News
Rape Charges Lowest For 10 Years
The number of people charged with rape in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. Crown Prosecution Service data shows 2,800 suspects investigated for rape in 2017/18 were later charged - a 23.1% decline compared with 2016/17.
Alison Saunders, director of public prosecutions at the CPS, said offenders were being brought to justice "wherever possible". But sexual violence charity Rape Crisis said the trend was "deeply troubling".
A record number of cases - more than 1,300 - were "administratively finalised", meaning police stopped their inquiries after advice from prosecutors or after a suspect went missing.
'Prosecutors urged to ditch 'weak' rape cases to improve figures'
Prosecutors in England and Wales have been urged to take a more risk-averse approach in rape cases to help stem widespread criticism of the service’s low conviction rates, the Guardian can reveal.
The Guardian has been told the advice was set out by two senior figures in the Crown Prosecution Service, who addressed staff during visits to all 14 of the specialist rape and serious sexual offences units, known as Rassos.
Sources said the CPS’s director of legal services, Greg McGill, and the director of public prosecutions’ legal adviser, Neil Moore, urged prosecutors to take a proportion of “weak cases out of the system” to improve conviction rates.
3D Printed Weapon Charge Considered (£££)
A teenager could become the first person to be prosecuted for possessing a 3D-printed gun. It comes as Scotland Yard revealed that it had built its own models to anticipate the threat from the weapons, The Times can reveal.
Components for the plastic gun were found during a drugs raid on a property in central London in October and further parts were found in a subsequent search in February. The suspect, in his late teens, has been released on bail while a decision is taken whether to charge him.
Legal Aid and Low Income Defendants
Defendants on low incomes are having to make contributions to legal costs - forcing them to choose between legal representation or avoiding slipping into poverty, the Law Society has warned.
The report, commissioned by the Society and written by professor Donald Hirsch at Loughborough University, analyses the affordability of legal advice for those who are not eligible for legal aid and those who earn enough that they are required to make a contribution towards their costs.
According to the report, someone earning more than £17,000 is denied any legal aid in a magistrates’ court. But after their contributions towards defence costs in the Crown court have been taken into account they end up with only about half the amount they need to cover living costs. It warns that after paying the required contribution in the Crown court, those on low incomes can end up 41% to 53% below the minimum income standard – leaving them with less than half of what they need for essential living costs.
Beckham Cleared of Speeding
David Beckham has swerved a speeding fine after his lawyer, dubbed "Mr Loophole", successfully argued that despite driving too fast, the notice of prosecution was defective.
The former England football captain had been caught driving a Bentley at 59mph in a 40mph zone, and although the speed was not contested, the fact that the notice arrived late meant that Beckham could not be convicted.
International
Brett Kavanaugh: Trump's Supreme Court
President Donald Trump has ordered an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against his nominee for the US Supreme Court.
A Senate committee earlier voted to approve Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the top US court. But a Republican member only backed the move on the understanding that such an inquiry would occur. As a result, a full Senate vote on Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation has been delayed for up to a week.
Other
Magistrates' Courts: A Legal Sausage Factory
Everywhere you turn in the justice system, there's a crisis. Off the top of my head (in alphabetical order): crumbling courts, disclosure, duty solicitors becoming extinct, legal aid fees, police officer numbers, prison standards, probation reform. We can add another crisis to that by-no-means exhaustive list: magistrates' courts.
John Bache, chair of the Magistrates' Association, tells me that the number of magistrates has halved over the last decade and that there are simply not enough to keep the courts running effectively: 'Benches of two, even in trials, are becoming increasingly common and magistrates are too often being called on at the last minute to fill gaps in the rota.'
Obscurity
Mute of Malice
A man who repeatedly turned himself into a human roadblock but wouldn’t say why has been jailed for a ninth time. David Hampson was arrested after he obstructed a lorry in the middle of a city road during rush hour. But the 48-year-old refused to speak to police and appeared before a judge on Friday.
Swansea Crown Court heard it was the second time Hampson had stood in front of traffic in two years, and was given a Criminal Behaviour Order – known as a Crasbo – to stop the behaviour in 2016. But he didn’t attempt to explain his bizarre behaviour in court – and even refused to confirm his name and address. He was found guilty of breaching the Crasbo and convicted of being ‘mute of malice’ – meaning he stubbornly chooses not to speak to court officials.
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