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04 April 2008
Issue: 7315 / Categories: Case law , Law digest
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CRIMINAL LITIGATION

R (H) v Guildford Youth Court [2008] All ER (D) 02 (Mar)

A juvenile was accused of assault. Before he was interviewed by the police it was intimated to his solicitor that it was possible that the case would be dealt with by way of a final warning.

The juvenile admitted the offence and was bailed to an “intervention clinic”, when it was indicated that the matter would be dealt with by way of a final warning. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) subsequently decided that a prosecution would be appropriate, and he was charged.

HELD The fact that a promise was made by an officer of the state, namely the police officer who was in charge at that stage deciding whether or not to prosecute, is something that there is a clear public interest in upholding. The proceedings should therefore have been stayed as an abuse of process.
 

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

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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