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06 March 2008 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7311 / Categories: Features , Public , Legal services , Community care
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A bit more time please

Michael Zander argues for a delay in the national roll-out of police station legal advice changes

The provision of free legal advice to suspects in the police station is one of the most important safeguards for the suspect, and is used by some 750,000 people per year—roughly half of those arrested.

The new scheme now being piloted in three areas, redirecting requests for a detainee’s own solicitor from the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) to CDS Direct, is a threat not only to existing links between suspects and their lawyers but to the wellbeing of the system.
Tony McNulty, the home office minister, stated in Parliament that national roll-out of the new system would take place on 21 April but that roll-out could be postponed if that was necessary to deal with problems (House of Commons Delegated Legislation Committee, 21 January 2008, cols 10–11). Both the time frame and the method of the evaluation are inadequate.
 
THE EXISTING SYSTEM
Around three-fifths of suspects ask for their own
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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