Individuals with mental health conditions or learning disabilities need to be better supported in the criminal justice system, legal rights group JUSTICE argues in a report published this week, Mental Health and Fair Trial. The report makes 52 recommendations, for example, appointing specialist prosecutors, introducing dedicated mental health judges, and that the ‘insanity’ defence be amended to ‘not criminally responsible by reason of a recognised medical condition’. Welcoming the report, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said he was sure it would ‘play a leading role in developing our approach to vulnerable defenders and witnesses’.
30 November 2017
Mental health
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles
Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles
Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards
Clarke Willmott boosts Southampton commercial property team with addition of partner Lee Edwards
Lime Solicitors—four promotions
Lime Solicitors announces four promotions
NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
An indemnity costs battle with a £20m gap could reopen an important question: what weight should an approved budget carry?
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
