Criminal

Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice, has suggested smaller juries could be used for ‘some of the low-grade cases that go to the Crown Court’ as a temporary measure to reduce the backlog of cases, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph

Lawyers have welcomed a government action plan on rape prosecution but warned it would only work if the criminal justice system was given more resources

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 broadens the definition of abuse, recognises children in abusive households as victims in their own right, recognises ‘revenge porn’ as a criminal offence, stops the cross-examination of victims by perpetrators in court, creates new protection orders and establishes a Domestic Abuse Commissioner to stand up for victims.

Family lawyers need to ensure they have a clear & comprehensive understanding of the wide-ranging nature of domestic abuse, say Jenny Duggan & Francesca White

The Sentencing Council has announced that it is commissioning a research project into any potential for its work to cause disparity in sentencing. 

Jon Robins investigates claims of a ‘cover up’ in the horrific murder of private investigator, Daniel Morgan

Lawyers’ groups have called on the Lord Chancellor to think again on early disclosure plans in criminal investigations or risk them failing before they even begin.

Two police forces have agreed to settle claims of survivors and friends and family of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster for the cover up that followed, law firm Edwin Coe has confirmed

Europol has announced that, in collaboration with the FBI, Dutch National Police, Swedish Police Authority, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and 16 other countries, ‘one of the largest and most sophisticated’ operations against encrypted criminal activities has been carried out

Victor Smith considers abuse of process & breaching an assurance of no prosecution