255 results
Protesting during a pandemic: what are your rights?
Protesting and human rights 1. The general rule is that everyone has the right to associate with others and to gather together for a common purpose. Article 11 of the ECHR safeguards our right to peaceful assembly and is one of the foundations of a democratic society. This means that the State more...
Coronavirus Act 2020 and the powers of the government to manage individuals infected with Covid-19: How will it affect those who fall ill?
The Coronavirus Act 2020 (“the Act”) came into force on 25th March 2020. Among other things, the Act confers powers on public health officers, constables, and immigration officers to enable them to manage potentially infectious persons during the Covid-19 crisis. Schedule 21 of the Act contains more...
4 May 2020 09:46
Barton and Booth – note on the Court of Appeal decision on Ivey and GhoshCase Note by Benjamin Myers QC Benjamin Myers QC, Nicola Daley and Ray Smith of Exchange Chambers prosecuted Barton and Booth v R at trial. Benjamin Myers QC and Nicola Daley appeared on behalf of the prosecution in the appeal of Barton and Booth v R together with David Perry QC and Katherine more...
The State's positive obligations in a pandemic: do we have a right to health?
World Health Day (7th April 2020) found the world in the midst of a fight against one of the biggest threats to our generation, and potentially generations to come. While the world is busy fighting off a raging pandemic, many are questioning whether states could and should have done more to prevent more...
15 Apr 2020 12:56
Injunctions in the time of the Coronavirus3PB Property barrister Antonietta Grasso reviews the alternative solutions available to those whose possession claims have been delayed due to the coronavirus lockdown. Click here to read Antonietta's briefing Antonietta specialises in all property related matters, ranging from housing, boundary more...
27 Mar 2020 13:20
Reducing detention in police custody – time for radical solutionsTransform Justice has been working for the last year on the over-use of policy custody for adults. The subject was not on the government, or the police’s policy agenda, but we felt that reform was needed. Analysis showed that remand by the police increased chances of remand in prison. And despite more...
13 Mar 2020 11:42
MA response to the HM CPS Inspectorate inspection on agents in the magistrates’ courtHer Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has published the report of its inspection on the effective use of agents in magistrates’ courts. The report found that the CPS deploys agents effectively, but needs to provide them with better support. Commenting on the report, John Bache JP, more...
11 Mar 2020 13:58
PROSECUTING AND DEFENDING WHEN A PROSECUTION WITNESS
DOES NOT WANT TO ATTEND COURTWhat happens when a witness sought to be relied on by the prosecution does not want to attend court to give evidence, but comments have been made at the time or soon after the event? Comments made on a 999 call, captured on a police officer’s body worn camera or made to the emergency services could more...
11 Mar 2020 09:47
False imprisonment not synonymous with breach of right to libertyR (on the application of Jalloh (formerly Jollah)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 4 In a pithy parting shot to the Home Secretary, Lady Hale has given the unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court on the question of whether a person subject to a home curfew under immigration more...
9 Mar 2020 13:40
Employee Fraud: A Sorry TaleEmployee fraud is dramatically on the increase – figures from ActionFraud showed that businesses in the UK lost £682m through fraud in 2018-2019, with the largest category being that carried out by employees, at £214m. It is unsurprising that defrauded employers may want to take recovery action when more...
6 Mar 2020 13:46
How to target the most serious domestic abusersThere are very few who criticise the draft domestic abuse bill. But many campaigners will admit that the measures in it are unlikely to significantly reduce abuse. It has good proposals – it’s right that those accused of DA (domestic abuse) should not cross examine their alleged victims in the more...
6 Mar 2020 10:58
Knife Crime Prevention Orders to be piloted in LondonThe Home Office has announced that legislation has been laid in parliament to pilot knife crime prevention orders, first introduced by the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. The pilot will take place in London and will run for 14 months, begining on 6 April 2020. The civil orders can be imposed by courts more...
4 Mar 2020 16:02
Mission impossible - can the police alone reduce crime?Is the government asking the police to do the impossible? The Home Secretary has funded 20,000 new officers and she wants results. In her recent speech to senior police and police and crime commissioners she set out her quid pro-quo – in return she wanted success to be “measured against a set of more...
2 Mar 2020 10:20
Sexual abuse: a third party’s fault?On 30 January 2020, Mr Justice Chamberlain gave judgment in BXB v (1) Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2) Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses [2020] EWHC 156 (QB), making an important contribution to the law of vicarious liability. The factual background is more...
2 Mar 2020 10:13
Why snail mail leads to no bailMore and more defendants are charged or asked to attend court by post. Most crimes are not prosecuted by the police but by authorities like BBC (for not having a TV licence) or Transport for London (for fare evasion). All these criminal charges are sent out by post to the address given by the more...
24 Feb 2020 16:20
Consultation on the decriminalisation of TV licence evasionThe Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a consultation on whether the government should proceed with plans to decriminalise TV licence evasion and to replace the criminal offence with an alternative civil enforcement scheme. MA National Chair John Bache JP appeared on BBC more...
Latest Court of Appeal guidance on Unexplained Wealth Orders
The team at Scarmans consisting of Queen’s Counsel, Barristers and Solicitors regularly represents individuals targeted by the NCA in civil, criminal and tax litigation and so are well-placed to protect their client’s interests. In this analysis, Barry Smith, Associate, explains the latest judgment more...
3 Feb 2020 14:19
Access to justice: the closure of magistrates' courtsNational Chair of the MA John Bache JP has had a letter published in The Times in respsonse to an article in the paper's series on 'Courts in Crisis' that highlighted that a third of courthouses have been closed in the last nine years. Half of all magistrates' courts in England and Wales have been more...
31 Jan 2020 11:52
A criminal record – the new life sentencePeter was 18 in 1982. That year he struck someone when trying to protect a pregnant woman from being attacked, and was convicted of actual bodily harm. Although the magistrates said his actions were commendable, he had broken the law and so received a 1-year conditional discharge and a fine of £75. more...
31 Jan 2020 11:47
The game of chasing police targets“Oooohhh, Sanctioned Detections are back! How very 2010. Now a key performance indicator, again. Patently due to pressure from the top about the public finding out how many people are RUI/NFA. The scrutiny is supposed to “encourage” us to get more Santioned Detections”. “Ha! Let the games begin” “It more...
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