‘Government plans for virtual court hearings and online guilty pleas for criminal offences are poorly costed, based on weak evidence and have not been subjected to proper consultation, a national justice charity says today.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 15th March 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Mark Roscoe, barrister of The 36 Group, outlines the provisions which the Government proposes to insert into section 31 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984.’
Family Law Week, 7th March 2017
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Police officers directly involved in fatal incidents should be separated as quickly as possible to prevent conferring, a watchdog has said.’
BBC News, 21st February 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Rape complainants are being routinely questioned in court about their sexual histories and even the way they were dressed on the night they were attacked, according to a damning dossier of case studies to be presented to MPs this week. The findings have triggered calls for the law to be tightened to protect complainants better.’
The Guardian, 4th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘More than nine out of 10 victims and witnesses are now satisfied with the support provided to them at court by the CPS, following the implementation of a ground-breaking initiative. Since April 2016, the CPS has been rolling out a new nationwide programme in which prosecution staff or advocates provide essential information to witnesses at court in order to assist them in giving their evidence. This rollout was completed across all courts last Autumn.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 2nd February 2017
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
‘Witnesses and parties are frequently being excluded from County Court sessions across the country when another witness or party is giving evidence in cases when there are accusations of collusion or fraud. The fear is that if Witness A hears the responses of Witness B, Witness A may shape his/her evidence to be consistent with that of Witness B in order to strengthen their case.’
4 KBW, 5th January 2017
Source: www.4kbw.net
‘The president of the Family Division has berated the state of equipment in family courts, including his own court in London’s Royal Courts of Justice.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd January 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The mother of murdered soldier Lee Rigby has said she was threatened with arrest unless she attended the appeal hearing of a man who harassed her over her son’s death.’
The Guardian, 22nd January 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘I have been raising since 2014 the pressing need to reform the way in which vulnerable people give evidence in family proceedings. I have made clear my view that the family justice system lags woefully behind the criminal justice system.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 30th December 2016
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent important judgments in the field of public children law.’
Family Law Week, 7th December 2016
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Re: W (A child) [2016] EWCA Civ 1140. A Family Court judgment was severely critical of two witnesses and the applicant local authority. In an oral “bullet point” judgment at the end of the hearing, the Judge found that the witnesses, a social worker (“SW”) and a police officer (“PO”), had improperly conspired to prove certain allegations regardless of the truth, or professional guidelines.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th November 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A social worker and a police officer have successfully crossed what McFarlane LJ called “legal landmines” to secure deletion of criticisms made of them by a judge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd November 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A public hearing into allegations of child abuse against the late Lord Janner is to be put back to an undisclosed date, the national inquiry into institutional abuse has said.’
The Guardian, 16th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Solicitors who served witness statements two months late cannot call any witnesses at trial after the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance judge’s decision to refuse relief from sanctions.’
Litigation futures, 14th November 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Guidelines say children and people with learning difficulties should not be subject to unnecessarily harsh questioning.’
The Guardian, 14th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina v Sardar (Anis Abid) [2016] EWCA Crim 1616
‘The defendant was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and, as an alternative count, conspiracy to cause an explosion. It was the Crown’s case that the defendant had been directly involved in the construction and/or deployment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one of which had caused the death of an American soldier near Baghdad in September 2007. The defendant’s case was that he had been acting in lawful and proportionate defence of Sunni communities who were under threat from Shia militia; his fingerprints had been found on two of the bombs, although not the one which had resulted in the fatal explosion. The defendant was convicted of murder and conspiracy to murder; no verdict was sought on the alternative count of conspiracy to cause an explosion. He appealed against conviction on the ground, inter alia, of fresh evidence from two anonymous witnesses (C and D) who were now available to give evidence as to the frequency and quality of attacks by the Shia militia on the Sunni communities and the need for the Sunnis to act in self-defence. C and D were prepared to disclose their identities to the court and, within a strict “confidentiality ring”, to counsel for the Crown, the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer and two senior investigating officers with undertakings that there should be no further disclosure to anyone. However, the Crown was not prepared to give such undertakings. The defendant applied for an order under section 87(3) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (which required the defendant to inform the court and the prosecutor of the identity of the witness) for anonymity measures to be put in place. It was submitted that although the “prosecutor” had to be informed, that did not necessarily envisage disclosure beyond the person of the prosecutor.’
WLR Daily, 18th October 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The judge leading efforts to drag the courts system into the 21st century has reassured sceptical lawyers they will be won over by technological advances.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 7th November 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission has confirmed it is reviewing six cases involving celebrities who were convicted following involvement with Mazher Mahmood, better known as the Fake Sheikh.’
The Independent, 6th October 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
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