header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
12 August 2022 / David Walbank KC
Issue: 7991 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Criminal
printer mail-detail

Crime brief: 12 August 2022

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
90408
David Walbank QC examines a tragic case which underlines the polycentric decision-making process for offences involving young persons
  • Victims’ Right to Review scheme.
  • Charging decisions involving young persons.

We live in an era when decision-making throughout the criminal justice system is ever more hedged about by guidelines, protocols, codes of practice and the like. Whether it be grounds for arrest, charging decisions, legal directions to the jury, sentencing parameters or Parole Board reviews, the exercise of discretion is constrained like never before. It is against that background that the Divisional Court recently struck a blow for common sense and compassion when it comes to the laying of serious criminal charges against young persons.

In R (on the application of Joseph) v Director of Public Prosecutions [2022] EWHC 131 (Admin), [2022] All ER (D) 96 (Jan), Popplewell LJ referred to what he called the ‘polycentric’ decision-making process when considering the possible criminal prosecution of a young person, and also explained the approach to be taken where there is a

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Partner and Manchester office lead appointed head of family

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

DWF insurance services director appointed to Civil Justice Council

R3—Jodie Wildridge

R3—Jodie Wildridge

Kings Chambers barrister appointed chair of R3 Yorkshire

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Renters’ Rights revolution begins—brace for tribunal chaos

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

NLJ this week: Civil procedure gets a spring overhaul
Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
NLJ this week: Why GP complaints are going nowhere
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
NLJ this week: Prenups meet a jurisdictional brick wall
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
NLJ this week: Has Rylands v Fletcher come back from the dead?
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll