About
A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
Proposed Changes to AGFS and LGFS
The proposed reforms include a variety of changes to the way legal aid fees are paid to criminal advocates and solicitors and could reach up to £50 million depending on the volume of cases. The consultation, published by the Ministry of Justice, marks the first step of a comprehensive review of criminal legal aid and aims to address some of the most pressing concerns of the criminal defence profession...
Proposals out for consultation include:
- new payments for litigators and advocates for reviewing unused material
- additional payments for advocates with high volumes of pages of prosecution evidence
- increased payments for advocates on cracked trials
- additional payments for litigators for work done on sending cases to the Crown Court
The CBA announcement can be found here. The Law Society's press release can be found here. The consultation can be found here and closes on 27 March 2020.
'Automatic early release of terrorists ends'
The automatic early release of terrorist offenders will end from today (26 February) as emergency legislation to ensure the public is protected receives Royal Assent.
It will end the current automatic half-way release for terrorist offenders who receive standard determinate sentences, forcing them to spend a minimum of two-thirds of their term behind bars. It will apply to offenders sentenced for crimes such as training for terrorism, membership of a proscribed organisation, and the dissemination of terrorist publications. It will mean around 50 terrorist prisoners already serving sentences will see their automatic early release blocked.
The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020 can be found here.
Consultation on Changes to AG's Guidelines on Disclosure and CPIA Code of Practice
This consultation is being launched to seek views on the revised Disclosure Guidelines and CPIA Code of Practice. This is the result of continuing, collaborative work throughout the Criminal Justice System to identify and incorporate improvements to these sources of guidance on disclosure.
This consultation closes on 22 April at 23.59.
'Forensic Science Regulator highlights threats to criminal justice'
The government must act as a priority to protect the future of forensic science in England and Wales, the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) has warned today (Tuesday 25 February). While recognising that improvements have been made, Dr Gillian Tully has called for gaps in quality to be resolved to prevent unreliable evidence being used in court.
The regulator’s annual report can be found here.
'Drug support services 'disappearing' due to government cuts, report says'
More illegal drugs than ever before are coming into the UK - and buying them is almost as easy as ordering a pizza, the author of a major new report has said.
Dame Carol Black also found that an "unprecedented" number of children and teenagers are being drawn into the drug trade through county lines gangs. Her drugs review put the costs of the illicit trade in crime and to society at about £19bn a year in England.
The review can be found here.
'UK to withdraw from European arrest warrant'
The UK is to abandon a crucial tool used to speed up the transfer of criminals across borders with other European countries. Acting against the warnings of senior law enforcement officials, the government said it would not be seeking to participate in the European arrest warrant (EAW) as part of the future relationship with the European Union.
In a document setting out the UK’s approach to negotiations with the EU, the government said: “The agreement should instead provide for fast-track extradition arrangements, based on the EU’s surrender agreement with Norway and Iceland which came into force in 2019, but with appropriate further safeguards for individuals beyond those in the European arrest warrant.”
New Funding for Prisons
A new intensive support programme will help challenging jails to improve safety and rehabilitation, Prisons Minister Lucy Frazer announced today (28 February 2020)... Building on lessons learned from the 10 Prisons Project, a small number of chosen jails will be boosted by measures including additional staff, enhanced standards training and tough airport-style security, in order to bring stability.
Six prisons - HMPs Pentonville, Wormwood Scrubs, Bedford, Bristol, Hewell and Feltham A - will initially receive this bespoke support, and have been chosen following a detailed assessment. The jails will benefit from additional funding to improve living and working conditions, and a Standards Coaching Team will develop staff confidence and skills – something that proved successful during the 10 Prisons Project.
Cases
R v DS [2020] EWCA Crim 285
In our judgment, the result of the enactment of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the section 45 statutory defence is that the responsibility for deciding the facts relevant to the status of DS as a Victim of Trafficking is unquestionably that of the jury. Formerly, there was a lacuna in that regard, which the courts sought to fill by expanding somewhat the notion of abuse of process, which required the Judge to make relevant decisions of fact. That is no longer necessary, and cases to which the Modern Slavery Act 2015 applies should proceed on the basis that they will be stayed if, but only if, an abuse of process as conventionally defined is found. By way of summary only, this involves two categories of abuse, as is well known. The first is that a fair trial is not possible and the second is that it would be wrong to try the defendant because of some misconduct by the state in bringing about the prosecution. Neither of these species of abuse affected this case, and it should not therefore have been stayed.
The appeal was allowed because there was no room in the light of section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the abuse of process jurisdiction to immunise the respondent from prosecution.