Newswire 106
By Steve Butler and Joe Reevy
Number 106
31st August 2006
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uklawyers legal newswires
==========================
By Steve Butler and Joe Reevy
Number 106
31 August 2006
Keep your eye on the site for constant updates. This version of
the newswire is more directly linked to the website.
You can read the full text version of the newswire here:
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/newswires.html
This issue is late because I have been busier than expected
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PART ONE
(This will be easier to operate when we eventually get the HTML
version issued in due course.)
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UKLawyers E X P R E S S . . . . .>>>>
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Legal Newswires on the Run
By Steve Butler and Joe Reevy
Number 13
31 August 2006
TRY OUR NEW BLOG : http:/ukblawgers.blogspot.com
and add some comments!
Only 14 links take you to the latest legal news.
Up to date to 28 August 2006.
These links now show news items in reverse datal order for ease of
reference.
Commercial and Contract
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_commercial
Crime and Punishment
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_crime
Employment and Discrimination
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_employment
Family
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_family
General
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_general
Government
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_government
Immigration and Nationality
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_immigration
Intellectual Property and Computers
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_ip
International/Europe
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_europe
Land and Environment
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_land
Legal Practice and Lawyers
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_legalpractice
Litigation, Courts and Human Rights
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_litigation
Money, Property and Tax
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_money
Personal Injury
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/latest/lt_pi
FULL uklawyers legal newswire on the website - issue 101
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/newswires.html
BUT also reproduced in full in PART TWO below.
Please ask three friends to visit the website and subscribe to
this Newswire today - follow the link on the site to register for
the wire. Recommendation is the best form of advertising. Please
recommend the wire and the site to as many people as possible.
PART TWO
TRY OUR NEW BLOG : http:/ukblawgers.blogspot.com
and add some comments!
Contents
The Leading Question - Defendant's Rights or Victim's Rights?
Law Society E-newsletters Feature
Legal Reform Feature
Site Of The Week - musiclawupdates
uklawyers legal newswires
Practical Cases and Materials
Lawindexpro
Garden Pond Section
Oh! What Lovely Law!
Legal Practitioner
The Leading Question
Defendant's Rights or Victim's Rights?
A number of events recently have concentrated my mind on criminal
matters, never mind the enormous number of important decisions in
the criminal field in July reported in the last newswire. There
have been two shootings in Bradford over the bank holiday weekend,
neither of which appears to have been reported in the national
press and which hardly got on to the front page of the local
paper. There have been three shootings in Bradford so far in
August. As far as I can see nobody has been arrested. I get the
impression that it is getting to the point where shootings are
considered to be routine by the Police. Then there was the speech
of Ken Macdonald QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions and head
of the CPS, which has only just been reported but which he made in
May:
http:/www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17129-2331671,00.html. In
it he stresses that victims and witnesses have rights and should
be treated with more respect by the court system and listened to
more on the question of punishment. His main point in saying this
was to highlight the risk that the public will become even more
disillusioned with the legal system if they feel that it is
unbalanced and unjust. These events coincide with a case where
some clients of mine feel very let down by the actions of the
Police in investigating their allegations, mainly because of
problems in finding evidence of high enough quality to support a
successful prosecution.
This is the crux of the problem. Criminal cases have to be proved
beyond all reasonable doubt. The highest possible standards of
evidence are required. This in turn needs the highest possible
quality of resources to enable investigation. When a police force
is faced with three shootings in a month, the resources available
to investigate are inevitably going to be stretched to the limit
and even beyond. As a result the relatively very minor worries of
my clients are going to be given a very low level of priority so
that (although this will never be admitted) their allegations are
not investigated with sufficient effort to find all the evidence
required. In these circumstances the victims of the crimes are
likely to be unhappy with the police before a case even gets to
court.
Once a case gets into the court system there is a perception that
defendants are still treated fairly, although not as fairly as
they used to be (previous conviction evidence being permitted, for
example). The victim should not play any part in the trial except
as a witness of fact and there is no doubt that he or she should
be treated with great respect throughout the process. Victim
Support runs the Witness Service in every criminal court in
England and Wales to give information and support to witnesses,
victims, their families and friends when they go to court, and
does so with a fair level of success. It is when there is a
finding of guilt that there is a move to involve the victim more
so that the judge takes the effect on their lives into account
when sentencing. This causes me great concern.
Victims are not always objective enough and in fact it would be
unreasonable to expect them to be objective, especially in the
most serious crimes. My concern is not based on elitism but on my
knowledge of working with thousands of clients, both criminals and
victims (and many people are both). I cannot see what advantage
it will bring to the court system to have the private grief and
problems of victims publicised. It might bring some cathartic
relief to the victim in some cases but the benefits of this type
of relief are not clear cut. There is a risk that it will reduce
the court room from a place of objective assessment of evidence by
professionals to a stage for amateur dramatics. The Press might
like this because it will help to make court cases more
interesting but that is not a good reason for making fundamental
changes to our systems of handling criminal matters.
Victims do have rights, the main one being to have their
perpetrators brought to justice by the police. This is where
victims are being let down at the moment because the Police are
not effective enough at their job. Once the Police succeed in a
bringing a prosecution, the court system is fit and able to
provide Justice to all sides. Isn't the answer to the concerns of
victims to improve the resources provided to and the service
provided by the Police?
All the links here are to the UKLawyers site. When you get there,
have a good look round. In each news story there should be a list
of connected stories. There is an archive divided by subject
matter going back to April. This is definitely growing into a
useful resource and the Google search on the front page searches
the site for information so that you should be able to find
everything you need. Let me know if you have any problems on the
site.
Greetings to the new subscribers - please encourage as many people
as possible to subscribe because the more people I help the
happier I will be.
You can easily respond to these questions by looking at our new
Blog. Someone has already used the name "uklawyers" in a blog and
so ours is called "UKBlawgers." You can take a look and add
comments at http:/ukblawgers.blogspot.com
Regards
Steve Butler
Solicitor
Newswire Editor
mailto:smb@e-solicitors.co.uk
Law Society E-newsletters
As indicated last week the Law Society are now using e-newsletters
as the main method of contact with practitioners, phasing out
their printed counterparts. Here are more details:
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/enewslettersnews.html
Uklawyers legal newswires showed then the way?!
But will we survive to tell the tale?
Reform of Legal Services Feature
Government Measures to Reduce Legal Firm Red Tape
Moves Closer
DCA Press Release
25 July 2006
Measures to remove layers of red tape and bureaucratic regulation
from the way legal services are provided moved closer today as
Government received the report of a committee that has been
examining the proposals.
But the Law Society sees it differently:
"Government Must Act to Improve Draft Legal Services Bill"
And so does the Bar Council:
"Bar Recommends Ministers to Act on Report on
Draft Legal Services Bill"
For more information go to:
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/reflegservs.html
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Law Society Conference - "Supporting Solicitors"
Diary Note for Publication – "Supporting Solicitors"
Law Society Conference 2006
Friday 13 October, Law Society’s Hall, 113 Chancery Lane
The draft Legal Services Bill heralds major changes for the
solicitors’ profession and for the way that legal services are
delivered and regulated. This year’s Law Society Conference,
”Supporting Solicitors”, will give solicitors a unique opportunity
to debate their futures with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer,
and Law Society President Fiona Woolf.
The conference will examine threats to the independence of the
profession, new business and regulatory structures for legal
services, and how the Law Society is changing to support
solicitors through this period of radical reform.
Site of the Week - musiclawupdates
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/muslawupd.html
uklawyers legal newswires
From UKBlawgers:
"OK Steve, let's debate. One of the problems with wider use of
the law (ie why so many legal problems are simply ignored by those
they affect) is that it is SO expensive in the eyes of the
consumer to make use of 'professionals'."
Go on, follow the thread:
http:/digbig.com/4hraa
Many thanks for all the kind and useful comments including:
"Hi Steve,
I always look forward to the weekly wire, but the one this week
was especially good. The reason was the editorial. As a local
government man through and through, it makes a change to see
someone stating what has been obvious for years to those in the
business. I know that the social sector at times needs a hefty
boot up the backside, but I do get rather choked with all the
knocking copy that some people tend to issue (often without
thought) as a matter of course. Keep up the good work (and I do
not just mean the pro social care stuff).
Regards,
Trevor Grundy
"I write to say how well you have put the arguments about the
90 day detention proposal. I agree with every word you say"
"It's one of the few things that arrives in the email each week
that I can honestly say I make time to study."
Don't forget to take advantage of your free trial credit search
with Creditsafe.Com
Contact CreditSafe and ask for:
Gavin Tierney, Account Consultant
Gavin.tierney@creditsafe.com
2920 886500 ext: 2011
http:/www.creditsafe.com
Tell him you got his name from Uklawyers.
Many thanks to those who have asked their colleagues to subscribe
to the wire. Why not join them? Please ask three friends to
subscribe to this today - just get them to send an e-mail with
their name to smb@e-solicitors.co.uk with 'subscribe' in
the subject line and we'll do the rest.
PRACTICAL CASES AND MATERIALS
Crime and PunishmentCrime No Longer Pays for Small-time Crooks: Powers to
Seize Smaller Cash Sums Come Into Force Today
Home Office Press Release
31 July 2006
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/proccrimthre.html
Self Defence - Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction Contrasted
Ashley and others v Chief Constable of Sussex Police
CA
27 July 2006
BAILII Judgment
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/selfdefcivil.html
Commencement of New Terrorism Powers
Home Office Press Release
25 July 2006
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/newteror.html
Lord Falconer Puts Simple, Speedy, Summary Justice At
Heart of Criminal Justice Shake-up
DCA Press Release
21 July 2006
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/sumjust.html
Ladyman Announces Date for New Child Restraint and
Seat Belt Laws
DfT Press Release
17 July 2006
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/childbelt.html
Employment and Discrimination
Daniel Barnett's New Age Discrimination Web Video Seminar
On 19th and 26th September 2006, I'm presenting another two web
seminars on age discrimination.
But this time, I'll be standing in a TV studio and transmitting it
live!!
Watch a live video web feed. Ask questions through your computer.
Get CPD. And all from the comfort of your own desk.
Click here for details, testimonials and a booking form
http:/www.danielbarnett.co.uk/age_webinar_order.htm
complete with recorded announcer!!!
Here are other matters considered by Daniel and reproduced with
his kind permission:
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/dbaug21.html
including:
Mutuality of Obligation
ABC News International v Gizbert
Judicial Mediation Pilot
Paying Tax Twice
Demibourne Ltd v HM Revenue & Customs
Reasons
McLoughlin v Jones
No Duty to Pay Full Pay to Disabled Employee When Off Sick
O'Hanlon v HM Revenue & Customs
Statutory Grievance / Tribunal Procedure
Exel Management Ltd v Lumb
Working Time / A 'Week's Pay'
May Gurney Ltd. v Adshead (& 95 others)
Working While Asleep
Anderson v Jarvis Hotels
Reinstating Withdrawn Claims
Khan v Heywood & Middleton Primary Care Trust
Strike Outs
Ridsill v Smith & Nephew Medical
Whistleblowing After Employment Ends Is Protected
Woodward v Abbey National plc (No 1): [2006] EWCA Civ 822
CA
22 June 2006 but Updated
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/oldwhistle.html
Estopped From Making Wrongful Dismissal
Claim in High Court
Fraser v HLMAD Ltd: [2006] EWCA Civ 738
CA
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/estoppel.html
Aiding Sexual Discrimination - Employer and
Manager Jointly Liable
Miles v Gilbank and another: [2006] EWCA Civ 543
CA
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/supdisc.html
Holiday Pay Calculation
Sanderson and another v Exel Management Services Ltd
EAT
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/holpaycalc.html
Adjournment Pending Other Tribunal Decision
BUPA Care Homes (CFC Homes) Ltd v Muscolino
EAT
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/adjpend.html
Family
More Streamlined and Tougher Child Support System
to Replace CSA
DWP Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/csastream.html
General
Mental Capacity Act 2005 - Implementation Progresses
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/mentcapact.html
Immigration and Nationality
Rebuilding Confidence in Our Immigration System
Home Office Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/immservnew.html
Epassport Fees Announced
Home OfficePress Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/epassfees.html
Land and Environment
Planning Law Improved by Law Society
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/lawsocplanlaw.html
HIPs Without Home Condition Reports Are Good News
Law Society Statement
Government Announces Phased Hip Roll-out to
Begin with Energy Certificates
DCLG News Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/hipschanges.html
Legal Practice and Lawyers
New Training Pathway for Solicitors
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/newtraining.html
Lobbying for Effective, Reasonable Anti-money
Laundering Laws
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/lsmonlaund.html
Overwhelming Public Support for Regulation of Will Writers
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/willwriters.html
Legal Services Complaints Commissioner and the
Law Society Announce Agreement of A Plan and Targets
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/lsfinecut.html
Action to Encourage Diversity in the Legal Profession
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/lawdiversity.html
Queen's Counsel in England & Wales, 2006
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/qcs2006.html
First Woman City Lawyer to Be Law Society President
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/ladypresident.html
Litigation, Courts and Human Rights
Solicitors Confirm That An Increase in the Small
Claims Limit Will Damage Access to Justice
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/smclaimsls.html
Conditional Fee Agreements: Important Judgment
Law Society Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/cfaloss.html
Government Human Rights Will Stress Public Safety
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/hrchanges.html
Money, Property and Tax
Revenue Claw Back Tax On Cash Benefits From 1998
Revenue and Customs Commissioners v Barclays Bank plc and
another
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/backtaxwin.html
Free Lunch for Volunteers
DWP Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/benefitslunch.html
Personal Injury
Occupiers Liability - Delivery Men Covered
Moon v Garrett and others
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/delmenliab.html
Compensation Bill Receives Royal Assent
DCA Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/compact.html
Details Announced of Improvements to
Mesothelioma Compensation System
DWP Press Release
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/catsection/Messchemeupdate.html
Cases Generally
lawindexpro - As Good As Ever
Now with 109,199 cases indexed (almost 100 added in 2 weeks) and
over 249,314 references.
Just shows David's level of dedication.
No other research site is so powerful for such a low price. David
is happy to provide subscribers to UKlawyers with a brief guest
account to test the service.
Ring 01484 717380 or 0773 187 4426 to subscribe or enquire.
"More Cases, More Courts, More Years, More Use"
Go to:
David Swarbrick's lawindexpro - http:/www.lawindexpro.co.uk/.
Garden Pond Section
Pond Section
Having spent the weekend emptying and repairing a pond perhaps
I should have read these sites first:
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/ponssection.html
Oh What Lovely Law!
The History of Law
1300 BC: The Ten Commandments
http:/www.uklawyers.co.uk/cms/section/law13000bc.html
Legal Practitioner
Summer seems to have given Charon, QC the chance to catch up on
YouTube and here he features some of his finds, including Jim "The
Hammer" Shapiro, an insane lawyer:
http:/charonqc.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/bank-holiday-special/
There is also serious legal material:
http:/www.legalpractitioner.co.uk/:
When you've read our newswire, let us know what you think:
mailto:smb@e-solicitors.co.uk
Any feedback is welcome, positive or not - we do listen and learn.
Regards
Steve
DISCLAIMER
The information and any commentary on the law contained in
this bulletin is provided free of charge for information
purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the
information and commentary accurate and up to date, but no
responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any
consequences of relying on it, is assumed by Joe Reevy, Steve
Butler, or uklawyers.co.uk. The information and commentary
does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to
any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly
advised to obtain specific, personal advice from a lawyer
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© S M Butler & J Reevy 2006
UKLawyers Express © S M Butler & J Reevy 2006
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