News & Advice

It is standard for people to share a Netflix account (the same is true of other sharing services). In many instances, it is perfectly proper to do so when those persons are all part of the same household. But sharing password access with relatives and friends further afield has always been something widely acknowledged and… Continue reading Will Password Sharing Land You in the Dock?

Aggravated Trespass is an offence under section 68 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. It can only be tried in the magistrates’ court and carries a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment. A person commits the offence of aggravated trespass if he trespasses on land in the open air and, in relation… Continue reading Aggravated Trespass

It’s funny how things change as the years pass by. Perhaps only ten years ago, if we were thinking about particular spikes in alleged criminal offending over the Christmas period, the one that would jump out would always be drunk driving.  These days it is common to come across drug driving due to advances in… Continue reading Excess….As Night Follows Day

The old rule was that once a jury had retired to consider its verdict, no further evidence could be adduced.  The rule was stated in these terms: “… The jury may not when they have once retired to consider their verdict be given any additional evidence, any additional matter or material to assist them. They… Continue reading Jury in Retirement – Is Further Evidence Permissible?

Public sexual harassment (‘PSH’) will be made a specific offence through government-backed legislation. It is believed that creating an offence would contribute to cultural change and send a clear message that this behaviour is unacceptable. PSH can, when it happens, lead to adverse emotional effects on the victims, including impacts on their mental health. It… Continue reading Government Supports a New Public Sexual Harassment Offence

What impact might the serious ill health of counsel have on the safety of a conviction? The Appellant asked the Court of Appeal to resolve this question, which had been formulated in these terms: “Where after a trial in which the defendant was convicted it becomes known that defence counsel was suffering from a serious… Continue reading Health of Counsel as A Ground of Appeal

The Ministry of Justice has announced emergency measures that will see some people who ought to be in prison instead placed in police cells. The capacity pressure is specific to the adult male estate, and there is ample capacity in the women’s and youth estates. There are currently about 83,000 people in prison At the… Continue reading Police Cells For Prisoners

It is now commonplace for us to be asked to deal with cases where a person is accused of a crime, most commonly of a sexual nature, which is said to have occurred many decades earlier. Not surprisingly, those accused will wonder how they can be expected to properly defend themselves after such a passage… Continue reading Delay & Alleged Historic Offending

It is an offence for a person, with the intention to (a) of cause public alarm or anxiety, or (b) cause injury to members of the public consuming or using the goods, or (c) cause economic loss to any person by reason of the goods being shunned by members of the public, or (d) cause… Continue reading Contamination of or Interference with Goods