The nominal President of the United States has had quite a week. My personal highlight was his absent-mindedly tweeting a confession to obstruction of justice, and then wildly thrashing around looking for someone else to blame for penning a tweet which was written both under his own name and in his own, inimitable, grammar-hazing style….
Read moreBad law reporting and a public dangerously disconnected from criminal justice
thesecretbarrister Bad Law, Contemplations, Law Inaction, Lawsplaining, Legal Aid, Politics, Sentencing
The criminal law has long had an image problem. Partly, the fault is internal: the ridiculous costume; the alienating hybrid of legalese and obsequious formality that renders court hearings nonsensical to anyone in the public gallery; the impenetrability and inaccessibility of updated statute and case law; the historic failure of those of us in the…
Read moreCrowdfunding a rape prosecution: a quick guide to private prosecutions
Following reports of a private prosecution for rape being brought with the aid of crowdfunding, my brief explainer on private prosecutions is available in the iPaper here. (For the accompanying image of a gavel, I can only apologise.)
Read moreWhy those of us in the system must share the blame for the lack of public faith in criminal sentencing
Good news breaks from Newcastle Crown Court, where four men have been convicted and sentenced for serious offences involving child sexual exploitation. Soran Azizi, Palla Pour, Ribas Asad and Saman Faiaq Obaid each received sentences of imprisonment for crimes including trafficking for sexual exploitation, sexual activity with children and supplying controlled drugs, the latter a…
Read more9 reasons why this vile murderer should be given taxpayers’ cash to sue the government
Just a quick one. A number of people online were yesterday disturbed by this tweet from court reporting Twitter account @CourtNewsUK, relating to Michael Adebolajo, one of the two murderers of Drummer Lee Rigby: Senior judge says it will be a ‘great pity’ if Lee Rigby’s killer isn’t given taxpayers’ cash to help him sue…
Read moreA reply to Lord Adonis on sentencing, prisons and judges
I’ll be honest, out of all the ‘robust debates’ I’ve had online about criminal justice and sentencing of offenders, I would not have expected the most frustrating, fiery and ill-informed to be with someone advocating for less use of prison. It takes a special talent, I would suggest, to present an argument in such a…
Read moreUPDATE: An Oxford medical student stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife. So why did she not go to prison?
Lavinia Woodward, the 24-year old Oxford student who pleaded guilty to stabbing her boyfriend with a bread knife, was sentenced yesterday at Oxford Crown Court for unlawful wounding. The case caused a splash back in May when, having entered her plea, the defendant was told by the judge that she was unlikely to receive an…
Read moreSome thoughts on Charlie Alliston and death on the roads
I have been asked by several people what my views are on the tragic case of Charlie Alliston, the 20-year old cyclist who was this week sentenced to 18 months’ detention in a Young Offender Institution for causing the death of a pedestrian, Kim Briggs. And to be honest, I’m not sure what I think….
Read moreUpskirting: Why a new law is needed to stop mobile phones being shoved up women’s skirts
It is rare that a new law actually solves anything. The easiest reach for a politician faced with a social scourge creeping up the news bulletins is to take to the streets and declare, in a giddy rush of Archimedean epiphany, that A New Law is required. This cry is the default eureka irrespective of whether…
Read moreWhy was this “child sex gang leader” released from prison 17 years early?
A quick one to start the week. I was asked about this last night, and rather hoped that it was obvious on its face that this tale has more to it than the headlines in the local press would have the reader believe. However some of the nationals are now this morning plugging the story…
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