Month: September 2014

26.09.14

Court of Appeal rules that there should be no privacy injunction where Appellant arrested on suspicion of sex offences

The Court of Appeal in PNM and Times Newspapers Limited  & Ors [2014] EWCA Civ 1132 has upheld the decision of the High Court not to grant a non-disclosure order in a case where the Appellant was arrested but not charged with serious sexual offences against children. The Court was considering an appeal against the…

24.09.14

Trinity Mirror admits liability for phone hacking

Trinity Mirror, the parent company of the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror has admitted liability for phone hacking and agreed to pay damages to Shane Richie, Lucy Benjamin, Alan Yentob and Shobna Gualti. Trinity Mirror issued a statement stating  “The company today confirms that its subsidiary MGN Ltd has admitted liability to four individuals who…

New sentencing guidelines for fraud, money laundering and bribery place greater emphasis on victim impact

For defendants sentenced after 1 October 2014 new Sentencing Guidelines are implemented for offences of fraud, money laundering and bribery.  Definitive steps are provided within the Guidelines as to how to assess the sentence, firstly by determining the offence category by assessing culpability of the defendant and harm to the victim.  Once the category has…

22.09.14

High Court rules criminal legal aid reform illegal

In London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v The Lord Chancellor [2014] EWHC 3020 (Admin) Mr Justice Burnett held that the Lord Chancellor’s failure to disclose the findings of two key reports on plans to introduce new dual criminal legal aid contracts was ‘so unfair as to result in illegality’.  The…

15.09.14

Cricketer Chris Cairns to be charged with perjury over Twibel trial

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued a statement confirming that it has authorised police to charge former New Zealand Test Cricketer Chris Cairns with one count of perjury arising from a 2012 libel trial. In 2012 Mr Cairns successfully sued Mr Modi, the former Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi, after a 2010 tweet in which Mr Modi had stated Mr Cairns…

3.09.14

Serious harm: the new hurdle in defamation cases

Following the implementation of the Defamation Act 2013, defamation claimants must demonstrate that the publication in question caused or is likely to cause ‘serious harm’ to their reputation.  Since the enactment, there has been significant speculation as to what measure of harm will suffice and to what extent this changes the very definition of ‘defamatory’. …

2.09.14

Solicitor-advocate given a dressing down for "dressing like something out of Harry Potter"

A solicitor-advocate has been criticised by a Crown Court judge for his choice of attire in the court room. During a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, Alan Blacker had worn a robe with sewn in colourful St John’s ribbons and badges.  His Honour Judge Wynn Morgan stated that in over 30 years of practice he had…

Jennifer Lawrence and the leak of naked pictures: legal solutions

Actress Jennifer Lawrence is one of apparently 100 celebrities who have had intimate photographs of them leaked on to the internet.  She is not the first celebrity to appear naked on the internet.  The World Wide Web contains millions of images of celebrities in various states of undress.  These have been captured (invariably in flagrant…

1.09.14

The paparazzi and protecting children's privacy: Weller and another v Associated Newspapers

In Weller & Ors v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2014] EWHC 1163 (QB), the publishers of the Mail Online were ordered to pay damages in the sum of £10,000 after musician Paul Weller, acting as a litigation friend for his children, brought a claim against the newspaper for misuse of private information and a breach of Data Protection…