Criminal Law

24.11.21

Alistair Parker discusses ‘Harper’s Law’ on BBC Radio 5 Live Drive

Alistair Parker, a solicitor in Brett Wilson LLP’s Regulatory and Criminal Law Department, has been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live Drive about the government’s proposed introduction of life sentences for offenders who kill emergency services workers whilst committing crimes. The interview can be found here at 24’05”.

22.11.21

‘Fresh Evidence’ in Regulatory Appeals

In Narayanasamy v Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd [2021] EWHC 2918 (Admin), the Appellant exercised his statutory right of appeal against a decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) to strike him off following a finding of dishonesty and other serious misconduct. In seeking to overturn the judgment of the SDT, the Appellant was relying on…

9.11.21

Private prosecutions by animal rights charity criticised as ‘profoundly flawed’ by senior judge

A judge has admonished an animal rights charity and its solicitors for bringing a private prosecution ‘with no evidential basis’ and ‘for wholly improper reasons and purposes’ without any regard as to whether any offences had been committed purely to recover ‘grossly exaggerated fees’. The Honorary Recorder of Manchester Judge Nicholas Dean QC issued a…

21.10.21

Brett Wilson LLP and its lawyers recommended in Chambers and Partners 2022 directory

Brett Wilson LLP’s media and communications law and criminal defence departments have again been recommended by the prestigious Chambers and Partners directory. In the firm’s media and communications law department, partners Iain Wilson (noted for ‘having very good knowledge and understanding what a client wants), Max Campbell (‘outstanding knowledge, practical approach and amazing client service‘) and…

4.10.21

Brett Wilson LLP’s departments and lawyers recognised by Legal 500

Brett Wilson LLP has again been recommended in three categories in the prestigious Legal 500 directory of leading law firms:- Reputation Management Professional Discipline Crime (General) Media and communications law partners Iain Wilson (described as ‘superb’) and Max Campbell (noted for his ‘brilliant judgement and [standing] out among solicitors in this area for his strategic approach’) have been…

21.06.21

Lawyers: can editing witness statements be a criminal act?

The recent Crown Court finding that Peter Metcalf, solicitor for South Yorkshire Police in the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy, had ‘no case to answer’ for perverting the course of justice has proved controversial. The full judgment can be found here. This detailed ruling offers an insight into how reviewing, advising on and editing witness…

17.05.21

Beware of the discontinuance; sleeping dogs can bite

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)’s guidance about when it is appropriate to reinstate discontinued criminal proceedings should be ringing alarm bells about how, and why, the charges were dropped in the first place. In Spring 2021, the CPS published new Guidance on “Reconsidering A Prosecution Decision”. It is a helpful document which all defence practitioners…

26.03.21

Prison populations, sentence inflation and the future of punishment

In this blog Dylan O’Connor considers why the prison population is so high and whether this is likely to change    In recent decades, England and Wales has seen a colossal leap in the number of those incarcerated, with the prison population almost doubling in size from 44,246 in 1993 to a peak of 85,134…

Sexual orientation and cross-examination in sexual offence cases

The scope of cross-examination of the alleged victims of rape and sexual assault is an important and contentious issue.  The evidence for such allegations is often based only on the testimony of the complainant and hence their credibility is often the primary issue in the case. Defence advocates wishing to explore this issue have to…

23.03.21

Insider-dealing and intrigue: Court of Appeal rules on scope of disclosure

The appeal of R v Abdel-Malik and Choucair [2020] EWCA 1730 was a case that had everything: glamour and intrigue, insider dealing, exotic nightlife at Tramp, burner phones, city traders, undercover surveillance, public interest immunity, post-conviction disclosure by the prosecution, secret identities revealed by the Wall Street Journal and ‘fresh evidence’ applications by both the…