Come on, Mr Burton. An apology is the least you owe Paul Blackburn
Paul Blackburn was convicted a year or so after I had started practice at the criminal Bar. For the first decade of my career it was commonplace for the police to rely in large part on alleged...
View ArticleVicky Pryce retrial: don’t blame the jury system
Juries in criminal trials frequently ask questions after they have retired, writes Mark George QC. These usually seek clarification from the judge as to the directions of law he has given. On other...
View ArticleUnited we stand, divided we fall, Save UK Justice
It’s a decision they will probably regret but after the publication of the consultation document Transforming legal aid, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) apparently thought it would be a good idea to...
View ArticleConcerns over cross-examination of witnesses
Let sleeping dogs lie: Cross-examination in advance of trial in cases of sexual assault. For many years now witnesses, particularly in cases involving allegations of sexual assault, have been able to...
View ArticleWhy blame the CCRC? It’s the Court of Appeal that needs to change
[contextly_auto_sidebar id=”l2ZTRTzrpqbSc5YP9rM8o0jx5aDn6Fa7″] The row over the efficacy of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) continues to rumble on. The body set up after the Runciman report...
View ArticleOrgreave 1984 – when the South Yorkshire Police were out of control
[contextly_auto_sidebar id=”cRnU4WSq92RLPbIKAbITtTuHK8GaDPlE”] Two and half years after the South Yorkshire Police referred themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over their...
View ArticleHillsborough inquests: why saying ‘sorry’ isn’t enough
[contextly_auto_sidebar] In the aftermath of publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012, David Crompton, the Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police issued a fulsome...
View Article‘Like Hillsborough, Orgreave cries out for justice’
[contextly_auto_sidebar] We seem to be in an age of greater accountability, although it may be said that some people are still more accountable than others. It’s one thing prosecuting 1970s radio DJs...
View ArticleA fitting legacy for Hillsborough: an end to institutional denial
[contextly_auto_sidebar] In a previous posting here I discussed the failures of the ambulance service at Hillsborough. In this blog I want to consider the conduct of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service...
View Article‘Everyone knows the Criminal Justice System is in a state of crisis’
‘Everyone knows the Criminal Justice System is in a state of crisis’ Everyone who works in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) knows there is a crisis and that if not addressed the entire system is in...
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