News & Advice

Forensic evidence has dominated some of the news agenda this week, with outrage over the interrogation of complainant’s phones in sexual offence and other cases. In reality of course, if a police officer is to investigate a criminal offence fairly, the interrogation of phones, computers and other devices may well be necessary, despite the potential… Continue reading Focus On Forensics

Mental Health is a complicated business. Conditions are not easy to diagnose, doctors can disagree on which disorder a person is suffering from, or even if they have a mental health condition at all. Those with mental disorders might have a host of specific needs in court on top of those of the typical defendant.… Continue reading Mental Health and Criminal Law

Divorce is not something anyone would wish to go through, and although divorce rates have been seen to decrease in most recent years, thousands of people still file for divorce each year. On the 9th April 2019, the 50-year-old divorce law that was in place across England and Wales was updated, meaning that couples no… Continue reading A No Fault Divorce: Key Facts

Last week the Hillsborough trial involving ex-police officer David Duckenfield ended without reaching a conclusion; a number of papers reported that there was a ‘hung jury’ – so, what does that mean? In an ideal world, a jury will reach a clear conclusion by either convicting or acquitting the defendant. In a case with 12… Continue reading Key Facts Regarding a Hung Jury

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the case of R v Max Clifford, the disgraced celebrity PR guru who was convicted in 2014 of a number of sexual offences and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. Clifford Died in 2017, So Why Did the Appeal Proceed? Section 44A of The Criminal Appeal Act… Continue reading Appeals from Beyond the Grave

Driving above the drink drive limit can have serious consequences and impact not only the drink diver but other motorists and pedestrians. At Broadbents Solicitors, we have a wealth of experience in handling drink drive cases and discuss this topic further in our latest post. What is The Drink Drive Limit? Whilst some people believe… Continue reading Key Facts on the Drink Drive Limit

The murder of James Bulger in 1993 shocked everyone. That the killers who committed such a violent crime were only ten years of age was astounding. Many people, rightly, felt they should be punished to the full extent of the law. But some people think that the punishment should go further. As a result, Jon… Continue reading Tina Malone – When Sharing a Picture Can Send You to Prison

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 confers a power to make regulations if an ‘emergency’ has occurred or is about to occur. In other words, a power to declare a state of emergency and make regulations to deal with it. The reason that this is currently interesting is that the definition of emergency within the Act… Continue reading Civil Contingencies Act, Martial Law and a State of Emergency

HMRC is reported to be investigating alleged violations of a new criminal offence, part of the crackdown on money laundering, for the first time. A freedom of information request made by law firm Greenberg Taurig, revealed there are five current criminal investigations. The Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduced the new offence of failing to prevent… Continue reading Facilitating Tax Evasion

The Home Secretary will this week hold an urgent meeting with police chiefs to discuss the recent rise in knife crime. This follows another week of senseless killings and the publication of figures that show the number of people aged 16 and under being stabbed rose by 93% between 2016 and 2018. Channel 4 found,… Continue reading Knife Crime – Searching for Solutions