News
New Sentencing Guideline for Child Cruelty Offences
The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on sentencing child cruelty.
The new guideline will come into effect on 1 January 2019.
CPS Salisbury Skripal Statement
“Prosecutors from CPS Counter Terrorism Division have considered the evidence and have concluded there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and it is clearly in the public interest to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who are Russian nationals, with the following offences: Conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal, Attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, Yulia Skripal and Nick Bailey, Use and possession of Novichok contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act, Causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Yulia Skripal and Nick Bailey
“A realistic prospect of conviction means the CPS is satisfied on an objective assessment that the evidence can be used in court and that an objective, impartial and reasonable jury hearing the case, properly directed and acting in accordance with the law, is more likely than not to convict these two individuals of the charges. It is of course for a jury to decide whether the evidence is enough for them to be sure of the suspects' guilt.
Recruitment Policy for Magistrates Under Fire
The hunt for six family court magistrates in the Midlands has sparked outrage that justice is being dispensed by non-lawyers recruited on a 'first come, first served' basis. Applications for the six vacancies in Birmingham and Solihull opened on Monday. However, a government document detailing magistrate vacancies states that 'only the first 20 fully completed applications received after the opening date will be considered for interview'.
The document does not contain an official reason for the policy. However, guidance for a recruitment drive in Berkshire, which closed last month, states: 'If there are more eligible candidates that we have the capacity to interview, we will select for interview based on the date the application forms were received. This approach to the selection of applicants for interview takes account of the anticipated volumes and the limited capacity to process a high number of applications'.
Trial-By-Video-Link Warnings
Local justice will be destroyed and public confidence in the legal system damaged under plans to switch more criminal trials to video links and centralise proceedings, magistrates have warned.
In a leaked response to the senior judiciary, magistrates in Kent signalled their concern over government proposals to close more courts and rely increasingly on digital technology.
'Stop and search powers could be increased as police battle rising violent crime across UK'
Police could be given enhanced stop and search powers under new laws being planned by the government following a nationwide rise in violent crime.
A public consultation on changes to the “reasonable grounds” needed to legally justify searches will be launched in the coming days, The Independent understands.
Sajid Javid, the home secretary, is targeting acid, drones and laser pointers used to target aircraft, which are not encompassed by the current law.
Cases
R v Monington [2018] EWCA Crim 2016
On 16 April 2018 in the Crown Court at Cardiff before His Honour Judge Bidder QC, the appellant pleaded guilty on re-arraignment to causing death by careless driving. There was no basis of plea. He was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment and disqualified from driving for a total period of 5 years and until he passes an extended retest. He appeals against sentence with the leave of the single judge. Counts relating to causing death by driving whilst uninsured and unlicensed were ordered to lie on the file.
Before dealing with the appeal, it is important that we should re-emphasise the role of the courts when sentencing in cases of this kind. No prison sentence that the Crown Court is able to impose, whatever its length, can sufficiently reflect the loss of someone's life. Instead, the role given to the court involves assessing the offender's culpability in committing the offence and the harm he has caused, applying the Definitive Guideline, and subject to the maximum penalty which Parliament allows to be imposed. Sentencing for offences of this kind is highly sensitive to the circumstances of each individual case.
Other
'How can Mr Loophole defend David Beckham when he knows he is guilty?'
A blog post analysing David Beckham's legal defence in his trial for speeding.
Serious Fraud Office Use of Artificial Intelligence
An informative article on the use of Artificial Intelligence by the SFO:
In the boardroom at the Serious Fraud Office, an investigator is pointing to a giant computer screen that shows a pattern of green and blue dots. As the investigator moves his mouse, the dots bounce around as if on elastic. It looks like some kind of digital children's game. In fact, it's serious stuff. This is a visual representation of the links between two people involved in a complex fraud inquiry. It shows the emails they sent and received and the people copied in.
Sentencing Remarks in R v Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman
Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, on 18th July 2018, you were found guilty by the unanimous verdict of an Old Bailey jury of one count (Count 1) of “engaging in conduct in preparation” for terrorist acts contrary to s.5(1) (a) and (3) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
So, Mr Rahman, for the main offence of Preparation of Terrorist Acts under Count 1 of which you have been convicted by a unanimous jury of the Old Bailey, I sentence you to Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years.