Greater consideration of young BAME offenders ahead of sentencing – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 10th, 2017 in minorities, news, sentencing, young offenders by sally

‘Judges will be required to give greater consideration to the welfare of black and minority ethnic (BAME) children being sentenced as part of new guidance that echoes the lord chancellor’s desire to cut reoffending rates.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 7th March 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

QC body to probe why more women are not applying – Legal Futures

Posted January 13th, 2017 in minorities, news, queen's counsel, statistics, women by tracey

‘The body that appoints QCs has commissioned research to uncover barriers which deter women from applying, after they made up 27.6% of the latest batch of silks – but this was the highest proportion ever.’

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Legal Futures, 13th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Police satisfied with stop and search reform despite racial inequality – The Guardian

Posted October 28th, 2016 in minorities, news, police, stop and search by sally

‘Police believe they have done enough to avert the government’s threat to pass new laws outlawing the abuse of stop and search powers, despite new figures showing that black people are six times more likely to be targeted by officers than white people.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Why do UK media fail to cover the deaths of black people in custody? – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in death in custody, media, minorities, news by sally

‘A journalist argues that, unlike in the US, such deaths do not generate a national conversation because mainstream media platforms marginalise diverse voices.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stop and search controversy continues – the Round-up – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2016 in crime prevention, human rights, minorities, news, stop and search by tracey

‘According to research released by the Home Office, large increases in stop and search operations have no discernible effect on crime reduction. The official study examined crime rates across 10 London boroughs in the first year of Operation Blunt 2, which led to a surge in the number of searches from 34,154 in the year before to 123,335 in 2008/2009.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd March 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Britain’s Supreme Court says targeting young black men for stop-and-search ‘benefits them’ – The Independent

‘The Supreme Court has been accused of using “stereotypes” to justify the “targeting of young black men” after five judges gave their strong backing to the police’s random stop and search powers.’

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The Independent, 17th December 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Joint enterprise law criminalises young, black men. It urgently needs reform – The Guardian

Posted September 23rd, 2015 in criminal justice, joint enterprise, minorities, news, young persons by sally

‘The supreme court is next month to consider radically reforming the law of joint enterprise, after claims that it drags innocent people into the criminal justice system and excessively punishes those on the periphery of violent crime.’

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The Guardian, 22nd September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

No convictions over 500 black and Asian deaths in custody – The Guardian

‘More than 500 black and ethnic minority individuals have died in suspicious circumstances while in state detention over the past 24 years, but not a single official has been successfully prosecuted, a report examining institutional racism has revealed.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Forced marriage a problem for all religious minority communities in Britain – The Independent

Posted May 7th, 2014 in forced marriages, minorities, news by sally

‘Forced marriage is not confined to Britain’s Muslim communities but exists among all minority groups, the head of a commission into the issue has said.’

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The Independent, 6th May 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cornish to be given ‘national minority’ status – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 24th, 2014 in equality, human rights, minorities, news, race discrimination by tracey

‘Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announces the Cornish will be given same status as people from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.’

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Daily Telegraph, 24th April 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘not racist’ but black solicitors treated harshly – The Independent

‘The body that investigates solicitors has been cleared of institutional racism despite an independent inquiry concluding that it disproportionately pursues black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers for alleged wrongdoing.’

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The Independent, 14th March 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tribunal fees regime rolls on. For now… – 13 KBW Employment

‘The union challenge to the Tribunal fees regime was seen off by Chambers’ own Susan Chan, representing the Lord Chancellor as sole counsel, who herself enjoys a busy employment practice. For obvious reasons she is unable to comment on the matter herself. Though of course a public law case, there can scarcely have been a judicial review decision in recent memory of more interest to the employment practitioner.’

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13 KBW Employment, 7th March 2014

Source: www.13bbwemployment.wordpress.com

Diversity League Table: minorities still under-represented at the top of the profession – The Lawyer

Posted November 13th, 2013 in diversity, minorities, news, solicitors by tracey

“The latest Diversity League Table from the Black Solicitors Network suggests that despite improved access to the profession minority groups remain under-represented at the top.”

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The Lawyer, 12th November 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Police face court over refusal to hand over reports on anti-Muslim ‘bias’ – The Guardian

“Scotland Yard is facing court action next week after refusing to hand over the results of investigations it was ordered to conduct into claims that it used counter-terrorism powers to discriminate against and harass innocent Muslims.”

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The Guardian, 13th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fall in solicitor applications to bench ‘matter of concern’ says Judge – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 2nd, 2013 in diversity, judiciary, minorities, news, solicitors, women by sally

“The outgoing lord chief justice has called for action to reverse a decline in the number of solicitors applying for judicial posts. In his last annual report, published today, Lord Judge says ‘it is a matter of concern’ that there has been a decrease in the proportion of successful candidates with a professional background of solicitor.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 30th August 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judicial Appointments Commission performance in improving judicial diversity regarding women and BAME candidates: evidence pack – Judicial Appointments Commission

“This evidence-pack reports on the diversity of recommendations made by the JAC along gender and ethnicity for the court and tribunal judiciary. It compares this diversity against different standards, including the eligible pool and recommendations made prior to the formation of the JAC. It also looks at the change in diversity among the sitting judiciary since the formation of the JAC and shows how much work there is left to do before we have a truly representative judiciary.”

Evidence pack (Powerpoint)

Judicial Appointments Commission, 13th June 2013

Source: www.jac.judiciary.gov.uk

Stop and search: home secretary launches consultation on police powers – The Guardian

“The home secretary, Theresa May, has launched a six-week consultation over the future of police stop-and-search powers after telling MPs that black people were still seven times more likely to be searched on the street than white people.”

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The Guardian, 2nd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance – Speech by Lord Neuberger

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance (PDF)

Speech by Lord Neuberger

Institute for Government, 18th June 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Legal profession must do more to improve ethnic diversity, says Supreme Court president – The Independent

Posted June 19th, 2013 in equality, judiciary, legal profession, minorities, news by sally

“The UK’s top judge has acknowledged that the senior judiciary is monolithic and there are not enough members of ethnic minorities represented.”

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The Independent, 18th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legal aid cuts ‘end high-profile BME cases’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 17th, 2013 in budgets, legal aid, legal representation, minorities, news by sally

“High-profile cases such as those of murder victims Stephen Lawrence and Victoria Climbié would not have been taken up by lawyers if the government’s legal aid cuts had been in place, a prominent solicitor-advocate has warned.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk