Lawyer news

• Jails and universities obliged to prevent radicalisation as new act becomes law

  29-06-2015 23:31
  
  Counter-Terrorism Act, which also applies to NHS trusts, schools and further education institutions, comes into force as PM demands ‘full spectrum response’
  Local authorities, prisons, NHS trusts, schools, universities and further education institutions will this week be placed under a new statutory duty to prevent extremist radicalisation taking place within their walls. The requirement was imposed by this year’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, and Home Office ministers have pointed o
  
  Read more

• US supreme court refuses to let Texas close 10 abortion clinics

  29-06-2015 21:47
  
  Justices rule 5-4 to grant emergency appeal from clinics that will now prevent state from enforcing restrictions that would have caused clinics to close Related: Court upholds Texas abortion law that could leave state with only seven clinics The US supreme court is refusing to allow Texas to enforce restrictions that would force 10 abortion clinics to close. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on Alison Saunders: don’t sack her, back her | Editorial

  29-06-2015 21:03
  
  The child abuse allegations against Lord Janner should have been prosecuted a decade ago. It’s too late now“No trial, no conviction, no penalty,” warned the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, as she accepted the reversal of her decision not to prosecute the Labour peer Lord Janner on charges of rape and assault dating back to the 1960s. She might also have added, “and no defence”. If the court finds he lacks capacity to defend himself, the 86-year-old peer faces a f
  
  Read more

• Detained asylum seekers to be able to apply for bail

  29-06-2015 21:00
  
  Court ruling declaring Home Office system unfair will mean hundreds held in places like Yarl’s Wood will be able to petition courts to be freedHundreds of failed asylum seekers in immigration detention centres will be able to apply to be freed on bail, the Home Office is expected to confirm shortly.A ruling by appeal court judges on Friday that a “structurally unfair” fast-track asylum appeals system must be suspended is expected to lead to 300 to 400 asylum seekers, who are currently deta
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• US supreme court strikes down Obama's EPA limits on mercury pollution

  29-06-2015 20:09
  
  Justices invalidate new rules in move that could make Environmental Protection Agency more vulnerable to challenges to new regulations on carbon emissions The US supreme court struck down new rules for America’s biggest air polluters on Monday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to set limits on the amount of mercury, arsenic and other toxins coal-fired power plants can spew into the air, lakes and rivers.The 5-4 decision was a major setback to the Environmental Protection
  
  Read more

• Lord Janner case: what is a trial of the facts?

  29-06-2015 20:06
  
  The defendant cannot put forward a defence, there can be no
  verdict of guilty and the court cannot pass sentenceIn a “trial of facts”, the jury is asked to decide – on the basis of evidence adduced by prosecution lawyers and by lawyers who put the case for the defence – whether or not the accused did the acts he or she was charged with.Because the defendant cannot put forward a defence, there can be no
  verdict of guilty and the court cannot pass sentence. All the court can do is to make
  
  Read more

• Gay couple take pension rights battle to court of appeal

  29-06-2015 19:53
  
  Judges to hear case by John Walker, fighting to win his husband same payout a wife would enjoy from the chemical company Innospec, in event of his deathA gay man is fighting to win his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy if he was in a heterosexual relationship.John Walker, an ex-cavalry officer, has launched an equal treatment case, in the court of appeal, which could have widespread repercussions. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• If execution by torture isn't 'cruel and unusual' punishment, what is? | Scott Lemieux

  29-06-2015 19:45
  
  The US supreme court has ruled that even the least morally defensible executions are allowable. But there’s some hope in the court’s dissentsYou might think that the Eighth Amendment, which forbids “cruel and unusual” punishments, clearly prohibits death penalty regimes like those currently in effect in Oklahoma: unqualified and inexperienced personnel trying experimental drug regimes that have a substantial likelihood of inflicting serious pain before death. But, if you know anything ab
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Slater and Gordon shares slide again following reporting 'errors'

  29-06-2015 19:05 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Australia-listed firm has engaged EY to help answer questions from market watchdogs, as fund manager highlights 'red flags' in accounts.
  
  Read more

• Slater and Gordon shares dive amid reporting errors

  29-06-2015 19:05 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Australia-listed firm has engaged Big Four accountants EY to help answer questions from stock market watchdog.
  
  Read more

• Slater and Gordon shares crash following reporting 'errors'

  29-06-2015 19:05 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Australia-listed firm has engaged EY to help answer questions from market watchdogs, as one fund manager highlights 'red flags' in accounts.
  
  Read more

• Using data visualisation to bring historic human rights cases to life

  29-06-2015 18:58
  
  Barrister and blogger Adam Wagner on how interactivity can make complex legal history easier to digest – at a time when doing so is more important than everCan you name a human rights case? Was it Abu Qatada? Or prisoner votes? Or the one about the immigrant’s cat? In 50 Human Rights Cases that Transformed Britain, we are using data visualisation to introduce people to landmark human rights cases – and not just the ones you have read about in the press. You wouldn’t normally associate hu
  
  Read more

• Global firm negligent over £25m property advice

  29-06-2015 18:47 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  High Court orders Bird & Bird to pay £1.8m after failing to inform property buyers of a nearby development. 
  
  Read more

• Freed death row inmate died hours before supreme court ruling that cited him

  29-06-2015 18:25
  
  Glenn Ford, 65, died of lung cancer on Monday hours before judgmentDissenting justice said Ford’s case showed need for full death penalty reviewA former death row inmate in Louisiana died on Monday, hours before his exoneration was cited by the US supreme court as a reason for caution in carrying out death sentences. Glenn Ford was released from Angola prison in Louisiana in March 2014 after serving 30 years on death row for a 1984 murder, a conviction which in 2013 prosecutors conceded they c
  
  Read more

• Freed death row inmate died hours before supreme court cited his case

  29-06-2015 18:25
  
  Glenn Ford, 65, died of lung cancer on Monday hours before judgmentDissenting justice said Ford’s case showed need for full death penalty reviewA former death row inmate in Louisiana died on Monday, hours before his exoneration was cited by the US supreme court as a reason for caution in carrying out death sentences. Glenn Ford was released from Angola prison in Louisiana in March 2014 after serving 30 years on death row for a 1984 murder, a conviction which in 2013 prosecutors conceded they c
  
  Read more

• The 2014 conflict left Gaza’s healthcare shattered. When will justice be done? | Helena Kennedy

  29-06-2015 18:00
  
  The violation of hospitals is a war crime, but the international community is failing to scrutinise Israel and Hamas on their actions last yearAs the first anniversary of the Gaza conflict approaches, the battle for the narrative is again raging. The UN’s commission of inquiry into the conflict released its report to the human rights council in Geneva last week. Israel’s government, which refused to cooperate with their investigation, has already denounced the report. Its own findings have e
  
  Read more

• Supreme court upholds independent redistricting in blow to gerrymandering

  29-06-2015 17:49
  
  Justices rule 5-4 against Republicans challenging Arizona’s independent redistricting commission, upending partisan drawing of voting districtsThe US supreme court has ruled that states can appoint independent commissions to draw the boundaries of congressional districts, rejecting a challenge by Arizona Republicans in a decision that could have wide-ranging effects on the partisan congressional redistricting practice known as gerrymandering.The court’s decision affirms the constitutionality
  
  Read more

• Bar chief speaks out on ‘self-selecting’ meetings

  29-06-2015 17:21 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Executives at the Criminal Bar Association meet tomorrow to discuss the strength of opposition to the government's legal aid reforms.
  
  Read more

• The need for UK surrogacy law reform - BioNews

  29-06-2015 17:15
  The need for UK surrogacy law reform
  BioNews
  Last month, in a judgment that was hailed as the first of its kind, High Court judge Ms Justice Russell ordered a mother to hand over her child to a gay couple (H v S (Surrogacy Agreement), see BioNews 801). The facts of the case were that S, the ...
  
  Read more

• SRA proposes solution for firms offering consumer credit

  29-06-2015 16:54 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Regulator offers a way around threat of dual regulation. 
  
  Read more

• US supreme court strikes down Obama's EPA limits on air pollution

  29-06-2015 16:44
  
  Justices strike down new rules for coal-fired power plants in major setback for Obama administration and Environmental Protection AgencyThe US supreme court struck down new rules for America’s biggest air polluters on Monday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to set limits on the amount of mercury, arsenic and other toxins coal-fired power plants can spew into the air, lakes and rivers.The 5-4 decision was a major setback to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and c
  
  Read more

• US supreme court strikes down EPA rules for biggest air polluters

  29-06-2015 16:44
  
  Justices strike down new rules for coal-fired power plants in major setback for Obama administration and Environmental Protection AgencyThe US supreme court struck down new rules for America’s biggest air polluters on Monday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to set limits on the amount of mercury, arsenic and other toxins coal-fired power plants can spew into the air, lakes and rivers.The 5-4 decision was a major setback to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and c
  
  Read more

• Texas county clerks may refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

  29-06-2015 16:42
  
  The state’s attorney general Ken Paxton says clerks retain religious freedoms that allow ‘religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses’Texas county clerks may refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite last week’s supreme court ruling that established a nationwide right to same-sex marriage, the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton said on Sunday.
  A 5-4 decision by the nation’s highest court on Friday made same-sex marriage a right throughout the US.
  
  Read more

• Texas clerks could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

  29-06-2015 16:42
  
  The state’s attorney general Ken Paxton says clerks retain religious freedoms that allow ‘religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses’Texas county clerks may refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite last week’s supreme court ruling that established a nationwide right to same-sex marriage, the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton said on Sunday.
  A 5-4 decision by the nation’s highest court on Friday made same-sex marriage a right throughout the US.
  
  Read more

• Supreme court to re-enter affirmative action debate in University of Texas case

  29-06-2015 16:21
  
  Justices to hear case on race in admission policy for the second time after white woman sues over rejected application to Austin campusThe supreme court said Monday it will dive back into the fight over the use of race in admissions at the University of Texas, a decision that presages tighter limits on affirmative action in higher education.The justices said they will hear for a second time the case of a white woman who was denied admission to the university’s flagship Austin campus. Continue
  
  Read more

• Controversial Oklahoma lethal injection drug approved by US supreme court

  29-06-2015 16:09
  
  Executions set to resume after four inmates lose case in which they argued Oklahoma’s use of midazolam amounted to cruel and unusual punishmentThe US supreme court has approved the use of the controversial sedative midazolam in Oklahoma’s execution protocols, paving the way for the state to resume executions for the first time since January.
  Some states had delayed executions while they awaited the ruling in Glossip v Gross, in which the court was asked decide whether Oklahoma’s use of mid
  
  Read more

• Will Aid apologises to solicitors for Co-op ‘offer’

  29-06-2015 14:51 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Charity says sorry for any offence caused to individuals and firms by special promotion.  
  
  Read more

• Obama triumphant? President turns gaze to progress on guns, race and votes

  29-06-2015 13:00
  
  After Obamacare survived and same-sex marriage was enshrined in law, White House observers sense a new determination to set the president’s legacy in stone Related: Obama gives searing speech on race in eulogy for Charleston pastor When Barack Obama hosts military heroes at the White House on Saturday at the traditional Fourth of July barbecue and fireworks display on the South Lawn, he will be marking more than the annual celebration of the Declaration of Independence. This year, he will also
  
  Read more

• DPP's U-turn on Lord Janner shows review system works

  29-06-2015 12:49
  
  Victims’ right to review scheme specifically envisages such reversals because ‘refusing to admit mistakes can seriously undermine public trust’
  The reversal by Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, of her original decision not to prosecute Greville Janner is not as unpredecented or embarrassing at it may first seem. The victims’ right to review, introduced by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2013, specificially envisages such abrupt changes in public decision-making. Cont
  
  Read more

• DPP's U-turn on Lord Janner is a sign that review system is working

  29-06-2015 12:49
  
  Analysis: CPS’s victims’ right to review scheme specifically envisages such abrupt reversals because ‘refusing to admit mistakes can seriously undermine public trust’
  The U-turn by Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, reversing her original decision not to prosecute Greville Janner, is not as unpredecented or embarrassing at it might first seem. The victims’ right to review, introduced by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2013, specificially envisages such abrupt change
  
  Read more

• Legal Aid Agency denies warning solicitors against direct action

  29-06-2015 12:17 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  The agency said that ‘if appropriate’ contract managers may remind practitioners of contractual responsibilities as part of routine calls.
  
  Read more

• The Lord Janner U-turn is the CPS’s own fault | Joshua Rozenberg

  29-06-2015 11:30
  
  Between the independent reviewer and the DPP there’s no disagreement on facts, but ultimately it’s highly unlikely Janner will appear in courtThe Crown Prosecution Service has only itself to blame for the U-turn that has left Lord Janner facing criminal proceedings for child sex offences. The CPS should have thought more carefully before introducing its so-called victims’ right to review policy two years ago.Under this scheme, victims of crime can ask the CPS to reconsider a decision not t
  
  Read more

• Israel to free Palestinian hunger striker: lawyer - Yahoo News UK

  29-06-2015 07:26
  
  Yahoo News UK
  Israel to free Palestinian hunger striker: lawyer
  Yahoo News UK
  Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan ended a 56-day hunger strike on Sunday after Israel agreed to release him, his lawyer and the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced. Adnan, 37, has been held for a year under administrative detention, which allows ...en meer »
  
  Read more

• High court challenge to government over services to Saudi prisons

  29-06-2015 01:01
  
  Legal challenge against the Ministry of Justice by human rights campaigners may be financed through crowd funding The legality of a bid by the commercial arm of the Ministry of Justice to provide services for Saudi Arabia’s prisons is to be challenged in the high court.The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is launching a judicial review of the tender, alleging that the department has no legal power to carry out the activity. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Tuckers goes online direct to advocates

  29-06-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Legal aid giant creates internet service, saying it makes it easier for solicitors to instruct advocates directly.
  
  Read more

Follow @Lawyer_UKnws on Twitter!