Archive for courts and court
Anew centre for aimed to improve access to Criminal Appeals has been set up.
The Centre for Criminal Appeals (CCA) is a new “access to justice” initiative, currently in its start-up phase. Once operational, CCA’s mission will be to:
work to overturn unsafe convictions by providing investigation and legal advocacy on criminal appeal cases in England and Wales on a not-for-profit basis
share lessons learned from casework with criminal justice policy makers, the legal profession and the public, with a view to systemic reform
A proposed not-for-profit solution to the shortage of legal representation on appeal
Whether you are a legal professional, a prisoner, a ...
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In what many peole will see as a blow for ‘trawling’ The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) v Secretary of State for Justice and G4S Care and Justice Services (UK) Ltd and Serco plc [2012] EWHC 8 (Admin) – read judgment
Although certain restraining measures had been taken unlawfully against young people in secure training centres for a number of years, the court had no jurisdiction to grant an order that the victims of this activity be identified and advised of their rights.
The claimant charity alleged that children and young persons held in one or other of the four Secure Training Centres in ...
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This items appears on the Daily Telegraph website
A secondary school assistant head teacher has spoken of his anguish at being accused of assualt by an unruly pupil as he tried to restore order in his school.
Since March, life for the Stuart family has been turned upside down. Even a shopping trip to town became an ordeal, through fear of people pointing and whispering behind their hands that there was “no smoke without fire”.
After a 23-year unblemished career as a teacher, William Stuart was arrested six months ago and accused of assaulting a 15-year-old girl in a corridor at Graham School, ...
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This news cutting first appeared on the EDP website on 15th September (here)
A Norwich teacher denied allegations that he had raped and sexually assaulted a young girl when he was interviewed about the matter by police, and described it as a “horrendous” accusation, a court heard.
Philip Bugg, pictured above, a PE teacher at Sewell Park College, formerly Blyth-Jex, is accused of one charge of rape, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual activity with a child. He is also charged with three counts of cruelty.
Bugg, 37, a former semi-professional footballer, of Philip Drive, Poringland, has denied all ...
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The Attorney General has issued the following press release follwing the successful prosecution of the Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd and News Group Newspapers Ltd who were found guilty of contempt of court for publishing potentially prejudicial coverage of a former suspect in the Joanna Yeates murder investigation at the start of this year which had the potential to impede the course of justice.
29 July 2011Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd and News Group Newspapers Ltd have been found guilty of contempt of court for publishing potentially prejudicial coverage of a former suspect in the ...
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This article appeared in The Independant on the 22nd June.
An internationally renowned children’s heart specialist won a High Court action yesterday to prevent hearsay evidence being used against him in a case involving allegations of child abuse.
Professor Philipp Bonhoeffer, a paediatric cardiologist who worked at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital, was accused of sexually abusing children in Kenya where he travelled to do medical charity work. He strongly denies the allegations.
The General Medical Council was due to hear the case last October when lawyers challenged a decision to consider hearsay evidence from a ...
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Following news (here) that a Somerset primary school teacher has admitted filming indecent photograph of girls in his class FACT have issued the following statement.
“The actions of Nigel Leat are deplorable. He has not only abused his position of trust and let down his profession but he is also responsible for psychologically damaging the wellbeing of dozens of pupils and shaking their trust in teachers and men in particular. The damage he has caused to these children and their families must be incalculable.
He has also caused incalculable damage to our movement and all those falsely accused carers and teachers who ...
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This article first appeared on the Guardian website
A maximum of 1,200 convicted sex offenders a year will be eligible to challenge their inclusion on the sex offender register for life, under Home Office proposals likely to come into force from early next year.
The decision by the home secretary, Theresa May, to give registered sex offenders a chance to be removed from the register follows a supreme court ruling that indefinite registration without any right to a review amounts to a breach of human rights.
May’s decision to comply with the ruling comes despite David Cameron ...
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This article first appeared in the Guardian on the 9th June 2011
The Sun has agreed to pay undisclosed compensation and apologised unreservedly to a social worker over the publication of false allegations about her role in the Baby P tragedy.
In a statement read out in the high court in London on Thursday, the paper’s publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, also agreed to publish an apology in print and online.
Sylvia Henry, a social worker in the London borough of Haringey for 23 years, was accused in articles published in the Sun of being “grossly ...
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According to an article on the Guardian web site written by Amelia Hill children may no longer be called to give evidence in the criminal courts except in the “most extraordinary circumstances”, even if that means risking their abusers going free, following a case due to be heard in June.
The change could transform the approach of the criminal courts towards children, and involves the refusal of a local authority to let a six-year-old girl give evidence against her father in court.
The Crown Prosecution Service is demanding that the child is cross-examined over allegations of sexual abuse she has made against ...
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According to an article in the Daily Mail (1st May 2011) written by Angela Levin an expert Neuropathologist, Dr Squier, believes that at least half of all parents tried over shaken baby syndrome have been wrongly convicted. Read more
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Puri, R (on the application of) v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2011] EWHC 970 (Admin) (15 April 2011)
This case refers to a claim for judicial review of two decisions of the defendant, the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Essentially, the issue is whether Article 6 ECHR was engaged in the disciplinary proceedings that led to dismissal, and if so whether the disciplinary panel of the Trust which decided to dismiss him was independent and impartial so as ...
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Law Commission report considers medical evidence in infant death trials
The Law Commission has published its recommendations in respect of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings in England and Wales. The report, called Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales (Law Com No 325), considers all types of forensic evidence and gives specific attention to medical evidence in cases concerning infant deaths.
The Commission says that the current judicial approach to the admissibility of expert evidence in England and Wales is one of laissez-faire. Too much expert opinion evidence is admitted without adequate scrutiny ...
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The Sentencing Council have announced that they have published new sentencing guidelines on assault offences for judges and magistrates.
The guidelines aim to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with convicted offenders receiving a sentence that reflects both the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability. There are separate guidelines for Crown Courts and for Magistrates Courts.
The guidelines which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation, will come into effect on 13 June. Although primarily aimed at criminal justice professionals, the guidelines are specifically designed to be accessible and clear both to victims ...
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This news report by Steven Morris has been extracted from the Guardian website
A schoolgirl who was found guilty of falsely accusing a 14-year-old boy of rape when she was 15 was told by a judge she had only narrowly avoided a custodial sentence.
District judge Joti Bopa Rai said the girl would have been sent to prison if she had been an adult, for years rather than months. The girl, ...
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The CPSs have launched a consultation regarding the retraction of rape and domestic violence allegations.
“Individuals who retract truthful allegations of rape or domestic violence out of fear are less likely to be prosecuted under proposed new guidance for prosecutors on the offence of perverting the course of justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, said today. But individuals who make malicious false allegations should know they risk prosecution, he said.”
Full press release
Retracting rape and domestic violence allegations: ...
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The Inner Tempole have published a completely updated and revised guide to sources of transcripts
Title: Transcripts of Judicial Proceedings in England and Wales: a Guide to Sources
Author: Sally Mclaren (compliler)
Published by: Inner Temple Library, 2011
Available from February 14th as a PDF document. 165 pp
The guide is intended primarily for librarians and information services staff who may need to obtain, or assist others to obtain, transcripts of the proceedings of courts and tribunals in England and Wales.
A major feature of this new edition is its greatly expanded coverage of tribunals. It is hoped that users of ...
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Morris, R (on the application of) v Criminal Cases Review Commission [2011] EWHC 117 (Admin) (07 February 2011)
Thiscase relates to a claim for Judicial Review brought by Raymond Morris (the Claimant) challenging a decision of the Criminal Cases Review Commission dated 21 June 2010 declining to refer his case to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division under sections 9 and 13 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995.
The primary basis of the claim is that the Commission was wrong to conclude that there was no real possibility that the Court of Appeal would not uphold the conviction in the light of ...
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This is an extract from a report on the BBC Hampshire and IOW website published on the 4th February 2011
A man who falsely claimed a traffic warden racially abused and attacked him to avoid paying for a parking ticket has been jailed for 12 months.
Ben Hlal, 45, was found guilty in January of two counts of perverting the course of justice after the incident in Fareham, Hampshire, in 2009.
He was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court earlier.
His estranged wife, Diane Bateman, received a six-month suspended sentence for the same charge.
(more)
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A woman who repeatedly made false allegations against her husband could be jailed if she breaks a court order to stop her wasting police time.
Amanda Taylor was yesterday prohibited from contacting more than a dozen named people, including a doctor and police officers in North Yorkshire.
The 34-year-old was due to stand trial on 21 charges of perverting the course of justice, but they were dropped after two days of legal discussions.
The case collapsed after doctors were unable to agree whether Taylor was of sound enough mind to realise her claims were false.
Although a ...
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An IPCC study reported in the Guardian finds failure in care of vulnerable prisoners – and says juries are unwilling to convict police officers
A total of 333 people have died in or following police custody over the past 11 years, but no officer has ever been successfully prosecuted, according to a watchdog’s report.
Prosecutions were recommended against 13 officers based on “relatively strong evidence of misconduct or neglect”, but none resulted in a guilty verdict.
Calling for ...
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Two 15-year-olds have been detained for killing a man in south London to “teach him a lesson” after one of them accused of him of sex abuse.
Robert Daley, 45, was stabbed at his Brixton flat, hours after another abuse case against him was dropped in April.
Last month the boy was convicted of murder and the girl of manslaughter.
The boy was given a life term with a minimum of nine years. The girl, who said Mr Daley had indecently touched her, was sentenced to six years.
The teenagers, who cannot be named as they are underage, were both 14 at the time ...
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A 27-year-old woman has been jailed for 16 months after falsely claiming she was raped in a park in Surrey.
Maria Brustenga-Vilaseca told police she was attacked in Borelli Walk, off South Street, Farnham while she was walking home from the railway station.
Surrey Police said detectives found she had in fact been at a party in Addlestone and had invented the attack.
Brustenga-Vilaseca admitted perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing at Guildford Crown Court.
She had claimed she was walking through the park when a stranger approached her from behind, dragged her to the ground and ...
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We have received the following media release
Media Release: An Extended-Victim’s View, From Tina Willis, e-mail: willis.tina556
Subject: Mass Fraud-Victims v Child Porn Police; UK High Court, Nov 11 & 12, 2010 (while unchecked are 30,000+ U.S. suspects and many ‘VIPs’)
To: UK & World Media, Justice Campaigns & Projects - circa 7 minutes reading time/1500 words.
Sourced from: Wikipedia “Operation Ore”, and website “Inquisition 21st Century”
For Attn Of: Executive Editors, News Editors, Website Managers, Justice Campaign Managers, Child & Family Wellbeing Agency Directors
October-November 2010
Dear Editor, Director, or Manager,
I submit news of a pending landmark, first ever UK Class/Group action at the High ...
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A bus driver falsely accused of stealing £21.60 from her employer almost had her life ruined because of a mathematical blunder.
Catherine Bates, 39, was arrested in February after Travel De Courcey claimed she had not handed out tickets to some customers and had pocketed the cash.
But after an eight-month legal nightmare, it finally emerged Catherine had actually given her employer too much money at the end of her shift, rather than stealing it.
It was only on the day she was due to stand trial at Coventry Crown Court that the new evidence emerged – a ...
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