All Criminal justice articles – Page 131
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News
Political storm over Strasbourg whole life ruling
Ministers have condemned the decision by Strasbourg that whole life sentences breach human rights, suggesting that the role of the European Court of Human Rights should be ‘curtailed’. The attack follows the final ruling of the court yesterday that whole life imprisonment of murderer Jeremy Bamber and two others breached ...
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News
Criminal bar chair backs Law Society’s stance on legal aid
The chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has called for unity in the profession and attempted to quell ‘disquiet’ over the Law Society’s decision to share with the Ministry of Justice its proposals for an alternative to price-competitive tendering (PCT). In his weekly online comment, Michael Turner QC said that ...
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News
Privilege fears over deferred prosecutions
The Crown Prosecution Service has used new draft guidelines on deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) to weaken the privileged status of legal advice, a leading City fraud and investigations lawyer has warned. Simmons & Simmons partner Stephen Gentle told the Gazette: ‘The consultation on DPAs stated that the "Code of Practice ...
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News
I have seen the future and it didn't work
In autumn 2005, on a visit to the Home Office’s shiny new headquarters near Millbank, I enjoyed a demonstration of an all-singing, all-dancing joined-up criminal justice IT system. The ‘walk through’ was to show off a £2bn programme to join up police forces, prosecutors, the courts and prison and probation ...
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Opinion
Let us record proceedings
Having just spent another couple of days frantically scribbling notes of the evidence being given and the judgment, I am again at a loss to understand why the lawyers involved in proceedings are not allowed to record them electronically. It is quite ridiculous that we should have to make a ...
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Law Report
Appeal
Criminal law – Appeal against conviction – Witness intimidation – Charge arising from messages defendant sent to victim through Facebook R v ZN: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division: 18 June 2013 In June 2011, following a party the night before at a flat, the defendant's friends, CM and JC, visited ...
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News
Solicitors warned following breach of confidentiality
The Court of Appeal has censured two solicitors and a barrister after an embargoed draft judgment was disclosed to third parties in breach of a court order. At the end of a hearing where the Crown unsuccessfully appealed against a ruling to stay criminal proceedings against Telford delivery driver Noshad ...
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News
CPS under fire for failures in two serious cases
The Crown Prosecution Service has been criticised by two separate Crown court judges after sending an ‘incompetent’ advocate to prosecute a murder trial and for ‘lamentable failures’ that delayed a rape trial. In the first case, judge Richard Griffith-Jones, sitting at Warwick, ordered an investigation after a murder trial had ...
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News
MPs demand an end to interpreters contract
A parliamentary debate last week heard calls for the ‘shambolic’ court interpreters contract to be scrapped, as the service continues to miss performance targets. During a debate on the Commons Justice Committee’s damning report on the contract, shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter cited a press report about a Lithuanian interpreter ...
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Law Report
Sentence
Defendant being sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment following breaches of community order – Judge failing to direct on number of days spent on remand and bail with conditions would count towards service of sentence
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News
UK urged not to opt out of criminal law initiatives
The government’s indecision over whether or not to opt in to more than 130 EU criminal law measures owes more to ‘political impetus’ than the desire to see good law,
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Feature
Extradition: emerging pilot judgments
The European Arrest Warrant (EAW), introduced in 2003 to expedite the extradition of suspects accused or convicted of criminal offences within EU member states, has been fiercely criticised during its short life.
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Law Report
Criminal law
Defendant appealing – Whether judge erring in admitting surveillance evidence at trial
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News
Taxpayer to foot bill for interpreter pay rise
A 22% hike in payments to courtroom interpreters is set to knock a large hole in savings forecast by the government under its ill-starred initiative to contract out the service.
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News
MoJ announces new deal for courtroom interpreters
The Ministry of Justice today announced measures which it said would increase the take-home pay of interpreters in a bid to improve the quality of the service to courts and the justice sector.
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News
Applied founder blames ‘intimidation’ for court interpreter debacle
The founder of the company at the centre of the court interpreting debacle today blamed ‘intimidation’ and ‘quite horrendous’ threats by interpreters boycotting his company for its failure to meet targets.
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News
Iraq executions heighten justice fears
A spate of executions in Iraq has raised new fears about the conduct of justice in the strife-torn country. The country’s justice ministry has announced nearly 100 hangings so far in 2012, including 26 in two days in August alone. According to campaigners Human Rights Watch, all the executed were ...
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News
ALS interpreters contract facing renewed scrutiny
The deal between the Ministry of Justice and the private company contracted to provide court interpreters is to face scrutiny from parliamentary watchdogs, as cases continue to be disrupted by poor performance and non-attendance of interpreters.
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News
Court interpreter situation 'improving'
Large numbers of court hearings are still being hit by interpreter problems nearly three months after new contracting arrangements began - but the situation has improved, new figures indicate.
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News
Interpreter 'bite' mistake causes trial collapse
A four-day burglary trial at a London Crown court collapsed last week after an interpreter made a mistake translating the defendant’s evidence. The trial at Snaresbrook (pictured) was halted on Friday afternoon after the Romanian language interpreter admitted mistakenly telling the court that the defendant had allegedly been ‘bitten’ rather ...