criminal law
Expressing genuine remorse in the dock or showing there are job prospects on the horizon can pay dividends for offenders facing a stretch inside, according to Sentencing Council research in the Crown Court in 2011.
House of Lords
The House of Lords constitution committee has highlighted “significant” concerns with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.
criminal
New proposals have been announced regarding sentencing for multiple offences and mode of trial decisions.
The Sentencing Council has published a public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for the sentencing of burglary offences. The consultation runs from May 12 for twelve weeks and will close on 4 August 2011.
The inaugural Bar Debate took place on 7 April 2011 in Court 1 of the Old Bailey. Counsel’s David Wurtzel was there
The debating chamber
Court 1 of the Old Bailey has seen its share of sentencing in its time. This has included the need for the judge to don the black cap, which at least one panellist on 7 April looked forward to seeing again. It was thus a suitable if well behaved venue for the first Bar Debate: “Bang ‘em up Britain: are we taking a rational approach to sentencing?”
QASA
An accreditation scheme designed to maintain high standards in criminal advocacy has changed its acronym. The Quality Assurance for Advocates scheme is to be known as the QASA (Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates).
sentencing guidelines
The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for assault offences.
It applies to both magistrates’ and Crown courts, and covers the most frequently sentenced of these offences — inflicting grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, assault with intent to resist arrest, assault on a police constable and common assault.
Solicitor General Edward Garnier QC MP discusses the role of the Law Officers in referring a sentence which is considered to be unduly lenient to the Court of Appeal
The Law Officers (the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP, and I) have a wide variety of powers, from assisting charities to prosecuting the media for contempt, but none is more high profile than the power under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to refer a case to the Court of Appeal where the sentence is considered to be unduly lenient.
Lord Justice Leveson, the senior presiding judge in England and Wales, has expressed concerns about the high numbers of penalty notices and other out of court disposals of justice.
CBA Chairman raises concerns
The Criminal Bar Association (“CBA”) has given a lukewarm response to Government proposals to offer defendants who plead guilty at the earliest stage a 50 per cent reduction in their sentence.
A decade of cuts and the brutal pandemic have left courts and barristers struggling to cope – a bid for justice spending
Philip N Bristow explains how to unlock your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step
With the property market witnessing significant changes since the beginning of the pandemic, Fleet Street Wealth’s Managing Director Julian Morgan considers the future of the home, the second home and the office
In partnership with the Bar Council, LexisNexis is offering up to 60% off its extensive webinar offering.
Chambers is expanding its team.
Making a move from the Bar to a career in governance: Maria Brookes outlines three good reasons to switch and how to do it
The family law system is in crisis and a failure to recognise it as such demeans the Herculean efforts of all involved, writes Celestine Greenwood, an exhausted family practitioner
Should we cap numbers coming to the Bar? Or help them make data driven decisions? asks IshanKolhatkar
Time to look afresh at the imposter syndrome narrative? Why pathologizing normal anxieties can be unhelpful to barristers and future generations. By Kate Brunner QC and Sarah Regan
Shifting the taboo, two silks talk about the menopause, its impact on women at the Bar and the need for a profession-wide rethink. By Lyndsey de Mestre QC and Brie Stevens-Hoare QC
In a profession which can be attached to, and defined by, archaic stereotypes, how to be yourself, explore new areas and own your own time? Here are Lennart Poulsen's 'lessons learnt'...
