‘Soft’ sentences for knife crime despite Chris Grayling pledge – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 7th, 2013 in cautions, fines, news, offensive weapons, recidivists, sentencing, statistics by sally

“Knife-wielding criminals are being handed soft sentences by the courts despite a pledge by the Government to introduce tough new measures.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 7th, 2013 in negligence, news, solicitors, wills by sally

“Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m.’ ”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Men jailed over rape of boy, 14, in Manchester Debenhams – BBC News

Posted June 6th, 2013 in assault, children, closed circuit television, news, rape, sentencing by sally

“Two men have been jailed for 15 years for raping a boy, 14, in the toilets of a Manchester department store.”

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BBC News, 6th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Crown court judges oppose legal aid changes – The Guardian

Posted June 6th, 2013 in Crown Court, judges, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

“Crown court judges have delivered a damning response to government plans to prevent defendants from choosing their solicitor and slice a further £220m off the legal aid budget.”

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The Guaridan, 6th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Purpose of social networking will determine whether businesses have data protection responsibilities, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 6th, 2013 in data protection, internet, news, standards by sally

“Businesses that encourage staff to use social networks for commercial purposes are subject to UK data protection laws, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

145 specially appointed Government barristers demand rethink on Legal Aid plans – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 6th, 2013 in barristers, consultations, judicial review, legal aid, news by sally

“145 barristers on the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel have signed a letter seeking that the Government to rethink its plans for reform of Legal Aid. I was one of the signatories. The letter is reproduced on the Legal Aid Changes blog.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Attorney general joins calls for police to confirm names in ‘secret arrests’ – The Guardian

Posted June 6th, 2013 in anonymity, attorney general, media, news, police, privacy, public interest by sally

“The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has intervened in the debate over so-called secret arrests and said police should confirm the name of a suspect if they have been correctly identified by the media.”

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The Guardian, 4th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers block road outside Ministry of Justice in protest against legal aid cuts – The Guardian

“Lawyers waving placards and chanting blocked the road outside the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday evening in protest over proposals to slice a further £220m out of criminal legal aid and remove defendants’ ability to choose a solicitor.”

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The Guardian, 4th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Appeal of artist paedophile Graham Ovenden’s ‘unduly lenient’ sentence mooted to Attorney General – The Independent

Posted June 6th, 2013 in appeals, news, sentencing, sexual offences, suspended sentences by sally

“The Attorney General is considering referring the sentence of an internationally renowned artist from Cornwall to the Court of Appeal to see if it was ‘unduly lenient’.”

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The Independent, 6th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New mediation laws to help separating couples – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 6th, 2013 in arbitration, divorce, news by sally

“Separating couples will be legally required to find out about ways to settle disputes away from the courtroom, under new laws currently going through Parliament.”

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Ministry of Justice, 5th June 2013

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

Secret Courts – BBC Unreliable Evidence

“Leading human rights barrister Dinah Rose challenges cabinet minister Ken Clarke over the Government’s extension of the use of secret courts.”

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BBC Unreliable Evidence, 5th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

West Midlands Police pay out to bereaved mum Abby Podmore – BBC News

Posted June 6th, 2013 in compensation, homicide, news, police, wrongful arrest by sally

“A mother arrested on suspicion of murder after her son died of natural causes has accepted an undisclosed settlement from the police.”

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BBC News, 6th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Coroner calls for Alexander Litvinenko inquiry – The Independent

Posted June 6th, 2013 in coroners, disclosure, evidence, inquiries, murder, news, poisoning, spying by sally

“The coroner presiding over the inquest into the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko has called on the government to replace it with a public inquiry.”

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The Independent, 5th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Helen Fenwick: Article 8 ECHR, the ‘Feminist Article’, Women and a Conservative Bill of Rights – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted June 6th, 2013 in bills, courts, families, human rights, news, reports, women by sally

“There has been a lot of commentary on the Report of the Bill of Rights’ Commission, and the ‘damp squib’ analysis of the Report (see Mark Elliott) as a whole is one most commentators appear to assent to (see eg Joshua Rozenberg for the Guardian here). My view in general is that the squib could reignite post-2015 if a Conservative government is elected, not in relation to the very hesitant ideas as to the possible future content of a Bill of Rights that the Report put forward, but in relation to its majority recommendation that there should be one (see further my previous post on the Commission Report here). If a BoR was to emerge under a Conservative government post-2015 I suggest that it would reflect the ideas of the Conservative nominees on the Commission which assumed a far more concrete form in the Report than the majority recommendations did (eg see here at p 192). This blog post due to its length is not intended to examine the probable nature of such a BoR based on those ideas in general, but to focus only on two aspects: the idea of curtailing the effects of an equivalent to Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private and family life), and of requiring domestic courts to disapply Strasbourg jurisprudence under a BoR in a wider range of situations than at present under s2HRA (see Roger Masterman’s post on s2 on this blog here). In respect of the latter issue the potential impact of so doing will only be linked to selected aspects of Article 8 jurisprudence of especial actual and potential benefit to women.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 5th June 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Carmarthenshire blogger told to pay £230,000 legal costs – BBC News

Posted June 6th, 2013 in appeals, costs, damages, defamation, harassment, local government, news by sally

“A Carmarthenshire blogger fears losing her home after being told to pay a £230,000 legal bill for a failed bid to sue a council chief executive.”

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BBC News, 5th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CA: costs are not reasonable just because court has approved budget – Litigation Futures

Posted June 6th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, costs, news, proportionality by sally

“Costs judges should not treat costs as reasonable or proportionate simply because they fall within the scope of the court-approved budget, the Court of Appeal has warned.”

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Litigation Futures, 5th June 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Is small print in online contracts enforceable? – BBC News

“With some internet companies’ terms and conditions being longer than Shakespeare’s Hamlet, could it be that ‘unfair’ clauses in agreements are not even worth the paper they are printed on?”

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BBC News, 6th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Housekeeper sees dismissal claim rejected as ‘threesome’ allegation dismissed – The Independent

Posted June 6th, 2013 in employment tribunals, harassment, news, unfair dismissal by sally

“A lesbian housekeeper who claimed a Tory MP and his wife tried to persuade her to join in a threesome with them had her case for sexual harassment and unfair dismissal unanimously thrown out today.”

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The Independent, 5th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Stop and search reduction has led to fairer policing, says equality group – The Guardian

Posted June 6th, 2013 in equality, news, police, racism, stop and search by sally

“Police use of stop and search has been cut by up to 50% in five forces, including London and the West Midlands, without slowing the fall in the crime rate, according to an official report.”

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The Guardian, 6th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Case for legal clampdown on ‘chuggers’ compelling, say MPs – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 6th, 2013 in charities, education, news, public interest, reports, select committees by sally

“Charities should be forced to rein in the use of High Street fund-raisers known as ‘chuggers’ or face state regulation, a cross-party committee of MPs has concluded.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk