Lawyer news

• Obama commutes prison sentences of eight drug convicts under new policy

  17-12-2014 23:47
  
  First reductions of harsh punishments imposed under outdated guidelines
  President also pardoned 12 inmates convicted of a variety of offenses
  President Barack Obama on Wednesday cut short prison time for eight drug convicts as part of his new initiative to reduce harsh sentences under outdated guidelines, a step that could lead to a vast expansion of presidential clemency in his final two years in office.The president also is pardoning 12 convicts for a variety of offenses. But the commutations
  
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• Internships are not always exploitative | Letters: Melanie Stancliffe and Beverly Cochran

  17-12-2014 20:22
  
  I agree that nobody should work for free. While “Unpaid internships rig the system. Curb them, now” makes a great Labour soundbite (Opinion, 15 December), it omits salient facts. There is no need to advocate new laws. Interns undertaking work, rather than shadowing, are already entitled to the national minimum wage. They are protected against working excessive hours and have rights to paid holiday and rest breaks. As your article suggests, enforcement agencies may not have the resources to p
  
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• US terrorism insurance act renewal blocked by Senate

  17-12-2014 20:20
  
  Sporting events in jeopardy after retiring Republican Tom Coburn blocks extension of Terrorism Risk Insurance Act despite backing from House of RepresentativesMany US businesses could find themselves without terrorism insurance in the new year and there are fears big sporting events like the Super Bowl could be cancelled after the Senate failed to extend a government programme that backstops insurers’ losses from terrorist attacks.The Senate had been widely expected to extend the Terrorism Ris
  
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• UK links to torture go beyond complicity to active involvement | Phil Shiner

  17-12-2014 20:18
  
  After the Senate report on thje CIA, what is needed now is a judicial inquiry in Britain – and the MoD must be forced to come cleanThere’s a debate in Britain on whether to hold a judicial inquiry into UK involvement in torture. This comes in the light of last week’s Senate committee report on use in the US of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques – that is, torture.But the debate should not be about mere UK involvement or complicity in torture. It is the UK’s actual use of tortu
  
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• The legal confusion over perpendicular parking - BBC News

  17-12-2014 19:48
  
  BBC News
  The legal confusion over perpendicular parking
  BBC News
  Smart cars have been on sale in the UK since 2000, and are immediately recognisable for their small size. Though Smart's current marketing material suggests drivers parallel park into tight spots, some owners take advantage of the size of the Smart car ...
  
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• Torture claims against British soldiers a 'attempt to use legal system to ... - Daily Mail

  17-12-2014 19:46
  
  Daily Mail
  Torture claims against British soldiers a 'attempt to use legal system to ...
  Daily Mail
  The lawyers who helped lying Iraqi detainees launch a 'shameful' attack on the British Army with false torture allegations were attacked in Parliament today. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon welcomed the findings of an official public inquiry ...
  British Soldier Torture Claims 'Lies' - InquiryYahoo News UK
  Al-Sweady inquiry: Iraqis mistreated but UK troops did not murder insur
  
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• Lawyers Not Sorry Over UK Troop Torture Claims - Sky News

  17-12-2014 18:56
  
  Daily Mail
  Lawyers Not Sorry Over UK Troop Torture Claims
  Sky News
  He said the lawyers had made errors, including shredding vital documents, which had cost the taxpayer money and put the soldiers involved through years of uncertainty. However, John Dickinson of Public Interest Lawyers told Sky News he did not accept ...
  Fallon spat out Shiner the lawyer's name with loathing: Yesterday in ...Daily Mail
  Birmingham law firm made £900k from false Iraq murder and torture claimsBirmingham M
  
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• Security service intercept evidence for trials rejected as too costly – inquiry

  17-12-2014 18:44
  
  Review chaired by Sir John Chilcot concludes such evidence for terrorism and serious crime is legally feasible but is too expensive and provides security riskThe use of intercept evidence from the security services in terrorist and serious crime trials has been rejected after being found to be legally feasible but too costly, an official inquiry has concluded.The review, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, was set up by the coalition government soon after coming to office, and was the eighth attempt to
  
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• CIA torture report: UK intelligence agencies questioned over redactions

  17-12-2014 16:11
  
  MPs investigate whether redactions were sought on national security grounds or to avoid embarrassmentThe British parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) has started to question intelligence agencies over whether they requested redactions in the explosive US Senate report on CIA torture.The ISC has already been investigating broader allegations of UK agencies’ involvement in torture or mistreatment. Continue reading...
  
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• Lawyers should apologise over Al-Sweady claims – Fallon

  17-12-2014 15:51
  
  Defence secretary reveals that SRA investigating conduct of solicitors after troops cleared of murder and torture.
  
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• Smoking in cars carrying children set to become illegal in England next year

  17-12-2014 14:26
  
  Subject to vote by MPs and peers, ban will criminalise smoking by parents, carers or other adults in a car with under-18sSmoking in cars carrying children is set to become illegal in England late next year in the biggest crackdown on lighting up since the ban on smoking in public places in 2007.On Wednesday the government will lay the regulations in parliament needed to pave the way for the new restriction on smoking, which is likely to come into force on 1 October 2015. Continue reading...
  
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• Britain’s most vulnerable people are sleeping rough. This is a grave injustice | Matt Downiev

  17-12-2014 14:03
  
  The supreme court has the power and the opportunity to right the wrong of homelessness. No one should be turned awayAs you read this piece, judges, lawyers and barristers in the supreme court are wrestling with a longstanding injustice that few people even know exists. Yet it is an injustice that condemns people with mental and physical health problems, women fleeing domestic abuse and people with learning disabilities to a devastating life on the streets.As the law is currently interpreted, peo
  
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• Withdrawal from the human rights convention would cost Britain dearly

  17-12-2014 13:42
  
  Retreat from the convention threatens the right to a fair trial and risks unravelling the rule of human rights law across EuropeJust when the justice secretary could do with a stick to beat the European court of human rights, it delivers two judgments in the government’s favour and refuses an appeal against the government in a third. Chris Grayling must be gnashing his teeth.The first unsuccessful claim, brought by the would-be London bombers and an accomplice over the delay in allowing them l
  
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• ECHR cases won by UK government show flexibility of human rights system

  17-12-2014 13:42
  
  Strasbourg human rights court is ready to admit it gets things wrong when presented with good argumentsJust when the justice secretary could do with a stick to beat the European court of human rights, it delivers two judgments in the government’s favour and refuses an appeal against the government in a third. Chris Grayling must be gnashing his teeth.The first unsuccessful claim, brought by the would-be London bombers and an accomplice over the delay in allowing them legal advice, is well cove
  
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• High Court dismisses employment tribunal fees challenge

  17-12-2014 13:10 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Unison had sought to question the legality of fees introduced by the government in July 2013.
  
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• We mustn’t let morbid obesity kill our potential. I didn’t | Helen Leahey

  17-12-2014 13:04
  
  Work was a daily struggle until I decided to seek medical treatment. Could classifying obesity as a disability help others find solutions to a problem that is manifestly physical?Morbidly obese people could be given disability status in the workplace if a ruling at the European court of justice (ECJ) goes as expected this week.I know from personal experience that finding a good job in the current economic climate is difficult; finding one when you are morbidly obese (with a BMI of more than 40)
  
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• My morbid obesity killed my potential | Helen Leahey

  17-12-2014 13:04
  
  Classifying the condition as a disability would recognise that it is a physical and not a moral problem – which would help sufferersMorbidly obese people could be given disability status in the workplace if a ruling at the European court of justice (ECJ) goes as expected this week.I know from personal experience that finding a good job in the current economic climate is difficult; finding one when you are morbidly obese (with a BMI of more than 40) is so much harder. Employers may equate your
  
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• MPs urge review of joint-enterprise use

  17-12-2014 12:43 via lawgazette.co.uk
  Evidence to committee of MPs warns of ‘dragnet’ effect disproportionately affecting young black men.
  
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• SDT fine upgraded to suspension after SRA appeal

  17-12-2014 11:57 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Solicitor had agreed to pay an expert knowing they were not fit, competent or adequately qualified.
  
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• Catholic midwives’ abortion ruling overturned by supreme court

  17-12-2014 11:30
  
  Judges rule against Mary Doogan and Connie Wood, who brought case objecting to any involvement in abortionsThe UK’s highest court has overturned a ruling made in favour of two Catholic midwives who object to any involvement in abortion procedures.Five justices at the supreme court in London allowed an appeal by a health authority in Scotland against a decision of the court of session in Edinburgh last year in the case of Mary Doogan and Connie Wood. Continue reading...
  
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• Church of England’s first female bishop named as Libby Lane

  17-12-2014 11:07
  
  Lambeth Palace announces appointment just four weeks after General Synod voted to allow women to become bishopsThe Church of England has announced the appointment of Rev Libby Lane, a parish priest from Crewe, as its first female bishop, just four weeks after its General Synod voted for a historic law change.She will become bishop of Stockport. It is a relatively junior role, which will make her an assistant bishop in the diocese of Chester. Continue reading...
  
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• Family court transparency 'will result in death' - commissioner

  17-12-2014 09:45
  
  Deputy children’s commissioner says the greater opening of family courts could have unintended consequences.
  
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• 'One flight attendant took out an exit sign': Multi-millionaire lawyer ... - Daily Mail

  17-12-2014 09:13
  
  Daily Mail
  'One flight attendant took out an exit sign': Multi-millionaire lawyer ...
  Daily Mail
  A multi-millionaire Dallas attorney with close ties to President Obama was aboard the ill-fated American Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence over the Pacific Ocean and shared photos online that revealed the chaotic aftermath. Flight 280, a ...
  
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• Mass surveillance ruled legal in UK - World Socialist Web Site

  17-12-2014 08:35
  
  Mass surveillance ruled legal in UK
  World Socialist Web Site
  Surveillance of the British population by the UK government spy agencies has been ruled legal by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) judicial body. The IPT has ruled in a case brought by the UK-based Privacy International, Amnesty International and ...
  
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• Hillary Clinton: torture is wrong and 'yes, black lives matter'

  17-12-2014 07:10
  
  Former secretary of state, accepting Robert F Kennedy award, addresses CIA interrogations and anger over killings by policeHillary Clinton has said she is proud to have been part of an administration that “banned illegal renditions and brutal interrogations” and said the US should never be involved in torture anywhere in the world.Clinton spoke about the importance of the nation acting in accordance with its values after receiving an award from the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Hum
  
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• MPs call for urgent review of joint-enterprise law

  17-12-2014 01:03
  
  Justice committee report finds that many sentenced for murder under law should have been convicted of lesser crimesAn urgent review of joint-enterprise prosecutions is needed to prevent “over-charging”, MPs will warn on Wednesday, amid fears that the doctrine is being exploited as a dragnet to haul in young men from ethnic minorities.In a highly critical report, the Commons justice select committee suggests that many people convicted of murder under the complex legislation should have been c
  
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• Fugitive lawyer to be extradited - Belfast Telegraph

  17-12-2014 00:31
  
  Belfast Telegraph
  Fugitive lawyer to be extradited
  Belfast Telegraph
  Michael Lynn fled Ireland in 2007 as police unearthed evidence that the lawyer used individual properties to collect multiple mortgage loans. At the time of his disappearance, prosecutors estimate he possessed more than 50 million euros (about £40 ...
  
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