Damages in Fatal Accidents Claims: Supreme Court decision as to proper basis for calculations of future loss – Henderson Chambers

Posted March 22nd, 2016 in accidents, appeals, asbestos, damages, industrial injuries, news, Supreme Court, trials by sally

‘In Knauer (Widower and Administrator of the Estate of Sally Ann Knaur) v Ministry of Justice [2016] UKSC 9, the Supreme Court has held that the correct date as at which to assess the multiplier when fixing damages for future loss in claims under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 should be the date of trial and not the date of death. In doing so it refused to follow two decisions of the House of Lords (Cookson v Knowles [1979] AC 556 and Graham v Dodds [1983] 1 WLR 808) pursuant to which the relevant date had been the date of death.’

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Henderson Chambers, February 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Thomas Orchard trial: jury discharged as judge halts proceedings – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2016 in death in custody, juries, news, police, retrials, trials by sally

‘A jury considering verdicts in the trial of a police custody sergeant and two detention officers accused of killing a church caretaker who died after being restrained has been discharged.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Becky Watts killers received £400,000 in legal aid – BBC News

Posted March 3rd, 2016 in appeals, costs, legal aid, news, trials by sally

‘The killers of Bristol teenager Becky Watts were granted more than £400,000 in legal aid, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.’

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BBC News, 3rd March 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal Aid Agency spends £93m on cases not heard in court – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 1st, 2016 in costs, Crown Prosecution Service, legal aid, news, prosecutions, reports, trials by sally

‘The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has spent more than £93m funding defence counsel in cases that did not go to trial, the National Audit Office has found.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 1st March 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court rewrites law on multipliers in fatal accident cases – Legal Futures

‘The Supreme Court has overturned two House of Lords judgments in ruling that the multiplier in assessing damages for fatal accident claims should be calculated from the date of the trial, not the date of death.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th February 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court approves first application to transfer case to shorter trials scheme – Litigation Futures

Posted February 23rd, 2016 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, trials by sally

‘The High Court has approved the first application to transfer a case started in the normal way into the shorter trials scheme (STS).’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd February 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Secret trial: One off – or the first of many? – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2016 in closed material, news, reporting restrictions, terrorism, trials by sally

‘Possibly the worst headline I’ve ever written. But before I’m accused of completely failing to perform basic contractual duties, allow me to explain why those seven words are rather important.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Libor trial: It was the prosecution that couldn’t go wrong… until it did – The Independent

Posted February 10th, 2016 in banking, fraud, interest, news, prosecutions, trials by sally

‘By day four of the trial, one of the jurors had fallen asleep. Liam Vaughan reports on how the Serious Fraud Office’s case against six City brokers accused of conspiring with Tom Hayes came to grief amid a welter of jargon and inconsistencies.’

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The Independent, 10th November 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Financial list for cases over £50m working well, Mr Justice Blair says – Litigation Futures

Posted January 28th, 2016 in banking, budgets, costs, financial regulation, judges, news, pilot schemes, speeches, trials by sally

‘The ‘financial list’ launched by the High Court in October last year for claims linked to the financial markets and worth over £50m is “operating well”, Mr Justice Blair has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th January 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

People with advanced dementia have no place in court – The Guardian

Posted January 20th, 2016 in accidents, courts, elderly, fitness to plead, mental health, news, road traffic, trials by sally

‘The Law Commission has recommended a new test of incapacity after the Greville Janner case. We must be cautious about punishing those no longer in control of their actions.’

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The Guardian, 19th January 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Thousands of trials end over no-show witnesses – watchdog – BBC News

Posted January 19th, 2016 in criminal justice, domestic violence, news, reports, trials, witnesses by sally

‘More than 11,000 criminal trials in England and Wales had to be abandoned last year because witnesses pulled out or did not appear at court, a watchdog has said.’

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BBC News, 19th January 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too many people unfit to plead face criminal trials, says Law Commission – The Independent

Posted January 11th, 2016 in criminal justice, fitness to plead, Law Commission, mental health, news, trials by tracey

‘Commission will tell Government legal tests to determine whether someone is mentally fit for trial are Victorian legacies.’

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The Independent, 10th January 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jailed MI6 informant blocked from taking case to court of human rights – The Guardian

Posted December 17th, 2015 in appeals, human rights, intelligence services, murder, news, private hearings, trials by tracey

‘A Chinese dissident and MI6 informant convicted of murder after a secret trial has been prevented from taking his case to the European court of human rights.’

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The Guardian, 16th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK ties with Gaddafi were like ‘a criminal conspiracy’, high court hears – The Guardian

Posted December 17th, 2015 in closed material, conspiracy, intelligence services, Libya, news, rendition, trials by tracey

‘The relationship that the British security services forged with Muammar Gaddafi’s regime a decade ago amounted to “a criminal conspiracy with a foreign dictator”, according to evidence before the high court, where a dozen Libyan dissidents who were subsequently targeted by the British authorities are bringing a claim for damages.’

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The Guardian, 16th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The dirty tricks of the Shrewsbury trials expose the dark heart of the radical 1970s – The Guardian

Posted December 8th, 2015 in conspiracy, construction industry, intimidation, media, news, trade unions, trials by sally

‘The trials of 24 trade unionists, including Ricky Tomlinson, seem to have been unduly influenced by Edward Heath. The more we learn about that decade, the more its injustices will haunt us.’

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The Guardian, 7th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Speech by HHJ Edmund QC on Better Case Management and the Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Speech by HHJ Edmund QC at the Criminal Bar Association Ann Goddard Memorial Lecture on 3 November 2015 entitled ”All Change: What you need to know about Better Case Management and the Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing”.

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 17th November 2015

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

The right to a fair trial: part two – OUP Blog

Posted November 10th, 2015 in death penalty, freedom of expression, human rights, news, Privy Council, trials by sally

‘Human rights law has had a long and tortuous history in the UK, defined by some of the most fascinating cases in legal memory.’

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OUP Blog, 10th November 2015

Source: www.blog.oup.com

The right to a fair trial: part one – OUP Blog

Posted November 3rd, 2015 in juries, legal history, news, trials by sally

‘Our legal history stretches back well over eight centuries, to long before Magna Carta (1215). But however long this history may be, it is not one of which we can be universally proud, and the freedoms which we enjoy today have had to be hard won over the centuries. These are now encapsulated in the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force in 2000, and which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights. They include, amongst others: the right to life, freedom from torture or being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, freedom from slavery, and the rights to a fair trial, free speech (freedom of expression) and respect for private and family life. But these freedoms have not suddenly emerged from a twentieth century statute. Our history is peopled by many remarkable characters, and includes the stories of very many fascinating cases, some of which have created and developed freedoms over the ages.’

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OUP Blog, 3rd November 2015

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Joint enterprise review ‘long overdue’, lawyers argue – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 29th, 2015 in appeals, joint enterprise, murder, news, Supreme Court, trials by sally

‘Murder appeals being heard at the Supreme Court over the next three days will have ‘important consequences’ for the controversial principle of joint enterprise, some lawyers believe.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 27th OCtober 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Princess of Wales Hospital nurse neglect trial collapses – BBC News

‘The case against two hospital nurses accused of wilfully neglecting vulnerable patients has collapsed.’

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BBC News, 14th October 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk