A strange case at the Old Bailey drew to a close this week, resulting in a Metropolitan Police Officer, Robyn Williams, being sentenced to a community order with 200 hours of unpaid work, concerning the possession of an indecent video of a child. On the face of it, the sentence is not at all surprising,… Continue reading Divided Loyalty Can Exact a High Price
By law, every parent must ensure that any child under 14 wears a seatbelt when being a passenger in their car. Those older than 14 are responsible for wearing a seatbelt themselves. Any passenger over 14 and not wearing a seatbelt in a moving vehicle could receive up to a £500 fine The Law and… Continue reading Child Car Seats and The Law
In Chabloz v Crown Prosecution Service [2019] EWHC 3094 (Admin) the High Court dealt definitively with several highly technical legal challenges concerning Communications Act defences. On 25 May 2018 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Alison Chabloz, was convicted of three offences under section 127(1)(a) and (b) of the Communications Act 2003. She appealed her convictions to… Continue reading Online Abuse: Courts Keep Up with Modern Techniques
In a truly tragic case, Samantha Ford drowned her 23-month-old twins in the bath. Appearing at the Old Bailey for sentence, the Judge, Mr Justice Edis, handed down a 10-year sentence, causing widespread outrage. Longer sentences are routinely handed down for drug dealing and other crimes. To understand more about this case, we need to… Continue reading Ten years for a double killing – look behind the headlines
In some cases, a court must order a pre-sentence report (s 156 Criminal Justice Act 2003), and a report will be appropriate in many instances when it is not a legal requirement. Sometimes a court may not be receptive to the idea of ordering a report, so we are always alive to the necessity of… Continue reading Pre-sentence Reports
There have been widespread reports in the press about spare courtroom capacity, with judicial sitting days at an all-time low. These reports correspond to our own experience. When court delay is combined with significant delays in investigating and charging defendants to court, this can mean a very long period between the commission of any crime… Continue reading Sentencing and Delay – Can it Work in Your Favour?
Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has published a new report in relation to the investigation and prosecution of rape cases. The significant findings are: • Since 2016, the number of cases prosecuted by the CPS has fallen by 52%. This is despite the fact that there has been a 43% rise in the number… Continue reading Investigating and Prosecuting Rape Cases
Few people would disagree with the suggestion that sentencing law in England and Wales is a complete mess. The provisions that govern how a defendant is to be sentenced are both complex and disparate and to be found across a significant number of statutes. Why Does This Matter? Research has shown that thousands of sentencing… Continue reading Sentencing – Breaking the Code
A District Judge sitting at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week authorised that a summons be issued against the prominent conservative member of parliament, Boris Johnson. The allegations relate to alleged conduct during the Brexit referendum campaign and in particular the £350m per week for the NHS slogan that adorned the side of campaign buses. Unless… Continue reading Private Prosecutions – ‘Doing a Boris’
