Category: Latest News

New sentencing guidelines for some drugs offences will come in to force on 1 April 2021 and will apply to all cases sentenced on or after that date. The update is to reflect modern drug offending and new guidelines for offences created by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 to bring clarity and transparency around the… Continue reading Sentencing for Drugs Offences

Ano-genital findings, namely signs of injury or other non-natural interference, often form part of child abuse prosecutions. In recent years new research has cast doubt on some old beliefs, and it may be the case that some convictions are unsafe. The most recent authoritative guidance is that provided by the Royal College of Paediatrics and… Continue reading Interpretation of Ano-Genital Findings

The British Broadcasting Corporation (‘BBC’) found itself in the embarrassing position of being fined £28,000 this week after admitting being in contempt of Court.   Why was the BBC in trouble? On the morning of 17 November 2020, the BBC made a video and audio recording of half a day’s hearing in the Planning Court… Continue reading BBC in the Dock

Currently, all parole hearings are held in private – this is set out in legislation in the Parole Board Rules. Following a consultation exercise, the government has now committed to opening up the hearings and allowing public access. Legislative change is expected in the next few months. The government has stated that: ‘…we are persuaded… Continue reading Parole Board Hearings – Public Scrutiny

The death of PC Harper has been in the news again recently. He died after he was dragged behind a car that was fleeing from the scene of a theft.  Unusually, at the same time that the Attorney General applied for leave to refer all three sentences as being unduly lenient, the three accused applied… Continue reading Manslaughter and the ‘PC Harper Case’

A number of the definitive guidelines published by the Sentencing Council direct sentencers to consider whether the victim of an offence has suffered severe psychological harm.  In some guidelines, that question has to be considered at step 1 of the sentencing process: a finding of severe psychological harm places the case into a higher category… Continue reading Sentencing And The Issue of ‘Psychological Harm’

Section 7 Road Traffic Act 1988 states that a person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to provide a specimen when required to do so is guilty of an offence. The offence can be punished by up to six months imprisonment and in some cases, also carries mandatory disqualification from driving. In legal terms, the offence… Continue reading Failure to Provide a Specimen of Breath

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 came into effect on 28 September 2020. The regulations: prohibits an employer from allowing a worker to attend any place (except the place where they are required to self-isolate) for any purpose connected to the worker’s employment; sets out the prohibition on knowingly allowing a self-isolating… Continue reading Covid, Self-Isolation and Employer Duties

The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons. The MP who is Minister for Security, James Brokenshire, set out the purposes of the Bill during the Second Reading debate.  “…the Bill deals with participation in criminal conduct by covert human intelligence sources – so-called CHIS. These… Continue reading Covert Human Intelligence Sources

It is quite common for a police officer to view CCTV footage and purport to identify a suspect. Many unresolved cases are distributed to police forces nationally on the off-chance that an officer may recognise someone who is wanted for questioning (Smith [2008] EWCA Crim 1342).  In other cases, an officer may compare a photograph… Continue reading Identification by Police Officers