Our criminal defence and appeals team regularly write about related legal topics and breaking news, we welcome your comments on our posts. If you would like more information on our services, please don't hesitate to get in touch on 01616 966 229.
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A suspended sentence is a type of prison sentence. It is imposed when a court decides that an offence or series of offences justifies a prison sentence of less than 2 years, but that there are reasons why the sentence need not be served immediately. If...
In our crime department we have opened 25% more files for people being investigated by the police for child neglect than in 2022. These cases involve parents or guardians being accused of not having enough food in their homes and dirty and cluttered...
The government has declared nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) is to become a controlled drug of class C from the 8th November 2023. Penalties for its possession can be up to 2 years imprisonment and supplying it can carry up to 14 years...
The King’s Speech, or the State Opening of Parliament, provides the government with an opportunity to set out its legislative agenda for the months ahead. In total, 21 bills, or pieces of legislation, were put forward this year, with criminal justice...
This article deals with Section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and provides an introduction to the law in relation to self-defence. Imagine a scenario: It’s a Friday evening and you’re relaxing at home watching TV with...
What is double jeopardy? The legal principle of double jeopardy was that a person who was found by the court to be not guilty of an offence could not be prosecuted again. This principle applied even if new evidence came to light proving that the accused...
This article deals with two new provisions which have been introduced by the government’s Domestic Abuse Act 2021 into the Serious Crime Act 2015 (section 75A and 75B). On 7 June 2022 legislation creating the specific offences of non-fatal...
It is that time of year again where people go out with their work colleagues and friends for Christmas parties and meals. Whilst most will enjoy the festivities unfortunately, we have found that Christmas parties can often lead to incidents where sexual...
The definition of theft under Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 is the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it. Picking up cash found on the street (which is the...
The Criminal Bar Association recently commented upon news that the number of cases waiting to be heard across the Magistrates' and Crown Courts stood at 432,899 in February 2022. This backlog was in part due to the pandemic but also down to...
On the 9 th June 2022 the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions in the case of R V Johnson 2022 EWCA 790. The appellant was represented by Miss Correna Platt of Stephensons and Mr David Emanuel QC of Garden Court Chambers. The...
The NSPCC reported last year that there had been a record high number of grooming allegations recorded by police. There is no specific offence of “grooming” as such, but the illegal activity is subject to a number of sections of the Sexual...
There appears to be no let up in efforts made by the police in tackling drug related offending, in particular county lines drug dealing. In a recent police push, between 11 October and 17 October: 1,468 people were arrested 2,664 vulnerable people,...
A recent episode of Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody dealt with a gradual, worsening feud between a father and a boyfriend which led to a fatal stabbing. Robert Parkins was convicted of Alex Fitzpatrick’s murder and received a life...
DNA evidence has developed over the years in the field of criminal law. The first case in which it was used by the police was back in 1986 whereby two teenagers had been raped and murdered. The initial suspect in relation to the crimes was proven to...
