Category: Latest News

It is quite common to read in a newspaper that someone has been arrested. Local papers will cover almost any story of interest, and national media if the case involves a high-profile person. For the person being investigated, such publicity can be devastating, as many people will conclude that there is ‘no smoke without fire’. The… Continue reading Police Investigations – Are They Now Secret?

Following on from the terror attacks at Fishmongers Hall on 29 November 2019, and in Streatham on 2 February 2020, the government has announced the next phase of its tougher approach to terrorism offences.   What are the aims of this proposed legislation? The Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill is designed to further strengthen the approach… Continue reading Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill

The Forensic Science Regulator regulates forensic scientists in England and Wales. The Regulator ensures that the provision of forensic science evidence across the criminal justice system is subject to appropriate standards. The Regulator has recently said that there are gaps in quality that need to be resolved. In its annual report, it was said that… Continue reading Forensic Evidence

Many professionals are held by their regulators to a higher standard than other members of the public. Conduct which may fall well short of being criminal in nature may nonetheless excite the interest of a regulator, with the potential for censure. In the most recent case of Diggins v Bar Standards Board [2020] EWHC 467… Continue reading Social Media – A Dangerous Place for Professionals?

Circumstantial evidence is widely misunderstood, and many people cannot understand how a case can be advanced without primary evidence of wrongdoing. To illustrate this, we can use two examples relating to burglary. Burglary can be committed in quite a few different ways, but the most common allegation is that a person entered a building as… Continue reading Circumstantial Evidence

In legislative terms, 2019 was a pretty quiet year, with parliament being so heavily occupied with Brexit, there was little time for anything else. 2020 promises to be somewhat different, the government has a substantial parliamentary majority, and being ‘tough on crime’ seems once again to be a popular political topic. The recent Queen’s Speech… Continue reading Criminal Law in 2020 – What Can We Expect?

As the UK prepares to move into the ‘delay phase’, changes are expected to criminal justice procedure. So, what might be expected to change?   Criminal Investigations   In the event of any public disorder, work on low priority criminal investigations may slow or stall entirely as police resources are diverted elsewhere. Most police custody… Continue reading Criminal Justice and Coronavirus

Many people face court proceedings who do not necessarily have a detailed grasp of the English language. A defendant mustn’t be a mere observer of legal proceedings and they must, as fully as anyone not legally qualified can, participate fully. It is therefore vital that a qualified and competent interpreter is engaged to assist in… Continue reading Interpreters

A defendant has the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. In exceptional cases, a delay will lead to a stay of proceedings as an abuse of process. A stay of proceedings is an extremely rare outcome, with the Court of Appeal making the following observation in R v PS [2013] EWCA Crim… Continue reading Trial Delays

A large number of people are subject to notification requirements under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, many for an indeterminate period. The notification framework is often referred to as the ‘sex offender register’, and around 60,000 people are affected (although not all of those are subject to indeterminate notification). Last week several… Continue reading Notification Requirements – Removal