Archives

2012

May

  • Sam Hallam is freed
    After seven years in jail for a crime he did not commit, Sam Hallam was released on bail today. This case shows that miscarriages of justice are still with us, and highlights the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. It appears that photos on Mr Hallam’s mobile phone may
  • Civil Courts “face meltdown”
    ...or so says the Gazette - the magazine for solicitors, and not exactly given to hyperbole. Plans to cut face-to-face counter services seem particularly difficult from an access to justice point of view, given the large amount of litigants in person created by the cuts to legal aid, as the
  • The Queen’s Speech
    Today the coalition government sets out its legislative agenda for the coming year via the State Opening of Parliament and in particular the Queen’s Speech. The Guardian has a great picture gallery to bring the pageantry to life here. Amongst the potential enactments is reform of the House of Lords,
  • Sexism at the bar?
    Equality and diversity in the legal profession continues to be a live issue, and a relevant discussion point for AS students. There’s a cracking article on the issue here, and an interesting range of views “below the line” as well!

April

  • Tesco Law, John Lewis-style ads and ABSs
    This glossy new ad from the high street network of solicitors branded as Quality Solicitors, now backed in part by private equity firm Palamon Capital (paywall) under the new rules for Alternative Business Structures under the Legal Services Act, shows one of the potential advantages available to firms that can

March

  • Tom Bingham and the Rule of Law
    One of the finest minds in English legal history, Lord Bingham, passed away last year. His book, “The Rule of Law”, is essential reading, as BabyBarista explains. This giant of the English legal landscape is seen as a hero by the likes of both Shami Chakrabarti and Peter Oborne -

January

  • New MoJ Site
    The Open Justice website is now a great resource for students to use on sentencing and, amongst other things, the proposed changes to the criminal and civil court systems.And of course there’s fab sentencing resource You Be the Judge...
  • Jury trial under threat…again!
    It looks like the latest victim of government cuts could be the right to trial by jury for some offences that are currently triable either way. This follows a report from the Commissioner of Victims of Crime, Louise Casey, and also follows the swift justice meted out to the rioters
  • R v Dobson & Norris
    Mr Justice Treacy’s sentencing remarks in the Stephen Lawrence case are now available to view. A fantastic source to give to the students - ask them to identify aggravating and mitigating factors referred to by the judge. The BBC also have a good clip here from an interview prior to

2011

December

  • A Christmas Contract
    The fab The Bizzle has the following correspondence for us in respect of an Agreement for the Delivery of Presents. Something to brighten our mood as we mark endless mocks….
  • Quality problems for the judiciary?
    Barristers continue to do very nicely, thank you; at least at the commercial bar, where earnings in the region of £500,000 are average, and pupils are paid £65,000. However, this in turn raises the question of the impact on recruitment of quality personnel to the ranks of the judiciary, with
  • Rainy Sky v Kookmin Bank
    Fab case name, and a helpful point for A2 Contract Law students considering construction. It is well established that, in constructing the meaning of a term, the Court will take an objective approach - they will look through the eyes of the reasonable man, assuming relevant background knowledge. In this
  • ECJ rules on stem cell research
    The ECJ has ruled that it is not permissible to patent the results of stem cell research within the EU. To do so the Court interpreted a Directive banning research that prohibits research resulting from the destruction of a human embryo widely, Article here. A good example of the work

November

  • Lay or DJ?
    Are professional District Judges better than lay Magistrates? This article is perfect, based on the MoJ’s recent report. Fewer differences than you might think, apparently… perhaps get your students to list the comments on lay magistrates and District Judges made in the article, and use them for a debate! There’s

October

  • A Single European Contract Law?
    The European Commission is currently consulting on this idea, which EU Justice Minister Viviane Reding describes as “an historic opportunity to drive economic growth by easing the cost of cross-border transactions” and an opportunity to “make a quantum leap towards a more European contract law.” A full range of options
  • Sentencing Stats
    The Sentencing Council have released stats for Crown Court sentencing from October 2011-March 2012. Some intersting stats to use with your students on sentencing - for example:
  • Podcast: Public Inquiries
    This is a great podcast by the BBC’s Law in Action team on public inquiries - including, topically, the inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster, and featuring some scathing criticism from Lord Falconer. Good material on miscarriages in particular and inquiries generally.
  • The Supreme Court - VIDEO
    This is a fab video on how Supreme Court Justices reach their decisions, straight from the Justices themselves:
  • Do we need more pupillages?
    Thought provoking article by Zoe Saunders in The Lawyer on the continuing popularity of the BPTC despite the fact that the number of pupillages continues to fall. An expensive gamble at £10-15,000 per course… (via CharonQC). A good example for AS students of the uphill battle facing prospective barristers.
  • Must-read!
    This is just a fantastic article for AS Law students on the Supreme Court, Appeals, Dissenting Judgments, Parliamentary Sovereignty, the Rule of Law… and the force of nature that is Lady Hale. Who will the new President of the Supreme Court be when Lord Phillips retires? Unusually for the interweb,
  • Self-Defence
    I don’t blog about Criminal Law that often, probably because I teach Contract at A2. However this story on that tabloid favourite, self defence, seems too good to miss… Talkinf of which, there’s a cracking summary of the law in this area here by reknowned academic Gary Slapper.
  • The ECJ…
    is of course the highest Court in the English Legal System. This week has seen a nice example of the ECJ creating a precedent that will change matters across the continent. I’m talking, of course, about the ruling on satellite broadcasting of Premier League football brought by a Portsmouth landlady.

September

  • Modern Legal Apprenticeships
    As AS Law students will no doubt be about to learn, a legal education can be an expensive business when you factor in the cost of a degree as well as GDL/LPC/BVC depending on your chosen route into the profession. Perhaps it’s not too surprising then to see that lawyers
  • No more referral fees
    Interesting news on the legal funding front as the practice of paying referral fees, whereby insurance companies, breakdown firms or car repairers sell on information to claimant solicitors, is to go. The government (and industry figures) reckon it is pushing up premiums and encouraging compensation culture (if such a thing
  • On Duty
    Cracking article here on what it’s like to be a duty lawyer at a police station. A good way to illustrate that being a solicitor can be a surprisingly varied job - contrast this experience with that of, say, someone working on deals in the City… or a family lawyer
  • Sentencing - LIVE!
    It looks as if the government are set to announce that sentencing (in the wake of the riots, presumably) is to be televised in future - although not the trial process itself. Nice link to the sentencing aim of denunciation. Let’s hope judicial reasoning behind sentences passed is covered properly

August

  • Bonkers bye-laws
    The top 10 craziest by-laws have been named by Sutton Council as part of a battle against bureaucracy. My favourite is: The person having control of a steam-powered whirligig will bring it to a standstill if a person becomes ill. No more whirligigging for me then when people start looking
  • Judges reading the Riot Act
    Well, plenty of discussion material for law teachers as a result of the, er, aggravated shopping that went on this summer in our major cities. Magistrates advised by clerks to toughen up… sentencing guidelines on the back burner… certainly food for thought. The riots are a clear example of an

July

  • A landmark case for the jury
    New ground broken in the last week as a Crown Court judge dismissed a “nobbled” jury and convicted four defendants accused of benefit fraud to the tune of £112,000. Recorder Caroline English sitting at Wood Green Crown Court became the first judge to make use of powers under s46 Criminal
  • Sentencing Reform Podcast
    BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action is always a good source of accessible legal analysis and a good way to deliver up-to-date content in a different way to your students. For example, you can listen to a podcast on the likely impact Ken Clarke’s sentencing reforms here. A great starter
  • Bribery Act - in force 1 July
    A nice example of commencement - the Bribery Act came into force on 1st July 2011, having received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010. It also happens to be an example of a consolidating piece of legislation, and creates new offences, including bribery of a foreign official. Guidance from

June

  • Poor set to suffer most from legal aid cuts
    ... so says Supreme Court judge Lady Hale, highlighting concerns about the extent of the impact of the cuts on access to justice. With 18 law Centres due to close and most areas of civil work removed from legal aid, she appears to have a point. Also a nice example
  • Jury trial and the internet
    The case of juror Joanne Fraill, who has admitted contempt of court in looking up a defendant in the case she was hearing, is a great way to start a debate on the relevance (or otherwise) of juries in the internet age. Video is below!
  • Government set to axe sentencing reforms?
    We have previously mentioned Ken Clarke’s planned sentencing reform - an attempt to save money by adopting more liberal penal policy, effecitvely. One particularly unpopular aspect of this has been the plan to offer sentencing discounts of up to 50%for an early guilty plea. According to papers such as the

May

  • Asian people 42 times more likely to be stopped and searched….
    ...so says The Guardian, which has seen official figures of the use of stop & search under s7 Terrorism Act (2000) at ports and airports without reasonable suspicion. Of course stop and search in the street under the Terrorism Act has been ruled unlawful by the ECHR - will this
  • The Inns of Court
    ...are antiquated insitutions that can be difficult to fully convey to students. This article on the tradition of dining twleve times at an Inn might help!
  • Supreme Court to rule on meaning of miscarriage of justice
    R (on the application of Adams) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Justice is a case in which the Supreme Court is set to rule on the meaning of miscarriage of justice. The primary appellant, Andrew Adams, spent 14 years in jail for a murder that he did not

April

  • Rehab, not revenge…
    Mark Johnson discusses two key sentencing themes here. A nice starter on sentencing!
  • Who are the masters now?
    The Guardian’s excellent Law pages continue to deliver the goods with this article about Lord Neuberger’s speech which contains an excellent summary of the views of the Master of the Rolls on the vexed issue of Parliamentary Sovereignty. Fantastic extension material!
  • Supreme Court video clips
    The beeb have some fantastic clips on the Supreme Court here, as part of the programme “The Highest Court in the Land: Justice Makers”, which is currently available in full on iPlayer here. including the Justices explaining what happens when they cannot agree! Great for teaching dissenting judgments and A2
  • Less places and more competition
    The Gazette has picked up some more interesting findings from the Law Society’s data. It looks like training contracts for would-be solicitors are becoming thinner on the ground, with an 18% decrease from last year’s figure of 5,809 training contracts offered down to 4,784. Although we mentioned the glass ceiling
  • Solicitors: more of them, and more diverse.
    ...says this article, which includes a neat visual representation of how the backgrounds of solicitors have become more diverse in the last decade. Numbers generally are up 36% on ten years back. As an extension, this piece notes that the glass ceiling is still very much a reality for women,
  • The end of immunity for expert witnesses
    ....has arrived. In Jones v Kaney [2011] UKSC 13 that brings the status of expert witnesses giving evidence in Court in line with Barristers (after Hall v Simons), the Supreme Court have decided that experts should no longer be afforded immunity from suit for matters arising during proceedings. A few
  • Sound Off for Justice - video and audio resource
    If you’re teaching Legal Funding to your students, this site will be an excellent way of bringing home the likely impact of the Government’s proposed legal aid cuts.The site allows opponents of the cuts to leave Ken Clarke a voicemail and listen to those left by the legal great and

March

  • The end for success fees?
    Lord Justice Jackson’s proposal for reform of the civil costs system, which previous allowed Claimant solicitors to charge sometimes huge success fees for cases getting anywhere near trial at colossal expense for public bodies such as the NHS, are to become law. The system’s defendants claim that there will be
  • Judicial Diversity and the Supreme Court
    Interesting article here on the white and predominantly male make-up of the Supreme Court which shows no sign of changing with the forthcoming appointment of two more, er, white male judges. Does it matter? Should the judges be more representative of those whom they judge? A good resource for starting
  • Arbitration in action
    This story about BP, Russian oligarchs and a $16bn contract that now lies in tatters is a good example of an arbitration procedure, originating (presumably) from a Scott v Avery clause. As your students will know, the arbitrator’s decision is legally binding on the parties under s58 of the Arbitration
  • A British Bill of Rights?
    The government has launched a Commission to consider the case for a British Bill of Rights which will incorporate and build upon our existing obligations on the ECHR. Of course, as it stands judges must interpret domestic law so that it accords with Convention rights following the Human Rights Act
  • No Bar to The Bar
    The Bar Council’s new mini-site aims to promote diversity amongst Barristers.It includes some good video content aimed at school students as well as undergraduates. It also has some good basic information on the difference between solicitors and barristers.
  • The true impact of the legal aid cuts
    The Graun has a good article on what it considers to be the Minstry of Justice’s misleading statistics on legal aid here. They think 650,000 people will be affected. A really relevant story that has links to topics including legal funding, civil and criminal courts, and access to justice. The

February

  • Silk…
    ...is a new six-part BBC drama about life at the Bar starring Maxine Peak and Rupert-Penry-Jones. First episode here. Doubtless full of useful stimulus material for teaching the legal profession. The series’ author, Peter Moffatt talks about it here. Leave a comment - did you rate it or not, and
  • Judicial Review and abuse of power
    Great article here on a successful challenge by Councils to the Government’s plans to scrap the Building Schools for the Future scheme - labelled by the judge as an “abuse of power”. The root cause seems to have been a failure to consult - procedural ultra vires. There’s another report
  • Cuts and judicial independence
    Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice, has gone on the record in order to express his concerns at the impact of funding cuts on the independence of the Supreme Court, and has commented that the Court is dependent on monies that it can persuade the Ministry of Justice to give
  • The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back
    ...is the view of Tory MP and Legal Aid solicitor Helen Grant (pictured above) on the coalition’s plans for the funding of legal cases. In this excellent article , Grant discusses the implications for access to justice of the £350 million pounds’ worth of cuts coming to the Legal Aid
  • The two-year LLB
    Providers including the College of Law and Queen Mary’s are set to offer a two-year LLB degree in the latest shake-up to legal education. As tuition fees rise and economic growth continues to look uncertain, this seems an understandable move. However, concerns over quality will doubtless be raised, Fees (in

January

  • Deterrence
    This excellent article questions whether deterrent sentences can ever be justified, using the cases of Edward Woollard, the student who threw a fire extinguisher from the top of Millbank Tower during the student protests, and of Anton Ward and Javir Hull by way of example. The latter pair were convicted
  • Judicial Review
    This morning’s Today Programme on Radio 4 carried a good little dicussion on the merits of Judicial Review. A nice lesson starter on the topic, but hurry - it’ll only be around for a week. Clip is at about 1hr 32mins or thereabouts!
  • Free interactive resource!
    Wipeout Challenge is a fantastic interactive game that makes for an exciting starter or plenary. Click on the link below to download - the topics covered are the Legal Profession, Juries, and Magistrates. Wipeout Challenge
  • A career in legal advice work?
    There’s a great profile of the life of a legal adviser for students here. Useful for two things - firstly, for students to consider the impact of funding cuts on legal services, and secondly as an example of a specific legal career path to help your students think beyond the
  • The Law Quiz - 24 January 2011
    Here is the latest edition of our Law Quiz, with ten questions on law in the news last week. The Law Quiz - 24 January 2011
  • Judge for Yourself
    This really is an excellent resource which illustrates in compelling fashion the role of the probation service using video clips and a great interactive section where students can choose the questions to interview offenders. They then have to complete an assessment of the risks of harm and reoffending posed by
  • Breaking the Cycle of reoffending
    One prison in Leeds is working hard at reducing reoffending rates amongst its inmates serving short sentences. The MoJ website has details here. A nice story to use with students to illustrate one of the aims of sentencing in action - particularly as the current Home Secretary casts around for

2010

December

  • Tweet Justice
    Following the decision of the judge in the Julian Assange bail hearing to allow live “tweeting” from Court, those people stubbornly clinging to the view that twitter is only for self-obsessed celebrities tweeting about what they had for breakfast really are going to have to rethink. Twitter has now made
  • Julian Assange granted bail
    ...although the public face of Wikileaks remains in custody pending an appeal by the Swedish government. Liveblog of today’s proceedings here. A great scenario to give to AS students looking at bail…
  • Sentencing Green Paper
    Ken Clarke published the Government’s Sentencing Green Paper this week. Amongst other things, the proposals are to introduce a unified sentencing regime for all offenders, and to repeal various pieces of legislation that Labour never got around to bringing into force when they were in power. Also, a reduction in

November

  • Twitter Joke Trial
    Can’t believe I’ve not got round to blogging about this yet. As you may be aware, a chap called Paul Chambers sent what he says is a joke message to his girlfriend on Twitter. It read as follows: “Cr**! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a
  • Oceanbulk Shipping v TMT Asia [2010] UKSC 44
    This case, decided recently in the Supreme Court, makes useful reading for Contract Law students. The court can consider the objective facts of the parties pre-contractual negotiations when trying to work out the true intentions of the parties - nd now, it appears, even those negotiations entered into on a
  • Dissenting judgments
    With Lady Hale‘s dissenting judgment in Radmacher v Granatino looking set for legal fame, the Guardian has come up with a great article on the subject for AS Law students.
  • The Law Quiz - 11 November 2010
    Here is the latest edition of The Law Quiz with 10 questions on recent law news stories Launch The Law Quiz - 11 November 2010 Download printable (pdf) version

October

  • The Law Quiz - 22 October 2010
    Here are ten more questions on law in the news from the last seven days. Launch The Law Quiz - Online Version Download printable (pdf) version
  • Legal Aid - cuts coming…
    Interesting article here by Afua Hirsch of the Guardian on the potential impact of the forthcoming CSR on the legal aid budget. What will it do to access to justice if free legal advice on areas such as Housing Law, Welfare Advice, and Debt - issues which affect the poorest
  • The Law Quiz - 15 October 2010
    Many thanks to Andy Howells for coming up with the questions and idea for the launch edition of The Law Quiz - our new quiz on the law-related news.  Ten questions - can you get them all right? Launch The Law Quiz - 15 October 2010 (interactive version) Download pdf
  • Liverpool 1 Owners 0 (Half-time?)
    Great story for information on Civil Courts, This article is full of material on civil courts and appeals and can be read in conjunction with the following worksheet:
  • Above the law?
    This story is potentially massive in terms of the implications for police powers and the rule of law. Great discussion starter. Are we balancing liberty and security? What would these proposals do to any such balance? Are the police attempting to put themselves beyond the rule of law, or just
  • North Sea Oil and Judicial Review
    Good old Greenpeace. When a law teacher needs an interesting story for their students, up they pop. From Leila Dean Custard Queen (pressure groups) to the Kingsnorth Six (jury equity), Greenpeace are a little goldmine of legal usefulness. So not only are they saving the planet, they are (hopefully) inspiring
  • middle class, middle aged…. and sleepy?
    Great story here about the Magistrate who fell asleep during a criminal trial. Removed from the magistracy by the Lord Chancellor. Good one to remind your students that Mags can be removed and compare/contrast with the superior judiciary in particular.

September

  • Important changes to homicide law
    From the 4th October 2010, acts or omissions are now subject to s52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The Law Gazette explains this in more detail, but a key change appears to be the reference to “abnormality of mental functioning” as an update to the law on diminished
  • The public school elephant in the room
    Really interesting blogpost here. Are current diversity issues failing to deal with the dominance of public school-educated people in the top law firms?
  • Lord Bingham
    Sad news indeed that Lord Bingham has passed away. Excellent obit here
  • Police brutality?
    This video of suspended police Sergeant Mark Andrews, who has been convicted of assault, is shocking. It makes a good tool to prompt discussion of the need for an appropriate balance between liberty and security and links directly to the need for students to know the law around custody.

August

  • Tutor2u on Facebook
    We have a new Facebook page and it will be full of news, links to resources and other goodies as the year develops. Have a look here! And perhaps sign up as a facebook fan!
  • How to be a city solicitor - and a podcast…
    Nice article in the Graun here from a student - good for illustrating AS teaching of legal profession with real-life experience. If you want to give your students a start on the inside track on making it in the professions you could do a lot worse than direct them to
  • Legal Heroes
    ... is an interesting new series from the Guardian’s Law pages. This profile of Lord Bingham by the sainted Shami Chakrabarti is useful to teachers of A level law, particularly for discussion of the rule of law, and also as a link to any disucssion about the role of the

July

  • Government policy on deportation “unlawful”
    This story is a great one for the use of AS Law teachers. It’s a good example of judicial review. The group Medical Justice succeded in persuading the High Court to rule that the government’s use of fast-track deportations is unlawful. To bring the issues in this case alive for
  • A “rehabilitation revolution”
    ...could be on its way if Prison Minister Crispin Blunt’s plans become law. Following a report from Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Consortium, personal apologies by offenders to victims could lead to early release and savings of up to £185 million: Another proposal is that earnings of criminals in
  • Trial without jury “a last resort”
    ...so says the Lord Chief Justice, and only where a “real and present danger of jury tampering was certain”. This story is useful as AS students are required to understanding jury tampering, and restricting the right to jury trial has been a constant theme in recent years.  Applications for trials
  • The parole board
    Cracking insight into the workings of the parole board in this article. Great for using on sentencing - One Parole Board member’s views on prison and rehabilitation here are revealing and will provide AS students with real insight.
  • Judicial diversity
    ...is something that students are asked to consider when assessing whether or not our judges’ backgrounds reflect that of the public at large. Improvements to judicial selection have been made in recent years, and in particular judges are now appointed by an independent commission, which has just published the latest
  • “Intimidating, difficult, and expensive”
    ...is one prominent lawyer’s assessment of the likely impact of the forthcoming cuts to the civil justice system. Christina Blacklaws worries that for the vulnerable court user who finds the quote in the title applicable to their experience,  “no local justice will mean no justice at all’. The implications for
  • Contract Law and Part 36
    Interesting recent ruling from the Court of Appeal, which has held that Contract law does not interfere with the workings of offers made under Part 36 CPR. This means that it is now open to a party to reject an offer, then change their mind and accept it, as long

June

  • “Prison Works”... or does it?
    ...so said Michael Howard at the Tory conference all those years ago. Apparently he was untroubled by the evidence! It’s interesting that the current Justice Secretary thinks differently - nothing to do with the current cost-cutting priorities of course. In any event, Ken Clarke’s view that radical reform of the

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