A place to come to get up-to-date legal news in one place that is easy and accessible.

Friday 18 May 2012

Insult a horse and you could be arrested!

*Possible Reform*

A law that bans the use of insulting words or behaviour has been brought to attention by MPs and civil right activists in the claim that it destroys free speech.

The Public Order Act prevents actions that are likely to cause 'harassment, alarm or distress'. However, Senior Conservative, David Davis argues that Section 5 of the Act creates a grey area with no clarity as to what constitutes insulting behaviour.

There have been a number of debated cases in recent years;

> Reportedly, in 2006 an Oxford University student asked a police officer if he knew his horse was 'gay'. After refusing to pay an £80 on the spot fine, he was arrested for making homophobic remarks and forced to spend a night in a cell, before the charges against him were dropped.
> An individual was charged in May 2008 under the act, after demonstrating outside the London HQ of the Church of Scientology. Holding a sign that stated 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult'. However the CPS ruled that 'cult' was not a dangerous or insulting word and charges were dropped.

Mr Davis, Senior Conservative is leading the campaign to reform Section 5 of the Act. Other supporters include; Christian Institute, Liberty, Big Brother Watch and the Freedom Association. Gay Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell illustrated the 'grey area problem' that the section creates by stating 'what constitutes insults is a very subjective judgement' and that there is no actual 'requirement...to prove that anyone has been harassed, alarmed or distressed'.

However a Poll has shown that 17% of MPs believe changing the law would undermine the ability of the police to protect the public.

The Home Office launched a review last October, examining as to whether 'insulting' can be considered as 'proportionate' when looking at gaining the right balance between the right to freedom of expression and the right of others to not be harassed, alarmed or distressed'.

And the debate continues....

Wednesday 2 May 2012

The benefits of an early plea

Even in the darkest of circumstances where evidence against the defendant is so overwhelming that a guilty verdict is the only plausible outcome, it has been held that an early plea should still be given credit.

In R v Wilson (Paul Anthony) the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years after his guilty plea to two offences.
Wilson appealed this and their lordships held in the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, that an early plea is in benefit of the defendant as long as, under all circumstances, it was in the interest of justice.

In this specific case the appellant had video recordings of a sexual assault on a 3 year old as well as sexual images of two young teenagers. It is due to the high level of evidence that the Lord Chief Justice declared the appellant had no option but to plead guilty so should not be rewarded for an early plea.

However, whilst appreciating the reluctance of the Lord Chief Justice to give credit, it was held by their lordships that the earlier the plea the greater the public benefit.

This was specifically important in this particular case as it ensured that the judges and jury were prevented from having to witness the shocking video.

Showing that as long as the guilty plea is for the public benefit and in the general interest of justice, regardless of the evidence against the individual, they will still receive credit for an early plea.


Domestic Violence Law to include 16 year olds

*possible reform*

Currently within the law on domestic violence, teenagers fall into a grey area that lies between child protection and domestic violence. Meaning that, both what the victim and the authorities can do in these situations is unclear.

With a £2million campaign in 2010 that covered TV, radio, posters and the Internet, the authorities have slowly reacted to the issue of domestic violence in teenagers.

More recently however the Chief Constable (police national lead of domestic violence) says more is being done. The police are in the process of creating and introducing a training program that will tackle every aspect from identifying the domestic violence to protecting the victim and prosecuting the criminal. They are also working with the Home Office in plans to alter the definition of Domestic Abuse so that it includes young people from the age of 16.