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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
'Operation Early Dawn chaos in court'
Confirming that Operation Early Dawn commenced on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) would assess each morning which defendants could be transferred from police cells and taken to courts to ensure a safe and secure location is available if they are remanded in custody. The move could see some defendants kept in police custody an extra night or bailed. The ministry said bail decisions would be made by the police and judges. The ministry stressed that no bail instructions had been given, and triaging will be done by HMPPS, and not Serco, which provides the Prison Escort Custody Service...
‘HM Courts & Tribunals Service Gold Command’ yesterday issued a note on court contingencies. It said the contingency was activated in all HMCTS regions except Wales. Crown and magistrates’ courts will remain open ‘but there may be some disruption to court operations in some geographical areas’. Court staff will monitor the nature and degree of disruption. Gold Command will support use of video hearings in some areas where the judge deems it necessary and appropriate. If a case needs to be rearranged, the court will contact affected parties. Parties not contacted should assume their case will go ahead and attend the hearing as planned. Operation Early Dawn is expected to run until Tuesday, though no official end date had been set at the time of going to press.
'Death by dangerous cycling set to become offence'
Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law. Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison. It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour. The law change will be introduced after Sir Iain proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament... Sir Iain told MPs that Mr Briggs' attempt to get a cyclist prosecuted "involved a legal process that was so convoluted and difficult" even the presiding judge raised concerns and said the laws "needed to be addressed". His proposed amendment creates an offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling...
Ministers also agreed to calls to create a criminal offence for the practice known as "cuckooing" where a person takes over a vulnerable person's home for illicit purposes. MPs will continue to debate the Criminal Justice Bill,, external after which it will head to the House of Lords...
'Solicitor general to appeal over case of climate activist who held sign on jurors’ rights'
The government’s most senior law officer is to appeal against a decision not to allow a contempt of court action against climate campaigner Trudi Warner for holding a placard on the rights of jurors outside a British court, the Guardian can reveal.
Mr Justice Saini ruled at the high court last month there was no basis to take action against Warner, 69, for holding up the sign informing jurors of their right to acquit a defendant based on their conscience. He said the government’s claim that her behaviour fell into the category of criminal contempt was “fanciful”. Saini in his ruling accused the government’s solicitor general of “significantly mischaracterising” the evidence, when his lawyers alleged Warner behaved in an intimidating manner, confronting potential jurors outside the court. His ruling also reiterated that there was a well established principle in law of jury equity; a de facto power to acquit a defendant regardless of directions from the judge. But lawyers for the solicitor general, Robert Courts, have informed Warner’s lawyers they are appealing against the decision...
'Greater support for neurodivergent offenders in bid to cut crime'
Dedicated neurodiversity officers are now in place in every public prison in England and Wales to better support offenders away from crime. The specialist staff are tasked with making sure prisoners with neurodiverse needs are identified and can access the right education and training opportunities while in prison which are crucial to reducing reoffending.
Some neurodiverse offenders may have speech and language needs which can lead to challenging behaviour, meaning they struggle to engage with prison rules and rehabilitation programmes. Support managers will ensure other prison staff know how to avoid and de-escalate volatile situations when working with offenders that have neurodiverse conditions. It is estimated that up to half of the adult prison population could be considered neurodivergent, covering a range of conditions and disorders such as learning disabilities and acquired brain injuries. Since April 2021, the Prison Service has identified at least 25,000 prisoners enrolled in education who have learning difficulties and disabilities.
'Child rapists to automatically have parental responsibility stripped'
An amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill tabled by the government today (10 May 2024) will mean when child rapists are sentenced, their ability to make decisions about their own children’s lives will also be suspended. The change will apply in cases where the perpetrator attacks any child. This builds on Jade’s Law, introduced through the Victims and Prisoners Bill currently progressing through the Lords, which applies an automatic suspension of parental responsibility in cases where a perpetrator has killed a partner or ex-partner with whom they share children.
This amendment will also provide important protections for innocent parents. While the courts do have the power to strip parental responsibility when it is in the best interest of a child, currently it requires families and former partners of perpetrators to instigate and fund proceedings to secure these orders to protect their children. Costs for these types of proceedings can run into tens of thousands of pounds. However, under the new rule, parental responsibility will be automatically suspended. It means the perpetrator will no longer have any say over key elements of a child’s life - including whether they can access therapeutic support, go on holiday or change schools. The case will then be referred to the family courts, and it will be for the perpetrator to prove to a judge it is in the child’s best interests for their parental responsibility to be reinstated...
'Garden Court Chambers will not send pupils to Stratford Magistrates Court following 'serious assault'
London’s biggest chambers has announced it will not be sending pupils to Stratford Magistrates’ Court following a report of a ‘serious’ assault by security staff against a duty solicitor. Garden Court Chambers said it would not be fulfilling its duty to ensure pupils’ safety and wellbeing if it required pupils to attend the court. It is the first set to make such an announcement. The London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA), in an open letter following the incident last week, said it ‘may recommend to our members that they do not attend Stratford Magistrates’ Court until this situation has been resolved’. The incident follows reports of invasive searches said to have taken place at Stratford. The searches caused the LCCSA to issue a formal complaint to HMCTS...
Cases
R v Sesay [2024] EWCA Crim 483
These applications and renewed applications for leave to appeal have been listed together to allow the court to give guidance in relation to crediting periods of remand in custody when a life sentence is imposed. The applications are unconnected save for the coammon factor of a life sentence having been imposed in each case...
Where a judge imposes a determinate sentence and days subject to curfew and/or time on extradition remand are to count as time served, the judge's direction is not part of the sentence. So long as the judge makes it clear that the court order will be subject to correction if an administrative error is discovered, the correction can take place. A hearing may be required if there is disagreement as to the existence or the extent of any error. That will not be subject to the statutory period of 56 days since there will be no alteration of the sentence. It is apparent from some of the individual applications with which we are concerned that judges believe that this process can be applied to a minimum term to be served in relation to a life sentence. It cannot. That is so even if some or all of the deduction from the minimum term fixed by reference to the starting point or the notional determinate sentence relates to days spent on qualifying curfew or on extradition remand...
In Cookson the court said that there was no requirement that a judge, having been informed of the number of days served on remand, should carry out the arithmetical calculation. It was permissible to announce the minimum term as X years less Y months and Z days. This was in line with previous authority. We acknowledge that judges imposing a life sentence are accustomed to announcing the minimum term in that way. However, there are practical reasons in relation to the digital recording of the minimum term by the court and the application of the minimum term by HMPPS which make it highly desirable that the minimum term should be announced by the judge after carrying out the arithmetical calculation. It is also a clear expression of the true sentence for both the offender and others interested in the sentence. The minimum term is part of the sentence which consists of a specific period expressed in years and days. We conclude that a judge imposing a life sentence must announce the minimum term in that manner. We also conclude that the sentencing judge must announce in court the number of remand and/or curfew days which have been counted in order to reach the minimum term. If an error occurs in relation to calculation of days, that announcement will make it clear what the court took into account on the day of sentence...
R v Calocane [2024] EWCA Crim 490
On 24 January 2024, again at Nottingham Crown Court, the offender was sentenced by Turner J. The unanimous opinion of the medical experts retained by the prosecution and the defence was that the offender was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time when he committed these offences. The judge sentenced the offender to a hospital and restrictions order, pursuant to ss. 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (“the 1983 Act”) (“a hospital and restrictions order”), for each offence, to run concurrently...
This was a sensitive sentencing exercise that was not straightforward. But there was no error, in the approach adopted by the judge. His conclusion that, on the facts of this case, a penal element was unnecessary and the better protection of the public required a hospital and restrictions order, rather than a hybrid order, was one properly open to him. We do not consider it arguable that the resulting sentences were unduly lenient. We refuse leave.
It is impossible to read of the circumstances of this offending without the greatest possible sympathy for the victims of these terrible attacks, and their family and friends. The victim impact statements paint a graphic picture of the appalling effects of the offender’s conduct. Had the offender not suffered the mental condition he did, the sentencing judge would doubtless have been considering a whole life term. But neither the judge nor this court can ignore the medical evidence as to the offender’s condition which led to these dreadful events or the threat to public safety which the offender continues to pose.