Law Weblog
Court of Appeal rules on witness anonymity
Saturday 13 December 2008 at 7:03 pm | In News | Post Comment
The court of Appeal has given guidance on when anonymous evidence can be given so that the most violent and dangerous criminals can be brought to justice.
Parliament passed the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 in July to protect witnesses following a Law Lords’ ruling in June. The Law Lords ruled that a fundamental principle of English law was that an accused should be able to see their accusers and challenge them. The June ruling led to the collapse at the Old Bailey of a £6m murder trial, which is to be retried next year. The Crown Prosecution Service identified 580 cases involving anonymous evidence which could have be threatened by the ruling.
The Act has its limitations. This week he Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge sitting with a specially convened court of 5 appeal judges said the Act did not extend to statements of witnesses being read out in their absence. Lord Judge said the “stark reality” was that the Act did not deal with the problem of those people who were too frightened even to attend court.
He said the Court of Appeal was effectively being asked to re-write the Act which is something Parliament should do.
Full judgment, here
No prosecution for assisting suicide
Friday 12 December 2008 at 7:46 am | In News | Post CommentThe Crown Prosecution Service has effectively ruled out the prosecution of relatives who assist the terminally ill to commit suicide after announcing it would take no action against the family of rugby player Daniel James, despite having sufficient evidence to do so.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC stated he would not prosecute the parents and a family friend of the 23-year-old, who was paralysed in a training ground accident, for assisting his death. Starmer said:
“I have concluded that a prosecution is not needed in the public interest,”
Publishing the reasons for his decision is unprecedented. The case was described by prosecutors yesterday as a landmark and is the first to rule out prosecution on the grounds of public interest alone.
We don’t thing this will be the last word on this topic …
Tax dodgers – barristers
Tuesday 9 December 2008 at 9:51 am | In News | Post Comment
Revenue and Customs has disclosed that 57 barristers have been caught evading tax. Thirty-six reached a private settlement with Revenue and Customs and agreed to return £605,000 between them in unpaid tax and fines. Some 21 are still being investigated.
Full story in The Guardian, here
DNA first – appeal by Pitchfork
Sunday 7 December 2008 at 10:19 am | In News | Post Comment
Colin Pitchfork, the first person in the world to be convicted of murder on the basis of DNA evidence was given permission to challenge his sentence (on 4th December 2008).
In 1988, Pitchfork, was jailed for the murders of two schoolgirls, he is currently serving a minimum term of 30 years of a life sentence.
He is now 48 and claims the 30 years is manifestly excessive and wants it reduced. If it is reduced he would be eligible to apply for release on parole.
His crimes were described in court as “heinous”, he raped and strangled the two girls aged 15.
DNA was found on the victims and a mass screening of local men took place; Pitchfork avoided detection for a while by paying another man to pretend to be him and give a sample. The deception was uncovered when the other man was heard bragging about what he had done.
Will all students please note …"Bloody" is offensive
Tuesday 2 December 2008 at 6:51 pm | In News | 1 Comment
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered The Sun newspaper not to use the word ‘bloody’ on posters in future. said it was socially irresponsible to use the word in an advert that appeared in a public place.
The offensive advert appeared on the side of a lorry.
“Where the bloody hell were you?”
There was a background of the Union Jack flag. It showed Great Britain’s Olympic gold medal tally of 19 compared to Australia’s 14.
The paper said that the ad was a tongue-in-cheek reference to a well-known advert for the Australian Tourist Board. It said it considered the word “bloody” to be “a generally acceptable mild epithet, and not offensive.”
The ASA said:
“We acknowledged that The Sun’s ad had been prepared in a light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek manner, following the UK’s recent success at the Olympics, but nevertheless considered that the word ‘bloody’ was a swear word, albeit a milder one than some others and concluded that it was socially irresponsible to reproduce it in advertising in an untargeted medium to which children could be exposed”.
Bibs of shame – day one
Tuesday 2 December 2008 at 12:23 pm | In News | Post Comment
Yesterday, the first convicted UK criminals forced to wear controversial bright orange bibs whilst performing community payback took to the streets.
The bibs of shame were designed as public reminders that offenders cleaning graffiti or other community work are being punished.
Opponents argue that they are medieval and can be likened to the stocks and a form of shaming.
Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation officers’ union Napa, said:
"There have already been a number of attacks. The use of high-visibility vests seems certain to increase the risk."
“Critical Mass” cycle rides lawful – Law Lords
Thursday 27 November 2008 at 8:52 am | In News | Post Comment“Critical Mass” rides are monthly events in which cyclists have taken to the streets in London on the last Friday of every month since April 1994, in celebration of safe cycling.
The police view was (expressed on a leaflet handed out to the cyclists)
“These cycle protests are not lawful because no organiser has provided police with the necessary notification. Your participation in this event could render you liable to prosecution.”
Lord Phillips said the Green and White Papers which led to the 1986 Public Order Act were at pains to underline the importance of the right to hold processions and the need for any restrictions to respect that right.
“It is inconceivable that Parliament could have intended, by a sidewind, to outlaw events such as Critical Mass,” he said.
It is expected the events will now continue.
News report here
Workers win against insurers over mesothelioma payout
Friday 21 November 2008 at 10:35 pm | In News | Post Comment
The insurance in force when a worker contracted a lung disease will now have to pay out following a High Court decision today; not the one in force when he becomes ill.
This decision affected thousands of workers who became ill with the lung disease, mesothelioma which is caused by contact with asbestos.
Insurers tried to avoid paying compensation under the policies they sold to employers because the disease can take 25-40 years to take hold.
The insurers argued that the worker may have worked for several employers and so it was common sense that the policy in force when the victim became ill was the one that should pay. Many of the original employers no longer exist.
The test case followed from the death of Charles O’Farrell. His family sued Excess Insurance, which covered his former employer, Humphreys & Glasgow. Other test cases, all heard together, were Fern v BAI; Bates v BAI; Fleming v Independent; Akzo Nobel & Amec Plc v Excess Ins. Co; and MMI v Zurich & Adur DC & ors.
The full judgment is available on BAILII
See also BBC News 21.11.08
95% of violence victims do not seek compensation
Friday 21 November 2008 at 7:59 am | In News | Post CommentIn a damning indictment of ministers’ aim to prioritise victims of crime, it has been revealed that two thirds of victims are unaware that they were eligible for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee says that even where people do apply, they are hampered by a complex application form and suffer delays in receiving their money because of bureaucracy.
It is said that since MPs’ delivered a “withering verdict” eight years ago, the performance of the authority had deteriorated even further.
The MPs’ report, Compensating Victims of Violent Crime, criticises the Ministry of Justice for affording the agency a low priority despite its claims to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.
Times report here
Sir Mark Potter – and the Office for Judicial Complaints
Monday 17 November 2008 at 8:16 am | In News | 1 Comment
Potter had intended the reference to be given to the sentencing judge. Judges are allowed to give character references, but the complaint against Potter is that it was written on his official stationery and bore his name and title.
A previous complaint last year was dismissed, the OJC decided there had been no breach of guidelines, Potter gave the reference in his personal, not judicial, capacity.
But it has now emerged that the OJC was not aware of the original character reference written on Potter’s official stationery.
News story here
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