New 'Domestic Abuse' Sentencing Guidelines A new domestic abuse sentencing guideline has been published today (22 February), giving courts up to date guidance that emphasises the seriousness of this offending. What is domestic abuse? There is no specific crime of domestic abuse - it can be a feature...
Police Roll Out Portable Identity Checking The Government this week announced that West Yorkshire Police has signed up to a new identity checking service. The new service, already being used in a select number of force areas, with a further 20 going live before the end of...
Many in the medical profession are very upset and worried following a recent High Court case involving Dr Bawa-Garba (General Medical Council v Bawa-Garba [2018] EWHC 76 (Admin). The case followed on from proceedings before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal which had rules that Bawa-Garba should be...
Unexplained Wealth Orders On 31st January 2018, regulations bring into force sections of The Criminal Finances Act 2017 dealing with unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), along with various other related provisions. The purpose of this new order is to allow for certain people who obtain property which would...
Revenge Porn Can Be an Expensive Business "Revenge porn", the criminal act of posting online intimate sexual pictures/video of a person without their consent, carries a potential prison sentence of up to 2 years, so already there is every reason to think twice before exacting this...
The "Right to be Forgotten" Redemption has always been an important part of our justice system; you do the crime, you do time. Once your debt is paid, you should then be free to start again, without forever being haunted by ghosts of the past. We all...
A Matter of Character In criminal law, we talk a lot about character, but mainly in the context of 'bad character', or previous convictions that the prosecution will try to put before a jury to persuade them of the defendant's guilt. After all, if he's done...
The Prosecutor in Your Pocket - phones! We are all aware that we live in a surveillance society. CCTV cameras can record our movements around large towns and cities, and many homes now have them installed for protection. Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras take a snapshot of...
Is it Lawful to Hit a Child? Laws that criminalise unlawful violence date back to 1861 and are used every day in criminal courts to support prosecutions. Despite what might appear to be an obvious legal position, the question is often asked as to whether, despite those...
When People Talk Bitcoin, It's Time to Ask Questions Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are never far from the news, mainly when the value is rising considerably. This week the price of a single bitcoin rose to a little over £10,000. It is an odd 'currency', as it...