Issue 64  

News

Attorney General Disclosure Review Published

Publishing his 78-page report today, Geoffrey Cox QC MP said: 'For too long, disclosure has been seen as an administrative add on rather than fundamental pillar of our justice system. This ends now. My review sets out practical recommendations and a clear plan of action which I will hold the leaders of the criminal justice system to account for delivering in their respective areas.'

The review identifies nine major problems with the disclosure process. These include reasonable lines of enquiry not always being followed, disclosure obligations not being considered sufficiently from the outset of an investigation, the disclosure test not being applied correctly, and material being disclosed too late. The system for collecting data and management information to measure the impact of disclosure on cases 'is not fit for purpose'.

The report can be found here.

lawgazette.co.uk

Flexible Hours Cancelled for Crime

The Ministry of Justice has announced today that HMCTS is abandoning Flexible Operating Hours in the criminal courts. This is very welcome news. We have been supported by many members of the Judiciary on this and HMCTS has listened.

HMCTS has announced that it will be proceeding with a pilot in civil and family courts.

mailchi.mp

Talks to Scrap Reasonable Grounds for Stop and Search

Police chiefs want to trigger an expansion of stop and search by lowering the level of suspicion an officer needs against a suspect to use the power, the Guardian has learned.

They want to scrap the requirement that “reasonable grounds” are needed before a person can be subjected to a search, amid mounting concern over knife attacks.

Senior officers have held talks with advisers to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, within the last fortnight to discuss the issue. It would fuel the debate about police discrimination against minority ethnic communities, civil liberties and the role stop and search has to play in tackling violent crime.

theguardian.com

'Judges working in intolerable conditions'

Lord Burnett of Maldon, the lord chief justice, said judges and staff have to work in conditions that would not be tolerated elsewhere. He added that the poor state of the buildings was a factor contributing to “low levels of morale” which he viewed “with considerable concern.”

Despite an extra £7 million being made available by the Ministry of Justice and all the money allocated to maintenance being spent, more funds were needed, he warned. “The reality is that the backlog of urgent maintenance needed to ensure that all our buildings are in a decent condition will only be reduced by the injection of substantial funds.”

The comments were made in The Lord Chief Justice’s Report 2018, published here.

thetimes.co.uk

Cases

Davies, R (On the Application Of) v The Criminal Cases Review Commission [2018] EWHC 3080 (Admin)

This claimant seeks to challenge the decision of the Criminal Cases Review Commission ("the CCRC") not to refer his conviction for murder to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

In my view there is nothing in the criticism of the approach taken to the law by the Commission. Since their task is to predict a real possibility of a successful appeal, they are bound to do so from the starting point of examining the legal approach which will be taken by the Court to the case in hand. Hence, the requirement that there should be demonstrated that "substantial injustice" before such an appeal should be permitted to progress, was bound to be incorporated into the thinking of the Commission. Implicit in some of the submissions from Ms Gerry was the idea that Johnson was wrongly decided, with the result that the "high threshold" was too high. The need for "substantial injustice" has been laid down in long-standing authority, and has been explicitly approved by the Supreme Court in Jogee and the Court of Appeal in Johnson. It can be no part of the role of the Commission to take a different view, and proceed as if that test was misguided.

bailii.org

International

'Irish outcry over teenager's underwear used in rape trial'

A series of protests over sexual consent have been taking place in Ireland, a week after a man was acquitted of raping a 17-year-old.

In the trial, the defence lawyer told the jury: "You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front." The 27-year-old man was found not guilty of rape shortly afterwards.

bbc.co.uk

Other

DPP's First Speech - Kalisher Lecture

I am very pleased to be here this evening, so thank you to everyone for coming. Having been Chairman of the CBA 2011-12, and Chairman of the Kalisher Trust since the beginning of 2014, both organisations do me a great honour in inviting me to share with you my first observations and reflections on becoming DPP, in which role I am yet to complete the first fortnight.

I can feel the weight of history on my shoulders, doubly so this evening, because of the many distinguished Kalisher lecturers of recent years - I am humbled to be in their company - and because of the history of the office of Director of Public Prosecutions, a role which has been continuously occupied since 1880, and in which I am the eighth occupant in the modern era since the creation of the CPS in 1986. With the work of the Kalisher Trust in mind, inspiring and enabling the criminal advocates of the future, let me just say that you never know where a career in the law may take you. I have loved almost every minute of my career over 31 years, I never for a moment dreamt that it might be possible for me to occupy the post of DPP, but I hope you may accept that my journey shows where hard work can lead.

cps.gov.uk

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