A number of recent cases indicate an increasingly robust approach to health and safety law breaches. Company Director Robert Harvey was imprisoned for ten months following an accident where a fellow worker was crushed to death by an excavator operated by Harvey. The prosecution established that Harvey had failed to undertake a sufficient risk...
The Sentencing Council is consulting on a new guideline for some of the most commonly prosecuted firearms offences. At the moment, guidance is to be found only in case law, and this can lead to a challenging sentencing exercise. The purpose of the guideline is to provide consistency in sentencing, and the impact assessment...
The somewhat arcane topic of diplomatic Immunity has hit the news headlines following the tragic death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn, as a result of a road traffic collision. It has been confirmed that the wife of an American diplomat has returned to the United States and will not face a further criminal investigation in...
At the Conservative Party Conference this week, the government indicated that it was to get tough on offenders who commit some of the most serious offences, with automatic release at the half-way point being removed in many cases. Figures for 2018 disclose that for the most serious sexual and violent offences (those that carry...
The EU has published a report, ‘Rights in practice: access to a lawyer and procedural rights in criminal and European arrest warrant proceedings’, that details the extent to which fundamental human rights, in the context of criminal justice, are upheld across the EU. Why is this important? Protecting the rights of anyone suspected...
Janet Commins was born on 9 June 1960. On 7 January 1976, shortly after 7.00 pm, she left her home in Flint to meet friends at the local swimming baths. She left a note for her parents, as she often did, to say that she would be back at around 8.30 pm. She saw her...
In some instances, it is not convenient for a witness to be present in court to give evidence, generally because they live or work some distance away from the court, or some other good reason. There are legal provisions that cater for this scenario, and while the prosecution widely uses them (notably for police...
What is gait? Gait, quite simply, is how a person walks, the movement of limbs. How does this relate to criminal law? With the ever-increasing use of CCTV, the identification of offenders from footage is also increasing. Sometimes a face cannot clearly be seen, either because it is covered or because the...
The prosecution, via the Attorney General, has the right to ask the Court of Appeal to consider whether sentences for certain offences are unduly lenient. How does the scheme work? Anyone can ask the Attorney General to consider whether a sentence is unduly lenient. If the Attorney agrees an appeal will be lodged...
It is a common feature of American courtroom drama that a defence attorney moves to remove a juror that they do not like the look of. Many clients wonder whether the same type of challenge can take place in an English courtroom. The Jury Pool In some circumstances there can be a challenge...
