A rehabilitation order of 18 months imposed on a young offender for wounding with intent was held to be unduly lenient and was replaced with an 18-month detention and training order.

New guidance rubber stamped by the College of Policing yesterday, will now mean forces can only identify suspects before they are charged in exceptional circumstances.

The fact that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, acting on police advice, had accepted that owners of properties in a sectarian interface area were entitled to "intimidation points" under its Housing Selection Scheme did not mean that the requirements for the issue of a chief constable's certificate under the separate Scheme for the Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings had been met.

A sentence of 30 months' imprisonment, imposed following a guilty plea to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, was not manifestly excessive for an offender who was not of good character and who had ben drinking to excess, whose principal mitigation was his suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A retired Church of England priest found guilty of a catalogue of historic sex attacks on children at a Barnardo's home has been jailed for 10 years.

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Changes to the way you estimate costs for work in magistrates’ courts

World leaders including Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin will jet into the luxury Loch Erne Golf Resort in County Fermanagh for the two day conference which has in the past attracted wide scale demonstrations and public disorder.

In these straitened times, the legal system is not exempt from the need to find savings, but we all have a duty to achieve that in ways that do not put at risk the integrity of our justice system. Because it involves lawyers, cuts to legal aid do not often generate the same level of public anxiety as cuts to other types of public services.

Monday 20 May 2013 by Catherine Baksi The largest of the six bar circuits has voted to boycott the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) - which the circuit leader vowed 'will be defeated'.

Walking along the high street in 2016 ...I am approached by a person wearing a high vis vest. I was intrigued to know what " Mind the Gap" was all about. I found out that many of their clients were not represented at court because they could not afford private representation and, because they were fortunate enough to be in (albeit poorly paid) employment, were not eligible for legal aid , but the vast majority were represented by lawyers who they met only once , were clearly under pressure by their employer and the court to progress the case at speed in order to keep cost to a minimum, did not have time to discus their case with them, did not scrutinise the evidence and often advised the innocent to plead guilty. The Prisons were full .

Why Students should Sign the Petition against Price Competitive Tendering

The first female member of the LCCSA, Vivien Symons, a life member of the association, has died peacefully at the age of 94.

Nick Ephgrave is Commander, Criminal Justice and Capability, with the Metropolitan Police

In the CPS office, Barry Badger sighed with satisfaction. His BVT bid with Sgt Ferret had been successful: £250 a conviction. OK, there were a few expenses, police helmets got more costly every year and there was the Archbold subscription; but, provided PC Dormouse and his colleagues nicked up to their usual standard, the future was secure until July. There would be salt in the gruel this month.

Chris Grayling has insisted that his legal aid reforms will go ahead — and denounced critics who warn that price will prevail over quality.

New proposals for how environmental offenders like fly-tippers should be sentenced have been launched today by the Sentencing Council.

Dave Rowntree spent the 90’s as drummer for Blur, one of Britain’s most famous bands. Now he’s a solicitor, specialising in criminal defence and is the frontman for a campaign to stop government plans to slash criminal legal aid.

CONTROVERSIAL plans to reform legal aid will be “absolutely devastating” for Britain’s legal system and result in dangerous miscarriages of justice, a former senior judge warned last night.

Women make up about half the senior associates, so why are they missing from the upper ranks of commercial firms?

A solicitor who was caught trying to smuggle mobile phones and drugs into Saughton jail in Edinburgh has been jailed for four years.

Litigation costs have soared by almost 50 per cent in the UK during the economic downturn, research released today reveals. The figures come just days after legislation announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech sparked business fears that US-style class-action law suits could be headed to Britain.

Most weeks some lovely, caring berks tell me I am a man–hating witch, so let's get it out there. Sometimes I am. The acceptable kind of suck-it-up feminism (I love men really!) is hard to sustain after yet more abuse stories, "grooming stories", or the details of the Tia Sharp murder.

Monday 20 May 2013 by Catherine Baksi The justice secretary has asked the Law Society and Bar Council to develop a quality standard for firms bidding for criminal legal aid contracts under controversial plans for price-competitive tendering (PCT).

Walking along the high street in 2016 where between somewhere outside sainsbury local, and opposite Tesco express and The Amazon collection vault , I am approached by a person wearing a high vis vest.... my curiosity got the better of me and I was intrigued to know what "mind the gap" was all about. I found out that many of their clients were not represented at court because they could not afford private representation and, because they were fortunate enough to be in (albeit poorly paid) employment, were not eligible for legal aid , but the vast majority were represented by lawyers who they met only once , were clearly under pressure by their employer and the court to progress the case at speed in order to keep cost to a minimum, did not have time to discus their case with them, did not scrutinise the evidence and often advised the innocent to plead guilty. The Prisons were full .