News
Drones
The police are set to get new powers relating to the use of drones, including:
- requiring a user to produce registration documents on request
- grounding a drone in certain circumstances
- seizure of a drone if reasonable suspicion that it has been involved in an offence
Further regulatory provisions are also being considered, including:
- registration of drones
- tests for leisure pilots
- mandatory use of a safety and airspace awareness app
- restriction on all drones flying above 400 feet
- a ban on the use of drones within the proximity of an airport
‘Bar to lower standard of proof in disciplinary cases’
The BSB has decided to lower the standard of proof in disciplinary proceedings. Currently, the criminal standard is applied, but from March 2019 this will be reduced to the civil standard.
The BSB’s move follows a consultation paper published earlier this year in which it proposed lowering the standard. The paper received 101 responses with around 12 in favour and the rest, predominantly practising or qualified barristers, against.
QASA Dropped
The BSB has decided to drop controversial proposals to test standards of advocacy. The regulator had planned to introduce a scheme called the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates.
Law Society Challenge Fee Cuts
The Law Society is taking High Court action against the government's latest criminal legal aid reforms over concerns that the 'fragile' sector will not be able to withstand further cuts.
The litigators' graduated fee scheme, introduced in 2008, remunerates litigators for Crown court work. Last month the Ministry of Justice confirmed it would reduce the cap on the number of claimable pages of prosecution evidence from 10,000 to 6,000 - despite 97% of consultation respondents opposing the proposal. The change is due to come into force on Friday.
Cases
R (Director of Public Prosecutions) v Aylesbury Crown Court & Anor [2017] EWHC 2987 (Admin)
Although an expert might be instructed by the Crown, the relationship was a contractual one, not one of agency. An expert witness in a criminal trial did not give their evidence or act “on behalf of” the prosecution and was not to be regarded as part of the Crown. There might be circumstances where the instructing party bore an individual responsibility for an act or omission relating to that witness sufficient to trigger the costs jurisdiction of the court under section 19 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, but it would be unwise to be overly proscriptive about the circumstances in which such a responsibility might arise.
Other
Lord Justice Singh Keynote Speech
Keynote speech to the Criminal Bar Association Conference on 25 November 2017.
Obscurity
Kinder Egg
Kinder Eggs are banned in the USA by section 342 of Title 21 of the U.S. Code, as they are a non-nutritive substance (the toy) completely embedded within confectionary (the chocolate).