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Crime brief: 28 April 2023

28 April 2023 / David Walbank KC
Issue: 8022 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Criminal
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David Walbank KC reports on anthropomorphism in court & the legal protections accorded to animals
  • Limits of the criminal law.
  • Sexual harm prevention orders.
  • Public protection.

In the heyday of the print media, budding young Marshall Halls would compete to see whose cases could generate the most lurid Evening Standard headlines. My own personal best was a billboard appearing on news stands across the metropolis, which barked out the news of the hour: ‘Stay of Execution for Devil Dog!’

I had been instructed by animal rights campaigners (with the vocal support of Carla Lane, the much-loved creator of The Liver Birds and Bread) to seek what was literally a stay of execution for Otis. Otis was a wholly innocent puppy, who had the great misfortune to be spotted by an ever-vigilant constable in the back of my client’s white van as it sped along the Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach Road. The problem was threefold: the officer thought that Otis looked suspiciously like ‘a dog

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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