David Golding: Court criticised over herpes infector ruling – BBC News
‘Campaigners have criticised the Court of Appeal after it rejected a man’s appeal against his conviction for infecting a woman with genital herpes.’
BBC News, 8th May 2014
Source:
‘The Legal Ombudsman has seen a spike in complaints about sloppy legal work around house purchases.’ Daily Telegraph, 8th May 2014 Source: www.telegraph.co.ukRise in rogue lawyers pocketing stamp duty payments – Daily Telegraph
Married gay couples can have coats of arms for first time in history – The Independent
‘Married gay couples can now have their own coat of arms after archaic rules dating back hundreds of years were brought into the 21st Century.’
The Independent, 8th May 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Courts braced for surge in cases of elderly locked up against their will – Daily Telegraph
‘The President of the Family Division of the High Court Sir James Munby predicts rush of claims from care home patients held in ‘cages’.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th May 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Ann Maguire stabbing: Robert Riley jailed for Twitter abuse – BBC News
‘A man has been jailed for eight weeks for posting abusive Twitter messages about the death of school teacher Ann Maguire.’
BBC News, 8th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Russell Brand wins ‘substantial damages’ for Sun on Sunday article – The Guardian
‘Russell Brand has accepted “substantial” libel damages from the Sun on Sunday over the false claim that he cheated on his girlfriend Jemima Khan.’
The Guardian, 8th May 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teenagers guilty of Liverpool launderette murder – BBC News
‘Five teenagers, some as young as 14, have been found guilty of murdering a 19-year-old man in a Liverpool launderette.’
BBC News, 8th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Challenging discretionary housing payments by way of judicial review – Garden Court Chambers Blog
‘Desmond Rutledge looks at the role discretionary housing payments (DHPs) have assumed in the wake of the Government’s welfare reform programme and examines the scope for challenging DHP decisions.’
Garden Court Chambers Blog, 7th May 2014
Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com
Kaneria’s life ban upheld – Sports Law Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
‘The Commercial Court has dismissed a challenge by Pakistani international bowler Danish Kaneria to a lifetime ban upheld by the Appeal Panel of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s Disciplinary Commission (“ECB”).’
Sports Law Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 7th May 2014
Source: www.sportslawbulletin.org
Rules on party political slogans to change amid Rigby row – BBC News
‘Rules on the description of political parties will be changed after criticism of the use of a slogan referring to murdered soldier Lee Rigby. The Electoral Commission has apologised to his family for allowing Britain First to put “Remember Lee Rigby” on voting slips in European elections. The watchdog said the use of his name had caused “deep offence and distress”.’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Ajmol Alom murder: Knife warnings as trio jailed – BBC News
‘Three men have been jailed for life for the murder of a “star pupil”. Aspiring doctor Ajmol Alom, 16, was stabbed in the thigh by a masked gang in an unprovoked attack near his home in Poplar, east London, on 12 August. Aminur Nadir Khan, 19, Mashudur Rahman, 22, and Ali Akbar Choudhury, 20, were jailed for a minimum of 23 years.’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Farmer Paul Waterfall cleared over Roger Freeman bull death – BBC News
‘A farmer who owned a bull or cow which killed a walker has been cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence..’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Chris Grayling orders review of ‘single punch’ killings – Daily Telegraph
‘Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, has ordered a review of the way criminals who kill with a single punch are punished by the courts. The Government’s intervention – which could have a far-reaching impact on the way all types of manslaughter are sentenced – came after judges refused to increase the sentence handed down to an attacker who killed a disabled man.’
Daily Telegraph, 7th May 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Police killers will face ‘life means life’ sentence – Daily Telegraph
‘The sentence for criminals who kill a police officer will be increased to the toughest “life means life” tariff under new reforms tabled by the Government.’
Daily Telegraph, 7th May 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Metropolitan Police officers start wearing body cameras – BBC News
‘Met Police officers are to start wearing cameras on their uniforms as part of plans to boost transparency and accelerate convictions.’
BBC News, 8th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Prison book ban may face legal challenge – BBC News
‘A government policy that bans books being sent to prisoners in England and Wales may face a legal challenge.’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Legal professional privilege does not automatically engage an EIR exception – Panopticon
‘FOIA provides an exemption (s. 42) expressly for legal professional privilege; as is well known, there is ‘strong inherent weight’ in maintaining that exemption. What about the EIRs? LPP is not expressly mentioned, but regulation 12(5)(b) EIR applies to information the disclosure of which would adversely affect “the course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature”. Does information attracting LPP automatically come within that exception? Many practitioners operate on the assumption that the answer is ‘yes’. The Upper Tribunal has on a previous occasion, however, left that question open: DCLG v IC and Robinson [2012] UKUT 103 (AAC); [2012] 2 Info LR 43.’
Panopticon, 6th May 2014
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Gambling regulator to issue guidance on ‘gambling software’ after imposing new licensing conditions on its supply – OUT-LAW.com
‘Remote gambling operators in Great Britain (GB) will be forced to ensure that they source their gambling software from a GB licensed provider to remain compliant with a new licensing regime being brought into force.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th May 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Graham Gee and Kate Malleson: Judicial Appointments, Diversity and the Equal Merit Provision – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘One of the changes introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was to amend section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which provides that the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) must select candidates for judicial office ‘solely on merit’. Schedule 13 of the 2013 Act clarified that making selections solely on merit does not prevent the JAC from recommending a candidate on the basis of improving diversity on the bench where there are two candidates of equal merit. This is variously known as the ‘equal merit’, ‘tie-break’ or ‘tipping point’ provision and derives from s 159 of the Equality Act 2010. After a consultation exercise last summer, the JAC last month published its policy on how it will implement the equal merit provision. In this post, we draw on research conducted as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence to explain why the JAC’s policy is disappointingly cautious, limits the prospect of further progress on diversity and offers further evidence of what we believe is the excessive judicial influence on judicial appointments.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th May 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
