News
'Defendants must reveal nationality in magistrates courts'
Defendants will have to disclose their nationality at their first appearance before magistrates in England and Wales from next week under powers that human rights groups say will undermine the right to a fair trial.
The changes to criminal cases are being introduced as part of the government’s drive to deport more foreign criminals. Failure to disclose the information could result in a prison sentence of up to a year.
This was brought in by section 162 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.
'Woman seeks private rape prosecution'
A woman seeking what is thought to be the UK's first crowdfunded private rape prosecution says she hopes to lead the way for those "let down" by the courts.
Emily Hunt from London, claims she was drugged and raped in 2015.
Police investigated, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) felt there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a case.
Ms Hunt has hired a barrister who believes there are grounds for a criminal prosecution.
Judicial Review of Indecent Image Details
A teenage boy whose details were recorded by police for “sexting” is launching a legal challenge to have them deleted. In the first case of its kind, representatives of the boy known only as CL, have won the right for a judicial review into Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) actions.
The force put the boy’s details on its system over an incident in 2015, when he was 14 years old. After sending a photo of his penis to a girl over Snapchat, his head teacher and a local police officer told his mother and warned him that it was a criminal offence.
'Honour' Crime: Reports Up, Charges Down
The police are failing the victims of “honour” crimes, with just 5% of reported cases being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, a leading charity has warned.
The number of cases of “honour” based violence, forced marriage and FGM reported to the police has increased by 53% since 2014, figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show.
However, despite the rise in reporting, the volume of cases referred to the CPS for a charging decision is the lowest it has been for five years.
Cases
R v Zaman [2017] EWCA Crim 1783
Issues with breach and causation in gross negligence manslaughter.
On 30 January 2014, Paul Wilson was found dead at his home in North Yorkshire. He had spent the afternoon and early evening drinking with a friend, before purchasing a takeaway meal from the Indian Garden Restaurant, Easingwold, which he took home and started to eat. He suffered from an allergy to peanut, and the waiter from whom he had ordered the meal had specifically confirmed that it contained no nuts. Unfortunately, the sauce contained substantial amounts of peanut, ingestion of which caused Mr Wilson anaphylactic shock, which killed him.
Other
R v Matthew Scully-Hicks Sentencing Remarks
Sentencing remarks of Mrs Justice Nicola Davies DBE in the case of R v Matthew Scully-Hicks.
Elsie was aged just 18 months when you killed her, a young, vulnerable and defenceless child. She had been entrusted to the care of yourself and your husband, Craig Scully- Hicks, her adoptive fathers. Shortly before 18:19 on 25 May 2016 you inflicted injuries of such severity upon Elsie as to cause her immediate collapse and her death on 29 May 2016.
R v Richards and Others Sentencing Remarks
Detailed sentencing remarks after a ten month trial: conspiracy to cheat the Revenue.
This case involves a scheme whose chief characteristics were utter dishonesty, sophisticated planning, and astonishing greed hidden behind a mask of concern for the environment which adds an element of hypocrisy and cynicism to this case which is deeply distasteful.
the use of iPads (or other tablet devices) was used in this trial very successfully. Each juror had an iPad on which the whole of the evidence was available through chronological schedules of events which contained links. They also had the legal directions, the Indictment, the admissions and everything else they required. They could annotate these, highlight them and so on
Obscurity
Unlawfully Digging for a Badger
Unlawfully digging for a badger is contrary to section 2(1)(c) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.