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It is often said that there is no such thing as a dangerous dog, only a dangerous owner. While we often refer to ‘dangerous dogs’ in criminal law, the actual offences relate to dogs ‘dangerously out of control’. Section 10 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 states that: ‘a dog shall be regarded as dangerously… Continue reading Dogs – Avoiding a Death Penalty

Many in the medical profession are up in arms following a recent High Court case involving Dr Bawa-Garba  – General Medical Council v Bawa-Garba [2018] EWHC 76 (Admin). The case followed on from proceedings before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal, which had ruled that Bawa-Garba should be suspended from practice for a period of one-year. The… Continue reading Doctors in the Dock

In a legal challenge brought by the MP Tom Watson, and supported by campaign group Liberty, the High Court ruled that a major plank of the government’s surveillance strategy is unlawful (Secretary of State for the Home Department v Watson MP & Ors [2018] EWCA Civ 70). When Theresa May was Home Secretary, she brought… Continue reading Government Snooping Ruled Unlawful

“Revenge porn”, the criminal act of posting online intimate sexual pictures/video of a person without their consent, carries a potential prison sentence of up to 2 years, so already there is every reason to think twice before exacting this type of revenge on a former lover. However, celebrity vlogger Chrissy Chambers has taken the matter… Continue reading Revenge Porn Can Be an Expensive Business

On 31st January 2018, regulations bring into force sections of The Criminal Finances Act 2017 dealing with unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), along with various other related provisions. The purpose of this new order is to allow for certain people who obtain property which would ordinarily be beyond their obvious means, to be required to prove… Continue reading Unexplained Wealth Orders

Redemption has always been an important part of our justice system; you do the crime, you do time. Once your debt is paid, you should then be free to start again, without forever being haunted by ghosts of the past. We all recognise that there must be limits to this principle, so if convicted of… Continue reading The “Right to be Forgotten”

In criminal law, we talk a lot about character, but mainly in the context of ‘bad character’, or previous convictions that the prosecution will try to put before a jury to persuade them of the defendant’s guilt. After all, if he’s done it before, he is more likely to have committed this crime too, is… Continue reading A Matter of Character

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are never far from the news, mainly when the value is rising considerably. This week the price of a single bitcoin rose to a little over £10,000. It is an odd ‘currency’, as it is not backed by any government, and certainly not by an underlying gold stock. It is, in… Continue reading When People Talk Bitcoin, It’s Time to Ask Questions

On the 13 January, the Government ban on surcharges for payments on credit and debit cards came into effect. The new rules mean that individuals cannot be penalised for paying by card, whether purchasing goods in-store or online. The 2013 rules stated that companies were not allowed to make a profit from surcharges and were… Continue reading Card Payment Surcharges Scrapped

Laws that criminalise unlawful violence date back to 1861 and are used every day in criminal courts to support prosecutions. Despite what might appear to be an obvious legal position, the question is often asked as to whether, despite those laws, it is permissible to ‘smack’ a child. The simple answer is that it is… Continue reading Hitting a Child: is it Lawful?