I’m a couple of days behind the official announcement on this, but I am thrilled to confirm that I will be publishing a second, as-yet untitled book, scheduled for Spring 2020. More details are available here: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/picador-snaps-secret-barristers-second-book-881876.
Read moreAnnouncement: Free Representation Unit
Those who read these pages, follow on Twitter or have waded through the book will know that access to justice is a cause about which I’m prone to making a fair bit of noise. The rule of law only works if individuals have the means to enforce their rights in the courts, which is only…
Read moreWhy is the dangerous Anjem Choudary being released onto our streets?
Anjem Choudary, the Islamist preacher convicted in 2016 of inviting support for Islamic State, is to be released from prison next month, despite being described by prisons minister Rory Stewart as “genuinely dangerous”. How, it has been (not unreasonably) asked, can this be? And what, if anything, can be done about it? The first rule…
Read moreGuest post: Some calculations on the new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme
In the latest of a series of guest blogposts looking at the consultation on the proposed new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, a contributor has offered the following calculations and comments. Dishonesty For dishonesty offences (category 6), we propose increasing the basic fees for trials, guilty pleas, and cracked trials: in band 6.1 by around…
Read moreGuest post by Francis FitzGibbon QC: A response to Michael Turner QC on Advocates’ Graduated Fees
Another former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Francis FitzGibbon QC, writes in response to this week’s guest post by Michael Turner QC. This is my reply to Michael Turner QC’s post. He doesn’t seem to have read the first ‘Monday Message’ by Chris Henley QC, the current Chair of the Criminal Bar Association….
Read moreGuest post by Michael Turner QC: Advocates’ Graduated Fees – Where are we now? Up the creek
Michael Turner QC, former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, writes regarding the new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme. Much of what I would wish to say has been more ably put by Polly Toynbee in this recent article. However, now that the cuts under the new Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme are beginning to bite,…
Read moreThe Ben Stokes trial: what went wrong?
This is one of those posts carrying a title which I genuinely had no intention nor desire to write. It is also, I make plain at the outset, rampant clickbait, as I, like 7 billion other people who were not present for the duration of the court proceedings, am in no position at all to…
Read moreGuest post by Ryan Dowding: A Little Help From My Friends – Why Sajid Javid’s letter may have broken the law
I’m delighted to host this guest blogpost by Ryan Dowding. Ryan holds a postgraduate degree in International Human Rights Law and kicks off his pupillage this October. He also teaches human rights in schools and colleges through the Your Rights Matter initiative and runs the law and politics blog Arguably. He tweets at @DowdingRyan. The United Kingdom has for…
Read moreThe meaning of justice
This will be (for now) my last word on the Tommy Robinson appeal. My legal analysis based on the facts as we now know them deals exhaustively and exhaustingly with the law; my reflections at the conclusion of that piece on whether I was too hasty to assume the correctness of the procedure, I stand…
Read moreThe Tommy Robinson judgment – what does it all mean?
Today the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) handed down judgment in the appeal of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), partially allowing the appeal and directing a rehearing at the Crown Court. What does this mean? Has Tommy been proven innocent? Is this a victory for freedom of speech? Let’s break it down. How did this…
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