Child witnesses struggling to remember details after lengthy waits – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 28th, 2019 in children, cross-examination, delay, news, witnesses by tracey

‘A 13-year-old witness struggled to recall information in detail when cross-examined in court after waiting two years for the trial to begin, according to research commissioned by the NSPCC, which says child witnesses are being let down by the criminal justice system.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th February 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

CA rules £1m security order to admit late statement was wrong – Litigation Futures

Posted February 18th, 2019 in adjournment, costs, news, service, time limits, witnesses by sally

‘A High Court judge was wrong to order a defendant to make a £1m security for costs payment – almost the sum the claimant was seeking – to rely on a witness statement it had served late, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th February 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The pen: mightier than the word? – New Law Journal

Posted December 11th, 2018 in civil justice, civil procedure rules, costs, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘John A. Kimbell QC considers a new review of the rules on witness evidence in the Business & Property Courts.’

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New Law Journal, 12th November 2018

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Judge criticises City solicitor for giving witness statement to journalist – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge has strongly criticised a City partner who gave a journalist a copy of a witness statement made in support of an application for pre-action disclosure.’

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Litigation Futures, 13th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Children: Public Law Update (August 2018) – Family Law Week

‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent, important Children Public Law cases.’

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Family Law Week, 15th August 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Court warning after solicitor called by own client to give evidence – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 14th, 2018 in conflict of interest, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘A High Court judge has made clear that clients should resist calling their own solicitor to give evidence, warning that to do so may give rise to a potential conflict of interest.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 14th August 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Vexatious ex-solicitor “said first thing that came into her head” – Legal Futures

Posted August 10th, 2018 in drafting, news, solicitors, vexatious litigants, wills, witnesses by sally

‘A struck-off solicitor called to give evidence over a will she drafted often said “the first thing that came into her without reflecting on whether it was correct”, the High Court has found.’

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Legal Futures, 9th August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge takes over father’s cross-examination in case involving rape allegations – and it ends up being unfair on everyone involved – Transparency Project

Posted July 31st, 2018 in appeals, cross-examination, judges, litigants in person, news, rape, witnesses by sally

‘Mr Justice Hayden is a High Court Judge who has been very outspoken about the potential for the court process to be abusive of those who are already victims of domestic abuse. In a case called Re A (a minor) (fact finding; unrepresented party) [2017] EWHC 1195 (Fam), having permitted the unrepresented father to directly question the mother (albeit with special measures in place so they didn’t have to confront each other by line of sight) he memorably said ‘Never again’. Hayden J said it was ‘a stain on the reputation of our Family Justice system that a Judge can still not prevent a victim being cross examined by an alleged perpetrator’. Today he has published an appeal judgment overturning a fact-finding decision in a case where another judge tried to cross examine the mother on behalf of the father accused of rape because (Hayden J said) the process was unfair and the decision unsound. The full judgment can be read here : PS v BP [2018] EWHC 1987 (Fam) (27 July 2018), but this blog post explains it.’

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Transparency Project, 30th July 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Speech by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division: Because it is the right thing to do – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 25th, 2018 in children, cross-examination, family courts, speeches, witnesses by tracey

‘Speech by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division: Because it is the right thing to do.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 24th July 2018

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Judicial Protocol update: Expedition of Cases Involving Witnesses Under 10 Years – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 17th, 2018 in children, courts, press releases, reports, witnesses by tracey

‘A Protocol between The National Police Chiefs’ Council, The Crown Prosecution Service and Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service to Expedite Cases Involving Witnesses Under 10 Years.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th July 2018

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Farming disputes and proprietary estoppel: Gee v Gee – Family Law

Posted July 5th, 2018 in agricultural holdings, appeals, estoppel, evidence, families, news, witnesses by tracey

‘In recent years there has been a procession of farming proprietary estoppel cases, the most famous of which was probably Davies v Davies [2016] EWCA Civ 463, [2017] 1 FLR 1286 with the claimant in that case capturing the media’s attention as the “Cowshed Cinderella”. On 11 June 2018 Mr Justice Birss, sitting in Bristol, handed down judgment on the latest, the case of Gee v Gee & Anor [2018] EWHC 1393 (Ch), [2018] All ER (D) 58 (Jun).’

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Family Law, 4th July 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

A very English scandal – New Law Journal

Posted June 25th, 2018 in bias, conspiracy, judges, murder, news, trials, witnesses by sally

‘Alec Samuels shares his reflections on the legal significance of the Jeremy Thorpe case.’

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New Law Journal, 21st June 2018

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

High court blocks Amber Rudd attempt to deport witness – The Guardian

Posted April 30th, 2018 in deportation, immigration, inquests, news, witnesses by tracey

‘Amber Rudd has lost a legal battle over her attempts to deport a key witness to a controversial death at a UK immigration centre. Jamaican Andrew Van Horn was due to be expelled from the country this week, despite the likelihood that he would be summoned to appear at an inquest into the death, and to a separate police investigation.’

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The Guardian, 28th April 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Litigant’s claim struck out for discussing case during break in giving evidence – a cautionary tale – Transparency Project

Posted April 19th, 2018 in appeals, BBC, employment tribunals, evidence, media, news, striking out, witnesses by sally

‘It’s one of the cardinal rules of court procedure: once you’ve entered the witness box and started to give evidence, you mustn’t discuss the case with anyone outside court, if there’s a break in the proceedings, until you’ve finished giving evidence.’

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Transparency Project, 15th April 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

New limb (g) added to Wimbledon v Vago principles and fraud allegations merit stay – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 9th, 2018 in accounts, fraud, intimidation, news, stay of execution, witnesses by tracey

‘Last week, Fraser J handed down his judgment in Gosvenor London Ltd v Aygun UK Ltd, a case in which the defendant (Aygun) was seeking to resist payment of an adjudicator’s award of around £650,000 on the grounds that a substantial part of the award was allegedly derived from fraudulent invoicing of Aygun. In the alternative, Aygun sought a stay on the basis of fraud, alleged witness intimidation and, most importantly, the entirely unsatisfactory nature of the claimant’s (Gosvenor) statutory accounts for 2016/2017 and the unbelievable explanations given on its behalf as to the contents. This combination of factors led the court to conclude it was unlikely that Gosvenor would repay the adjudicator’s award, were it required to do so following a challenge to the adjudicator’s decision in subsequent TCC proceedings.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th April 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Witness “was not a reliable historian” – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted March 27th, 2018 in construction industry, evidence, news, witnesses by tracey

‘I like reading Fraser J’s judgments. Where else would you get phrases such as “banter in a public house during consumption of a gallon of ale (or lager)” and “quite apart from any illumination of the wisdom (or otherwise) of discussing (still less agreeing) incentive payments of such extraordinary size at an evening of drinking in the Horse & Groom”, nestled in among legal analysis? (He was talking about Blue v Ashley, which I’m sure was an interesting informal business meeting!).’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 27th March 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Judges told to limit observers if witness has to remove veil – The Guardian

‘Judges should restrict the number of observers allowed into court when defendants or witnesses are compelled to remove their veil to give evidence, new guidance to judges recommends.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Does the inclusion of families and children in family proceedings go far enough? – Family Law Week

Posted February 23rd, 2018 in children, families, family courts, judgments, news, witnesses by tracey

‘Adele Cameron-Douglas, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, asks how children can continue to be involved in proceedings that concern them after their conclusion.’

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Family Law Week, 22nd February 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Helping child witnesses: ‘One girl gave evidence with a hamster on her lap’ – The Guardian

‘They might be victims of rape, or witnesses to murder. But can they really be relied upon to tell the truth at trial?’

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The Guardian, 17th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Child victims let down by lack of help in court, says UK watchdog – The Guardian

Posted January 17th, 2018 in children, evidence, news, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Hundreds of the most vulnerable victims of crime are being prevented from testifying against their attackers because of a shortage of experts to help them give evidence, the victims’ commissioner warns in a report on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 17th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com