Category: witnesses

Attending a court to give evidence for the employer is not ‘‘work’’ for the purposes of the ‘furlough’ scheme – 3PB

Posted July 8th, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, courts, employment, evidence, news, statutory interpretation, witnesses by sally

‘According to a report in the Nottinghamshire Law Society Civil Court User Bulletin No 5. HHJ Godsmark QC, on an application to vacate a trial on account of the Defendant’s witnesses being “furloughed”, stated that, “attending a court to give evidence for the employer is not ‘work’ and certainly not work within the meaning of the furlough scheme”.’

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3PB, 3rd July 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Why we can’t tell if a witness is telling the truth – OUP Blog

Posted July 8th, 2020 in cross-examination, deceit, news, trials, witnesses by sally

‘Imagine that you are a juror in a trial in which the chief witness for the prosecution gives evidence about the alleged crime which is completely at odds with the evidence given by the accused. One of them is either very badly mistaken or lying. On what basis will you decide which one of them is telling the truth? And how sure can you be in your conclusion?’

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OUP Blog, 7th July 2020

Source: blog.oup.com

Amber Heard can be in court for Johnny Depp’s evidence, high court rules – The Guardian

Posted July 6th, 2020 in cross-examination, defamation, disclosure, domestic violence, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘Johnny Depp has failed to stop his ex-wife Amber Heard from watching him give evidence in a libel case over allegations of domestic abuse.’

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The Guardian, 4th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court judge savages unnecessary witness statements – Litigation Futures

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in drafting, news, summary judgments, taxation, witnesses by tracey

‘A High Court judge has roundly criticised witness statements prepared for an application for summary judgment in a major piece of tax litigation, saying far too much time and money was spent on them.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

How Judges Make their Decisions – is witness demeanour a myth? – Family Law Week

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in judiciary, juries, news, remote hearings, witnesses by tracey

‘Madeleine Whelan, barrister of Fourteen, considers how much weight judges might give to witnesses’ demeanour when evaluating their evidence in the light of a recent judgment by Mrs Justice Lieven.’

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Family Law Week, 29th June 2020

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Assume hearings are going to be remote, says judge – Litigation Futures

Posted July 1st, 2020 in coronavirus, cross-examination, legal representation, local government, news, remote hearings, witnesses by sally

‘Parties should assume hearings will be held remotely at the moment and explain why it would not be just to do so if they want one in person, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 25th June 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Obligations in relation to electronic records and devices: fresh guidance from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) – Park Square Barristers

Posted June 29th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, data protection, disclosure, electronic mail, news, privacy, witnesses by sally

‘Two otherwise unrelated cases were listed together to provide the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), headed by the Vice – President Lord Justice Fulford, with an opportunity to consider various issues relating to the retention, inspection, copying, disclosure and deletion of the electronic records held by prosecution witnesses.’

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Park Square Barristers, 26th June 2020

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Police in England and Wales taking ‘excessive personal data’ from mobile phones – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2020 in consent, data protection, news, police, privacy, reports, telecommunications, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Police are extracting “excessive amounts of personal data” from the mobile phones of victims and witnesses during investigations and are in danger of discouraging the public from reporting crime, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned.’

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The Guardian, 18th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Vulnerable parties and witnesses in employment tribunal proceedings – 12 King’s Bench Walk

Posted June 17th, 2020 in case management, chambers articles, employment, employment tribunals, news, witnesses by sally

‘The first Presidential Guidance on vulnerable parties and witnesses in employment tribunal proceedings was issued this April. Key parts of the guidance deal with (i) identifying when a participant is vulnerable, and (ii) case management: directions and orders.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 9th June 2020

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Giving evidence is not ‘work’ for furloughed employee – Litigation Futures

Posted June 11th, 2020 in adjournment, coronavirus, employment, news, witnesses by sally

‘Giving evidence at court is not “work” for an employee and so being on furlough is not a reason for their employer to seek to vacate a hearing, the designated civil judge in Nottingham has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 11th June 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Remote hearings “can deal with credibility issues” – Legal Futures

Posted June 4th, 2020 in evidence, live link evidence, news, remote hearings, select committees, witnesses by sally

‘People should not presume that remote hearings cannot be used for cases where the credibility of witnesses is at stake, the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice has said.’

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Legal Futures, 4th June 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Guildford pub bombings inquest can access closed files – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2020 in disclosure, documents, explosives, inquests, news, terrorism, witnesses by sally

‘The resumed inquest into the Guildford pub bombs in 1974 will have access to more than 700 classified files, a pre-inquest review (PIR) has been told.’

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BBC News, 20th May 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

ABE 2016/19 has gone AWOL – Counsel

Posted May 20th, 2020 in codes of practice, criminal justice, evidence, forced labour, news, sexual offences, trafficking in human beings, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Shortcomings and legal anachronisms: how can we achieve best evidence if current guidance is dangerously out of date on the law on special measures? asks Laura Hoyano.’

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Counsel, May 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Depp v Denton: Hollywood star pleads for relief from sanctions – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 19th, 2020 in defamation, news, sanctions, time limits, witnesses by sally

‘Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp came up against the nuances of civil procedure rules yesterday after he asked for permission to call extra witnesses to his libel trial.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th May 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Remote Hearings and Witness Evidence – Pump Court Chambers

Posted May 12th, 2020 in chambers articles, evidence, news, remote hearings, witnesses by sally

‘Remote hearings come with particular difficulties. One obvious difficulty is that the parties cannot see each other as well as they might in the courtroom. But how much of a problem is this?’

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Pump Court Chambers, 29th April 2020

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Warning over fall-out from witness statement crackdown – Litigation Futures

Posted April 15th, 2020 in barristers, costs, drafting, negligence, news, pre-action conduct, professional conduct, solicitors, witnesses by sally

‘A judicial crackdown on overlong witness statements puts lawyers at risk of wasted costs orders and professional negligence claims, a barrister has warned.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Witness Statements: Overlong and Over-lawyered? – Hailsham Chambers

Posted April 1st, 2020 in chambers articles, drafting, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘As many legal commentators including the author have noted recently: long, complex and detailed statements served particularly on behalf of lay witnesses, but written by their legal teams, can be more of a hindrance than of assistance. Straightforward cross-examinations of such witnesses will frequently prove effective in at the very least exciting the suspicion of a court as to the reliability of such lay evidence, or worse, in some cases causing questions to be asked as to their credibility when the inevitable rhetorical question is asked in closing as to whether such a person ever really could have had a reasonable belief in the veracity of what the statement contained.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 27th March 2020

Source: www.hailshamchambers.com

UK broke law over IS ‘Beatles’ by passing information to US – BBC News

Posted March 25th, 2020 in data protection, death penalty, disclosure, evidence, execution, foreign jurisdictions, government departments, judicial review, news, Supreme Court, terrorism, witnesses by sally

‘The UK acted unlawfully by passing evidence to the US that could lead to the execution of two British members of an Islamic State murder squad.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Parties told to cut unnecessary content from witness statements – Litigation Futures

Posted March 25th, 2020 in evidence, limitations, news, witnesses by sally

‘A High Court judge who sat on the witness evidence working group has ordered witness statements in a case before him to be revised to remove inappropriate content.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Commercial Court ends “ready approval” of long witness statements – Litigation Futures

Posted March 16th, 2020 in Commercial Court, evidence, limitations, news, witnesses by sally

‘The current Commercial Court practice of readily granting applications seeking an extension of the 30-page limit for witness statements is to end, the judge in charge has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com