Papers turn ire on high-profile cases and fathersThe legal week was dominated by high-profile court cases: Stephen Downing was freed after 27 years in prison ahead of an appeal almost certain to clear him of the murder he was convicted of; Michael Stone may yet face a retrial for the killings of Lin and Megan Russell after a new hearing was ordered by the Court of Appeal; and the teen popstar Billie Piper was in court giving evidence against a crazed ex-fan who was said to have threatened to 'cut her head off' and 'rip off her legs'.The Express described Mr Downing's case as 'the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history' (8 February).

Mr Downing was jailed in 1973 for the murder of typist Wendy Sewell, a notorious case known as the 'Bakewell tart' killing because of the victim's alleged fondness for trysts in public places.The Independent focused on the 'procedural travesty' that had secured his release - a raft of inconsistencies including Mr Downing's lack of legal representation after his arrest - a 'glaring error that had been staring lawyers in the face for more than 25 years' (8 February).More media outrage came with Jack Straw's announcement that police cautions for 'minor crimes' such as possession of cannabis will no longer count as criminal records, and hence will not have to be declared to potential employers.

Right on cue, the Daily Mail slammed the government's 'bizarre' attitude to drugs, saying that the use of even soft drugs is not only 'a major cause of crime' but also,oddly, 'the cause of increased racial tension' (8 February).The sins of the sons came back to haunt the fathers as The Times dredged up the case of William Straw (cautioned for selling cannabis in 1998) and Euan Blair's 'drunk and incapable' incident of last summer as illustrations of cases which 'no longer merit a criminal record'.M'learned friends in the Inns had a busy week, with the Bar Council announcing a 'multi-million pound reform package' (The Times, 6 February) to give students from 'less privileged backgrounds' a better chance of becoming barristers.The move was championed by none other than Cherie Booth QC, who was charitably described as coming from a 'working-class Liverpool background'.

More good news for the Bar came in the form of indications that the Office of Fair Trading report into competition in the professions is calling on the government to 'put an end to the restrictive practices which force the public to pay for a solicitor whenever they want the services of a barrister' (The Independent, 8 February).Modernisation of the judicialsystem was a hot potato last week, with the 'historic' news of the first all-female appeal court to sit in this country (Independent on Sunday, 11 February).

The triumvirate will be led by England's most senior female judge, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, but was dismissed by women lawyers' groups as a 'fig-leaf' to cover the government's embarrassment at the small percentage - currently just 11% - of female judges.Another ongoing saga - that of the 'controversial' claim manager Claims Direct - was highlighted by The Guardian (10 February).

The paper criticised Claims Direct's 'massive marketing campaigns and queried the way in which they were funded.And finally, the London Evening Standard (6 February) gave a run-down on the best legal Web sites around, including www.lawjunction.com, where firms compete to offer the lowest possible prices for a client's case.

The Standard described this site as 'a bit like "The Price is Right", but with wigs' - the question being, of course, whether it will go for the authentic 'Price is Right' look, and feature the programme's scantily clad hostesses.Victoria MacCallum