Crime and Punishment

• "London Advocate"

• A good quality newsletter fro crimninal lawyers.

• 21st Century Crown Courts

• Swifter Crown Courts

• 28 Day Lock Up And More

• New Terror Laws come into effect

• ASBO Breach - What is "Reasonable Excuse"

• Are you allowed to forget the terms of your ASBO?

• ASBO's - Hear All About It

• An excellent sound bite about ASBO's from Consilio

• Abolish Juries? - No Way!

• Lawyers Unite - The government proposes to abolish juries in fraud trials - over our dead body!

• Acceptable Behaviour Contracts Better Than ASBOs?

• Home Office tries to persuade police to use contracts instead of ASBOs

• Alcohol Problems? - Government To Solve

• Government turns on drinkers again

• Ancient Act Has Modern Use

• Vagrancy Act used to trap burglar

• Anonymous Evidence - How Good?

• Can anonymous witnesses count towards a conviction?

• Anti-Tyrant Terrorists Just As Bad

• Judge rules on terrorists in Uk planning action in foreign dictatorships

• Assaults and Other Crimes

• Good quality, easy to read basic law from SPR

• Assets Can Be Recovered So Long As Criminal Offence Proved

• Assets Can Be Recovered So Long As Criminal Offence Proved, even if not sure who committed it.

• Att-Gen Reviews Paediatrician's Files

• Hailed as a fight against criminal injustice this might help some family law cases too

• Attorney General Backs Down

• Saudi Arabia blackmails Government?

• Bad Character Evidence - Judge's Direction

• When can bad character evidence be safely used?

• Banks Have Money Laundering Problems Too

• Bank Stops suspected money laundering transaction - what to tell the complaining customer?

• Bar Council And Criminal Legal Aid Future

• Is this the future for the Bar and Crime?

• Bar Council and Fee Sharing

• The bar Council tries to decide how to deal with legal aid changes involving barristers sharing fixed fees

• Barristers Come Out Against No-Jury Fraud Trials

• Parliament gets a wigging from barristers about no-jury fraud trials

• Barristers and HCA's

• Barristers come to terms with Higher Ci=ourt Advocates?

• Blameless Rapist?

• Court powerless to avoid sentencing blameless rapist

• Bounty Mutiny Descendants Subject to UK Courts?

• Proud desecendants of Bounty's Christian Must face UK Courts

• Can Pay Should Pay

• Means Testing returns for criminal legal aid

• Can You Withdraw A Guilty Plea?

• Human Rights not breached by refusal to allow withdrawal of guilty plea

• Care Case v Criminal Case?

• Care Case Judge cannot make final unappealable determination of criminal liabity even when he finds no liability on balance of probabilities.

• Challenging Decision to Prosecute - Trinidad & Tobago

• Prosecution decision can be reviewed

• Child Centred Courts?

• More Information about children from the police to the courts

• Child Seats For All?

• The rules about the new child seat requirements - another gold plating exercise following Euro rules?

• Childhood Defence Stays But Presumption Goes

• Change in the law about the criminality of children - no more presumption of innocence

• Circumstantial and Bad Character Evidence Considered

• Use of s 98 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 considered in differnt counts

• Co-Accused's Confession - Latest Case After Guilty Plea

• Case weakens usefulness of confessions of co-accused

• Common Law Offence of Escape Has Loophole

• Is failing to return escaping? - depends how you look at it.

• Community Court One Year On

• Liverpool celebrates a year of innovative justice.

• Community Sentencing By Proxy?

• Judges to be given information about local problems to assist in sentencing

• Company Directors, Shares and Confiscation

• If a criminal company director sees an unrealised increase in his share value, should the "profit" be confiscated?

• Concessions in Means Testing Dispute

• Government makes some improvements to means testing mess

• Confiscation Orders and Risk of Serious Injustice

• If you have no assets does it really matter if a confiscation order is made?

• Control Order Anonymity Vital?

• Government cover up planned

• Control Order Victory For Government

• Home Secretary wins important victory in control order case

• Control Orders A Nullity

• Quashing a non-derogating control order made by the Secretary of State feels good

• Control Orders Non-Compliant

• Control Orders Criticised by Judge

• Control Orders Upheld With Reservations

• CA supports Home Secretary against suspected terrorists but then prevents him from depriving them of liberty.

• Corporate Manslaughter Bill Is Passed

• How will the new corporate manslaughter law affect public bodies next year?

• Corruption and Dishonesty

• Virgin Islands Corruption Case

• Court of Appeal Fills Gap In Rules

• Court of Appeal bends over backwards to allow unwell defendant to appear by video link

• Court of Appeal Wrong About Preliminary Hearings

• House of Lords over-rules Court of Appeal rulings

• Crime Cases April 13

• Standard of prroof for Control Orders and Procedural Defects Over-Ridden

• Crime Victims to be Winners?

• Victims Win In Fines Enforcement

• Criminal Appeals - Academic Points of Law

• Is it OK to make appeals on purely academic points of law?

• Criminal Appeals Revisited

• Court restricts rights to make further representations

• Criminal Assets To Be Subject To Robust Measures

• Nobody messes with the government, especially rich criminals

• Criminal Cases Review Commission Tethered?

• Set back for case awaiting review bt=y CCRC

• Criminal Defence Services Review

• Lord Carter's team has now produced a leaflet for all stakeholders summarising his report.

• Criminal Evidence in Jamaican Murder Case

• Statements of Absent Witnesses - allowable or not?

• Criminal Legal Aid Means Test Feature

• Courts in Chaos Over Means Test

• Criminal Re-Accreditation Scheme

• Criminal Lawyers to be Re-Accredited

• Criminal Sites Feature

• Some excellent free and paid for criminal law sites

• Crown Court Case Management Ruling Appeal

• Judge's decision to stop trial can be subject to appeal

• Crystal Meth Even Harder

• Government acts on crystal meth.

• Crystal Meth Reclassified

• Government acts to strengthen law about crystal meth usage

• Crystal Meth Upgraded

• Government acts to strengthen law about Crystal Meth

• Cyclists Got To Give Notice of Procession

• Even peaceable cyclists have to give notice of processions

• Decisive Hearsay Not Make Trial Unfair

• Court of Appeal caves in on hearsay evidence

• Defence Costs Complexities

• Costs experts sort out problem with defence costs

• Deportation - Detention Of Rapist Until Carrier Found

• Home Secretary has power to detain refugee if need to protect public

• Deportation - Secret Materials And Criminal Acts

• Considers both the powers of the court to see secret information and the loss of refugee status by subsequent acts

• Disclosure of Defendant's Misconduct, Twice

• Court of Appeal looks at disclosure of misconduct to jury

• Does Secrecy Constitute An Extradition Offence?

• Defendant extradited even though no criminal dishonesty

• Domestic Violence - Two Views?

• Government clamps down while courtts are advised to be lenient.

• Drug Tests At The Road Side

• Drug testing by all at every roadside? Is that the future?

• Drug Trafficker Loses Out

• Courts cannot go behind a judge's finding of fact on adequacy of assts.

• Drunken Louts Look Out!

• Police powers extended for dealing with drunks

• Drunkeness and Sexual Offences

• Ruling on whether drunkeness can negai=ative intent in sexual touching case

• EU Arrest Warrants Challenged

• EU Arrest Warrant Fails

• Effects of Criminal Defence Act

• The Criminal Defence Act legal aid provisions commence 2 October 2006

• Eleven County Courts Pilot New ASBO Scheme

• Bradford and other County Courts try out new ASBO scheme

• Entrapped Child Molester Loses

• Police officer poses as 13 year old and traps molester

• Evidence After Bench Retires?

• What to do when the defence raises new point in closing speech?

• Expert Doctors and the GMC

• No Immunity from disciplinary proceedings for expert doctors

• Extending An ASBO

• Varying an ASBO by extending it?

• Extradition Powers - What To Base Them On?

• Courts should refrain from hearing extra evidence when considering dual criminality

• Extradition To Rwanda After Time Limits Expire?

• Home Secretary does have powers to extend time limits for extradition

• Extradition Undertakings Acceptable

• Two alleged terrorists lose aextradition case

• Extradition and International Arrest Warrants Compared

• International Arrest warrant rules not the same as extradition

• Extradition to US Easier?

• Is it a good thing that we can extraditre to the US more easily?

• Failed Asylum Seeker FailsTo Finds Loophole

• Not OK for failed asylum seeker to refuse to give travel info

• Fair Extradition Demanded By Courts

• Courts get tough with questionable extradition process

• False ID Cards Are Criminal

• No National ID Database yet, but you can already break the law

• Family Assets and Crime

• Criminal law has proiority over family law?

• Family Intervention Projects Go National

• Got a problem family? Call the local FIP!

• Faxed Prosecutions Are Valid

• Prosecution faxed on Friday afternoon but dated Monday morning should have been accepted

• Flyposters On The Run?

• Home Office Boasts New Fly Poster Powers

• Glasgow Lawyer Gets 5 Years

• Supporting a false alibi lands conveyancer in jail

• Good Behaviour Reduces Life Term

• Life Sentence can be reduced by good behaviour

• Government Spins Legal Aid Changes

• Minister praises the new legal aid changes

• Graduated Fees and Barristers

• How barristers will be (under)paid in future

• HIghway Code Birthday

• Check out the history of the Highway Code and read it on line

• Habeas Corpus v European Arrest Warrant

• How to appeal against unlawful arrest under European warrant?

• Hate Crime Victims Get Help

• More money for victims, or window dressing?

• Health and Safety at Work - Defences

• Health and Safety rules do not amount to defence

• Hear SPR on ASBOs

• ASBOs explained in SPR audio lecture

• Help For Homophobic Crime Victims

• New powers to cope with homophobic crime

• Highway Code Unleashed on Cyclists

• Highway Code Revised and updated for first time this century

• Ho, Ho , Ho, No Bottle Of Rum

• Drunken Sailors' laws stiffened

• Home Office Puts Pressure on Paedophiles' Internet Use

• Internet ID's to be disclosed by sex offenders?

• Home Secretary's Powers Too Great

• prisoner wins discrimination case againt Home Secretary

• House of Lords Considers European Arrest Warrants

• European Arrest Warrants get a bit easier to enforce

• House of Lords Does Not Free Rapist

• Rapist detained after custody time limit not to be released

• House of Lords Stamps On Police on Juries

• A sensible decision about police and prosecutors on juries - should be extended to all lawyers

• House of Lords and Racial Abuse

• Calling foreigners bloody is racial abuse

• How To Appeal Home Office on Extradition?

• Confusion about appeal procees resolved

• Human Rights Do Not Protect Sex Offenders

• Importation of pornography negates human rights

• Human Rights Win for Witnesses

• Policer have to make proper provision for witness protection after murder

• I'm Dreaming of a Dry Christmas?

• Government steps up drink-drive campaigns

• ID Cards Spun As ID Protection System

• Just as HIPs became environmental issue, ID Cards become a means to protect yourself from fraud

• If Drugs Taken Voluntarily Result In Death, Don't Blame The Supplier

• House of Lords considers difficult question after death of drug user

• In Camera Evidence Speculation Is Contemtuous

• Press not allowed to take advantage of judge's mistake and publish things which should have been heard in camera

• Incitement to Murder Appeal Lost

• Abu Hamza loses his appeal

• International Cooperation in Criminal Matters

• Legal services around the world join to fight economic crime

• Is a Cell Lving Accommodation?

• Racially aggravated offence in police cell?

• Jealousy After Infidelity No Defence

• Can Infidelity Justify Murder? -No, say Minister

• Judge Declines Minimum Tariff - Sentence Upheld

• Defendant fails in bid to have minimum specified

• Judge Says Drunk Woman Can Consent

• Judges cause a stir but what was said was not as bad as some papers reported

• Judges to Jail Data Traders

• DCA tightens rules about data protection

• Kidnap By Fraud Not Possible

• "Kidnap" victim retained liberty and so no crime committed.

• Knife Amnesty Starts

• National Knife Amnesty launched

• LSC Changes Criminal Means Test Procedure Again

• LSC tweaks means test procedure again

• Larger Children Must Wear Seatbelts

• Have you got your new booster seats fitted?

• Latest Anti-Robbery Plan - Privacy Spaces

• Government to draw boxes on floor around ATM's

• Latest CriminalPractice Direction

• LCJ makes new practice direction for criminal matters

• Latest Precedent on Precedents

• Court of Appeal lays down law on precedents

• Law Of Trusts Catches Up With Drug Lords

• Drug lords suffer under trust laws!

• Law Soc helps Solos

• Law Society takes on CPS and wins

• Law Society Criticises LSC At Last

• The Law Society goes for the LSC's throat

• Law Society Defends Defendants' Choice

• Law Society stands up for criminal lawyers

• Law Society Fights Legal Aid Corner

• Law Society Raises the Legal Aid Flag

• Law Society Wrong to Intervene?

• Court rejects Law Society view of "commission"

• Lawyers Should Soldier On

• Lawyers embarrassed by difficulty of task should not throw in the towel

• Lawyers' Right to Withdraw Upheld

• Wasted costs order dropped on appeal after lawyer withdraws when client disappears

• Legality of Home Office Advice to Parole Board

• Parole Board advice from Home Secretary considered

• Lenient Sentences!

• Reviews of lenient sentences

• Libel Case Fails After Police Complaint

• Neighbour's libel complaint fails after complaint to Police

• Lifer's Recall Not Incompatible

• Lifer loses case and liberty

• Lords Allow Early Release Of Some Long Term Prisoners

• Prisoners with offences committed before 30 September 1998, who were released on licence and recalled to prison after 4 April 2005 should be released earlier

• Low Flying Mens Rea - None Needed

• Low Flying is dangerous whether you know it or not

• Manslaughter Directions Even If Defence Not Raised?

• Judge Was Right To GIve Manslaughter direction if evidence left that possibility open

• Meaning of Significant Risk in Vulnerable Death case

• Jury has to understand meaning of "Significant"

• Ministry of Justice Welcomed

• Home Office decisin to split is a good idea, advises the Bar

• Mistake and Legality of Early release

• Prisoner mistakenly released early - legal or what?

• Mistaken Job Application Not Fraudulent

• Prosecution over mistake on job application form not actionable

• Mobile Phone Penalties Climb

• Mobile phone drivers to be punished more

• Money Laundering Suspicion Considered

• How strong does your suspicion of money laundering have to be?

• Moneylaundering - Foreign Offences

• Moneylaundering rules accommodate foreign offences

• Moneylaundering in the Lords

• House of Lords restrict moneylaundering mens rea

• More DV Victims Win

• Domestic Violence victims are more successful in court

• Multi Agency Public Safety Plans

• We are much safer than we were with multi agency cooperation

• National Police Board Established

• Was this the first step towards stopping the mergers?

• National Police database On Course

• Police database Gets Going

• New Criminal Forms

• Lord Chief Justice announces new mandatory forms for criminal cases

• New Criminal Legal Aid Rules

• How will the new legal aid rules affect our clients?

• New Police and Justice Act

• When something is called "Policxe and Justice" you know something is afoot . . .

• New Prescribed Forms Practice Direction

• Crown Court introduces loads of new forms

• New Prisons on the Block

• Home Office decides to build more prisons

• New Racial Hatred Laws Start

• Details of the new Racial and Religious Hatred Act

• New Sentencing Plans

• New sentencing options to protect the public better

• New Terrorism Laws

• Home Office announces new anti-terror laws

• New Violent Porn Offence

• Public opinion leads to new offence about violent porn

• Old Law Benefits Old Lag

• Old Law lags behind and old lag benefits

• Old Rule Stops Killer's Claim

• Manslaughter of husband stops wife's pension claim

• PACE Still Not Clear!

• Meaning of PACE 1984 clarified

• Parking Wardens Get Boot?

• Fair treatment in parking regime at last?

• Parole Board OK To Exclude Prisoner

• Parole Board's decision to exclude upheld on appeal

• Parole Case Delay Not Good

• Nobody should have to wait for parole decision beyond early parole date

• Password Disclosure Required

• Passwords are no longer sacrosanct

• Paying Fines in Legal Tender

• How to pay your fine legally

• Phone Tapping Evidence Creeping IN?

• Courts in Chaos Over Means Test

• Police Concerts!

• Police lose out

• Police Forced to Restructure

• The Home Office puts the arm on the POlice

• Police Powers Extended Too Far?

• OK for Police to go too far?

• Police Really Are Younger Than You

• Police get younger every day

• Police in NI Allowed Anonymity Because of Death Threats

• A Government inquiry should allow anonymity of police witnesses if real death threats have been made even when the Police already knew their lives were in danger

• Polish Defendant's Bad Character Admissible?

• Dir the bad character law apply to foreign records?

• Press Rights Extended at Inquests

• Press can be allowed to child's inquest

• Prevention Orders Considered

• When to impose a Prevention Order?

• Prisoner Succeeds in Licence Claim

• Pre 30 September 1998 prisoner retains old licence rights

• Prisoner Wins Right to Damages for Prison Move

• Loss of liberty at closed prison leads to damages claim

• Private Prosecution Can Be Abuse of Process

• Disappointed complainant' private prosecution blocked by caution given by Police

• Private Prosecutions Success

• Private Prosecutions should be allowed

• Private Prosecutor Wins Through

• Magistrates over-ruled on decision about private prosecution

• Probation Officer Recruitment - Who To Ask?

• Home Office to recruit probation officers - where better than from the ranks of redundant lawyers?

• Proceeds of Crime Act Success?

• Is the Proceeds of Crime Act a success or an expensive failure?

• Proceeds of Crime Threshold Lowered

• Now the Police can chase as little as £1,000

• Prostitute's Pimp Loses Case

• Control of prostitute can be done without force

• Protesters Lose In Lords

• Peace Protesters lose in Lords

• Public Protection Imprisonment - One Off Case

• Offence committed on change over day in sentencing law gets benefit of the doubt

• Rape Case Barristers Devious? No way.

• Bar Council Defends Rape Trial Counsel

• Relevance of Previous Convictions To Veracity Considered

• Lying ain't the same as criminality

• Respect Areas Expanded

• The Respect programme is rolled out over a bigger area

• Respect Troubleshooters

• Government calls in experts to ASBO deserts.

• Revenue Takes on Carousel Fraud and Loses

• International VAT fraud defeats Inland Revenue

• Russian Death Prosecution Decision

• We are going to prosecute a Russian! The Attorney-General says so!

• SOCA Feature

• Serious Organised Crime Agency - UK's answer to the FBI?

• SOCA Loses Bank Claim

• SOCA cannot stop use of money without good reason

• SOCA Opens

• Home Office announces opening of SOCA

• Sarah's Law Lite?

• Home Office aims to protect children

• Scottish Prison Mistake Not Covered By HR Act

• HR Act not apply to Scottish governor's mistake

• Search Orders For Computers Validated

• A possible search order loop hole blocked

• Secondary Parties Knowledge of Principal's Intent to Kill

• What If Your Friend Turns into a Killer?

• Secrets Trial Finds Human Rights Fault

• Human Rights incompatibility finding in Official secrets Act

• Self Defence Considered

• Self Defence in Civil and Criminal jurisdictions compared

• Self Incrimination Privilege and Search Orders

• What happens when obscene images found during search order.

• Sentence Appeals For Extended Sentences

• Court of Appeal and appeals against extended sentences

• Sentencing the Dangerous

• Guidance on sentencing "dangerous" defendants

• Serious Crime Bill Published

• Serious Crime Bill aims at serious organised crime.

• Serious Fraud Investigation to be Overhauled?

• Fraud Advisiory Panel publishes its report.

• Sex Establishment Loses Appeal

• Authority right to take late objections into account if does so fairly. Only recently reported.

• Sexual Violence Advisors to be Appointed

• New Scheme for helping rape victims

• Soldiers To Comply With HR Act Abroad

• Foreigners entitled to Human Rights protection when in hands of UK soldiers

• Solicitors Strike - Did You Notice?

• Solicitors strike - was it in your newspaper?

• Stricter Money Laundering Rules Announced

• Count down to December rules change starts now

• Summary Justice For All?

• Criminal Justice to be speeded up again

• Tax Evasion Leads to Money Laundering

• If you shouldn't have it you launder it when you move it

• Temporal Limitation In Sexual Offences

• No need for immediate sexual gratification in offences involving children

• Terror Powers Too Many

• Government plans to extend terror powers are criticised by Law Society

• Theatre Protester Loses Appeal

• Theatre protester was legally arrested even though the paperwork did not quite fit the alleged offence.

• Time On Remand And Sentencing Resolved

• Court of Appeal guidance on sentencing

• Tracing Criminal Assets Gets Even Harder

• If a criminal paid the full price was the asset obtained illegally?

• Trade Description Prosecution About Odometers Winds Down

• Court of Appeal gives no mileage to DJ and local authority's arguments in odometer case

• Two New Criminal Publications

• Two new Online Publications for Criminal lawyers

• Two People No Longer Needed To Witness Outrage

• Appeal against up-skirting conviction upheld, despite lack of witnesses

• UKLawyers Archive of Crime and Punishment Materials - March 2006

• Our archive of Crime and Punishment materials published by us in March 2006

• Victims on Parole Boards

• Victim Reps to Rule on Parole

• What Is The Point Of A Crown Appeal?

• Is the Crown appealing really useful?

• When Can You Appeal A Preparatory Crown Court Hearing?

• Technical discussion of meaning of preparatory hearing and court's appeal jurisdiction

• When to Imprison a Witness?

• Court imprisons witness to guarantee . . .

• Words Offensive Per Se

• Recording offensive even though listener not actually offended