*Update* Court Clerk sentenced for bribery

Update of a previous post http://legalhand.blogspot.com/2011/10/it-wasnt-thug-rioter-or-criminal-it-was.html.

Court clerk, Munir Patel has made legal history being the first defendant convicted under the new bribery legislation, being sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. He was exposed taking a £500 bribe to avoid putting details of a traffic summons onto a legal database.

Patel admitted to one count of bribery and misconduct in a public office. However, the prosecution believed that he had in fact helped 53 offenders and made in the region of £20000 from his bribes. Sentencing Judge Alistair McCreath stated how the offences were ‘ a very substantial breach of trust... your position as a court clerk had... the duty to public confidence in it’. Judge McCreath sentenced the clerk to 3 years for bribery and 6 years for misconduct to be served concurrently. 

Goodbye to social welfare law?

The government is set to announce plans to limit spending on legal aid within the UK. If carried out as envisaged the government is set to save £350 million of the £2.1 billion budget devoted to legal aid each year. However, as with all proposed changes to the law much criticism has followed and a predicted outcome is that of a loss of the social welfare area of the law. 

The plan is set to largely target civil cases with £280 of the £350 million being saved from this area. Firstly by making it harder to claim civil legal aid through the reduction of the acceptance limit from those with less than £3000 worth of assets to those with less than £1000. Then finally the government will move to make all but the extreme exceptional circumstances ineligible. 

The Ministry of Justice stands by its plans and the belief in the ‘need to ensure proper conditions and safeguards are built... to continue to justify paying out vast amounts of taxpayers cash’. However, with so much money being removed from the civil sector it is clear how the public are going to suffer, in particular when it comes to receiving legal advice and support on debt, housing, benefits, immigration, employment and personal injury, to mention a few. From this, critics are concerned the social welfare sector will suffer and this could result in undermining the constitutional principle that citizens must have access to justice.

Currently we still await the announcement of these plans and the impact these will have. 

Finally putting a stop to stalkers

* Possible future Reform *

March 2011 saw the government publish a report with the action plan focused on tackling violence against woman and girls. A home office individual stated in particular it would review the impact of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The final push towards this it seems has come from Lynne Featherstone (the minister of equalities) when she expressed her view on victims to stalking ‘it is quite clear they are being let down’. 

Currently within the legal system there is no specific definition or act of stalking. The behavior is most commonly prosecuted under the Prosecution for Harassment Act 1997, however this is widely drawn and covers all areas of harassment. Resulting in critics claiming it is both misused and not specific enough to satisfy in stalking and cyber-stalking cases. 

Following the governmental report in March and Scotland's move to make stalking a specific offence last year,  the charity Protection Against Stalking (PAS) created a database of hard-hitting statistics aimed at encouraging governmental reform. It discovered that two-thirds of women who contacted the police to report a form of stalking were unsatisfied with their response. Also half the victims asked had been stalked for more than 18 months and 40% for more than 2 years, illustrating the longevity of the offence but also how hard it is to be dealt with and a solution reached for the victims. 

All of this together resulted in the announcement of a review by the government to see if tougher measures are needed. It will be undertaken by the CPS, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. The main focus points of the review will be evaluating the fundamental question of whether stalking (and cyber-stalking) should become a criminal offence. It will establish how effective restraining orders are in these circumstances and will look into providing guidance and training to the necessary sections of the legal society such as prosecutors and the police. 

Hopefully the review will be the final step forward in what can only be described as much needed legislation and stalking and cyber stalking will become an actual offence. Making it easier to prevent, protect and provide justice. 

What has the EU done for us?

The above question was posed in a tabloid newspaper which I came across some time ago. Whilst it did provide some of the answers, it did so in what can only be described as basic, un-detailed and in a somewhat discrediting style to its readers. So, instead I thought  I would research and provide the answers myself. 

For those unaware of what exactly the EU is, in brief it is a political and economic partnership that currently contains 27 member countries. It was created in the aftermath of WW2 in the attempt to end the constant destructive wars that occurred. In 1958 it began with six member countries and since then has grown in importance and control by increasing both the number of new member states and the power it holds with the addition of new policy areas.

As a member since 1973, the UK held its referendum in 1975, it seems only fair to question while the power of the EU has increased, what benefits have the UK and its citizens have received.

1. Peace
   The EU has achieved its initial aim and aided peace in Europe for over half a century. It has also ensured that this will be maintained through the implementation of policies that protect against threats.
2. Reducing Crime
   The introduction of the Europol has enabled police in all member states to co-operate more effectively. Arrest warrants now enable the movement of suspects between countries without extradition procedures, increasing the overall process.
   
3. Single Market
   A unique market has developed that guarantees the ‘free movement’ of goods, services, people and capital. It provides EU citizens with the benefit of enjoying competitively priced goods and services as well as enjoying this ‘free movement’ to study, work and do business.
   
4. International Influence
   The EU represents over half a billion people, giving it a great deal of power in trade and diplomacy, especially beneficial in relation to the USA and China.
   
5. The Euro
   As well as the practical advantages to travelling with a single currency it has also benefitted economic growth, in turn strengthening the international role and political integration of the EU.
   
6. Consumer Protection
   In all member states consumers are protected against faulty products, misleading advertisements and ensuring product safety.
   New food labelling standards have also been introduced to ensure increased safety, these include listing all ingredients as well as any GM ingredients, chemical additives and preservatives.
   
   Intellectual Property is also more stringently protected now with increased laws that allow the protection of both companies and individuals knowledge throughout member states.
   
7. Environmental Protection
   European ministers have passed laws, put in place standards and created annual reports that have resulted in member states being forced to ‘clean up’ their act and do this a lot quicker than before. Now all of the member states have benefitted from cleaner beaches, rivers and air.
   
8. Travel
   As well as being covered for emergency hospital treatment, driving licenses are now valid in all member states, increasing travel opportunities.
   
   Member citizens are also benefitting form the improvement in air traffic management and the increased number of carriers operating in the EU which resulted in a 40% drop in flight prices between 1992-2000 and continues to improve.
   
   Travel has also improved for students, with numerous exchange programs being created to aid in the education of different cultures and broadening horizons of students.    Illustrated perfectly with the ERASMUS program under which 1.2 million people have benefitted.
   
9. Cheaper Telecommunications
   As with flights, the telecoms industry has been opened up to a dramatic increase in the number of competitors. This has resulted in cheaper tariff prices for the citizens of the EU.
   
10. Parental Rights
    The amount of parental leave allowed has been increased and standardised.
    - Parents are entitled 13 weeks of parental leave for a child under 5.
    - Parents of adopted children are entitled to take 13 weeks of leave, this must be before the 5th anniversary of their placement with the family or before their 18th birthday.
    - For disabled children parents are entitled to 18 weeks of leave, which has to be taken before the child’s 18th birthday.
    
11. Workers Rights
    EU law has also standardised workers rights in regards to time off and holidays. Now employees must get at least one day off a week, receive 11 hours rest in every 24 hours, are entitled to 4 weeks worth of paid holiday a year and can opt out of working more than 48 hours a week. As well as standardising breaks and working conditions amongst many other aspects.
     

Adoption (Whitehall report)

A further post linked to the Whitehall report and the proposed reorganisation of family justice. The aspect of this area of the report focuses on adoption, foster care and the process of this. With the aim to reduce the time taken to complete this process and also to take the steps towards ensuring that those adopted are given the same priorities as those who have been fostered and placed in residential care. 

It has firstly brought to light the problems that exist within the system through a study into the past year;

• Only 60 out of 3600 children under one year old in care were adopted
• To be completed the average case has risen to 52 weeks  

The Whitehall report has made a number of recommendations that if put into place will reduce the time of the adoption process. The report suggests that judges will take a more predominant role in managing cases and in doing so simplifying the process. Currently there are interim care orders that exist which need to be renewed after eight weeks and then after every four weeks, lengthening the process unnecessarily, the report also suggests removing these. 

The report extends to propose giving adopted children the right to school. Currently the school administration code gives priority to those in foster and residential care, this will be extended to those adopted. 

From 2013 children that have been adopted would have a guaranteed place at both the primary and secondary school of their choice. As an extension of this and to aid its implementation there will also be the introduction of a ‘national offer day’ for primary schools, set and beginning on April 16th 2014, to ensure that parents can have a piece of mind of where their children will attend school.  

Grandparents rights (Whitehall report)

This is an extension from the previous post concerning the reorganisation of family justice as discussed in the Whitehall report. 

Grandparents rights when families divorce has always been a hot topic that has fell foul to much media criticism and pushes for reform. Currently grandparents don’t have an automatic right to contact with grandchildren. There only path to gaining contact, if the direct approach and mediation have failed, is to apply to the court for leave (permission) to apply for a Contact Order. The courts will then consider a certain set criteria and if successful the grandparent can then apply to the courts for a Contact Order. A long-winded, expensive, stressful and complicated procedure. 

The Whitehall report has stated a number of areas where their rights will be improved, if only slightly at this stage;

• with the courts permission, arrangements concerning childcare should be available to grandparents and the wider family.
• There will be a push for parenting agreements to recognise the needs for children to keep in contact with grandparents after divorce. 

In March, earlier this year there was a first push at obtaining grandparents more rights after parents divorce. It seems that after this second push and much larger re-organisation in general, a step forward might finally be made. 

Online Divorce ‘Hub’ (Whitehall report)

The recent Whitehall report has proposed a reorganisation of family justice, under which people would be able to begin their divorces online and courts would be viewed as a last resort. 

The new divorce information hub would give a step-by-step guide, covering topics from how to dissolve a marriage to maintenance and child care arrangements. The main factor behind the reorganisation is to encourage the courts to be used as a last resort. This is being pushed in a number of ways;

• By giving people the resources to help themselves it is hoped they will opt to do this and take monetary and childcare disputes out of court. 
• To encourage the use of mediation and the new information hub first. 

Opposition

The report has rejected the idea of giving parents equal rights so that they would share access to the children. This has been strongly opposed by campaigners for fathers rights as a ‘betrayal of children and families’, Ken Sanderson Families need Fathers. Fathers4Justice, Nadine O’Connor viewed the report as a ‘monstrous sham’. 

Knife-Crime teenagers face mandatory sentencing

The legal aid and sentencing act is being amended in the light of new policies. It will now ensure that teenagers caught with knives face a new minimum custodial sentence. 

It will now contain a minimum 4 month detention and training order for 16 and 17 year olds and a 6 month detention for adults who have been convicted of carrying a knife and acting in a threatening way towards members of the public. 

This new policy has been faced with open opposition from the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. He has stated how he prefers to give judges the discretion to set sentences based on the facts of the case and how he believes mandatory sentences for juveniles under 18 was is not part of the traditions of the British criminal justice system. He has however won his appeal to ensure under 16 year olds are not affected. 

The amended act is going to cause an increased cost to the government, last year only 12% of the offences for possession of a knife resulted in a custodial sentence. An impact assessment carried out by the Ministry of Justice has showed that the extra custodial sentences are going to be an annual cost of £2-£4 million. 

Many have questioned whether this is going to reduce the levels of knife crime and whether the effect is going to be in positive correlation to the costs incurred.