Criminal

In adverse inference directions, is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’? Andrew Smith examines the case law

What can be said when criminal proceedings are active? Lawrence McNamara & Lauren Schaefer set out the Law Commission’s recommendations on contempt of court

Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate

Barristers and advocates in Scotland, England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have urged the government to drop its proposals for judge-only ‘swift courts’ in cases where the sentence is three years or less

The Lord Chancellor, David Lammy, is introducing a raft of reforms to banish rape myths, reduce the use of sexual history as evidence, and protect complainants from re-traumatisation during the trial

Three decades ago, Professor Michael Zander conducted a large-scale study on the way the criminal justice system works. In the concluding part of this series, he examines the findings on wasted time, weak cases & other matters

Niall Hearty on why private prosecutions have become increasingly popular

Dr Jon Robins reports on a murder conviction that was quashed—twice

Sir Brian Leveson’s claim that there is ‘no right to jury trial’ erects a constitutional straw man, argues Professor Graham Zellick KC in NLJ this week. He argues that Leveson dismantles a position almost no-one truly holds, and thereby obscures the deeper issue: the jury’s place within the UK’s constitutional tradition

Cracked trials and weak cases: Professor Michael Zander revisits his landmark 1993 Crown Court Study in this week's NLJ, arguing that its insights remain strikingly current