*/
Criminal law – Child sex offences. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, refused an application by the Attorney General to refer a sentence as being unduly lenient pursuant to s 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The offender had been convicted of the rape of a child under 13 contrary to s 5(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The rape had occurred when the offender's seven year old daughter had got into the offender's bed in the night and the offender claimed to remember nothing of the incident. The court noted the unusual circumstances of the case and held, amongst other things, that the judge had not downplayed, or not unreasonably downplayed, the relationship of father and child.
Criminal law – Child sex offences. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, refused an application by the Attorney General to refer a sentence as being unduly lenient pursuant to s 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The offender had been convicted of the rape of a child under 13 contrary to s 5(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The rape had occurred when the offender's seven year old daughter had got into the offender's bed in the night and the offender claimed to remember nothing of the incident. The court noted the unusual circumstances of the case and held, amongst other things, that the judge had not downplayed, or not unreasonably downplayed, the relationship of father and child.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group
Modernising communication and collaboration at a leading Chancery set. A Zexi case study
How to build profile without compromising professional duties. By Naumaan Farooq, Co-Founder of Inked PR
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the role of cut-off levels, and the wider range of factors that must be considered when interpreting results for family court proceedings
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Lauren Fullerton examines the how, what and why of setting up a second chambers base
