identified as suitable for trials utilising public spaces such a civic centres or university moot halls; apparently to be renamed Blackstone Courts.’

Full Story

Thomas More Chambers, 3rd July 2020

Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk

Thousands of high-risk offenders in UK ‘freed into homelessness’ – The Guardian

‘Thousands of high-risk convicted criminals, including those classed as violent and sexual offenders, were being released from prison in England into homelessness, increasing the likelihood of their reoffending, inspectors warned.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lord chancellor seeks views on post-Brexit court powers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 6th, 2020 in brexit, courts, EC law, lord chancellor, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice is seeking lawyers’ views on which British courts should have the power to depart from retained EU case law after the Brexit transition period ends.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 2nd July 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

New video platform to be rolled out across civil courts – Litigation Futures

‘The new video platform enabling more remote cases to be heard in the criminal courts will rolled out to the civil courts over the coming months, the Ministry of Justice confirmed yesterday.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 2nd July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

MoJ favours ‘Nightingale’ crown courts to tackle huge backlog of cases – The Guardian

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in coronavirus, criminal justice, Crown Court, delay, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘Plans for non-jury trials to speed up efforts to tackle a backlog of more than 40,000 crown court cases appear to have been sidelined as the Ministry of Justice opts instead for extended opening hours, emergency “Nightingale” courts and, possibly, smaller juries.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 2nd July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus recovery in Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service – Ministry of Justice

‘The Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland has today (1 July 2020) outlined a ‘renewal for justice’ as courts harness increased investment, improved technology and a range of emergency measures to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 1st July 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Pain-inducing restraint in child custody must be exception – MoJ review – The Guardian

‘Pain-inducing restraint techniques should only be used on children in custody as an “absolute exception” to save life or prevent serious harm, a long-awaited review has concluded, though it has stopped short of calling for an outright ban.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 19th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com