CPACD

The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 (the 2018 Act) received Royal Assent on 13 September 2018.  It is an Act to make provision about offences when perpetrated against emergency workers, and persons assisting such workers; to make certain offences aggravated when perpetrated against such workers in the exercise of their duty; and for connected purposes. The background is growing concern that emergency workers are also victims of offences.  For example - This Act extends to England and Wales only and comes into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed. Overview of the Act: Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that common assault and battery shall be summary offences and a person guilty of either of them shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both. Section 1 of the 2018 Act applies when an offence of commo...

Footballers, flashy cars and motoring offences have been in the news recently. It was reported that  Southampton player Mario Lemina admitted three counts of failing to identify himself in March and May - BBC News 4 September .  Aldershot Magistrates Court dropped the speeding charges, but gave Lemina 18 points on his non-UK driving licence, taking his points tally to 39.   Lemina, 25, of Ashley Heath, Dorset, was fined £660 for each of the three offences, in addition to a victim surcharge.  His Mercedes was caught on speed camera three times breaking the limit. The offence in question arises under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.  Basically, if the driver of a vehicle is alleged to be guilty of certain offences (e.g. speeding), the person keeping a vehicle ("the keeper") is under a duty to give such information as to the identity of the driver as he may be required to give by or on behalf of a chief officer of police.  A person who fails ...

 Bombs detonated on 21 November 1974 in Birmingham and wrecked the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town.  21 people were killed and 182 injured.  A third explosive device failed to detonate.  Six men - (Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker) - were arrested and subsequently tried in the Shire Hall of Lancaster Castle before Bridge J and a jury.  The trial commenced on 9 June 1975 and the men, having been convicted, were sentenced on 15 August 1975.  Their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) on 14 March 1991 - R v McIlkenny, Hill, Power, Walker, Hunter and Callaghan [1991] EWCA Crim 2 - Lloyd, Mustill and Farquharson LJJ. In June 2016 the Chief Coroner ruled that there should be fresh inquests into the deaths - post 27 January 2018 . The names of alleged Birmingham pub bombing suspects will not be part of the new inquests into victims' deaths - Sky New...

Mr Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson)'s contempt case was the subject of  posts 1 June 2018,  5 July and 1 August . The Court of Appeal - Full Judgment (Bailii) or Full Judgment (pdf) The appeal in respect of the committal for contempt at Leeds Crown Court was allowed.  Mr Robinson was granted bail and the matter of contempt at Leeds Crown Court was remitted to be heard by the Recorder of London at the Old Bailey. Mr Robinson appeared at the Old Bailey today before the Recorder of London HHJ Nicholas Hilliard QC - BBC News 27 September .   The case was adjourned until October. The judge said that he would receive written submissions before making a ruling on whether there will be a substantive hearing at a later date.  There is therefore the possibility that the matter could be dealt with on the basis of such written submissions and that leaves open the question of whether, in this high profile case, those submissions will fully enter the p...

The Independent 26 September reports that three anti- fracking activists have been jailed for halting a convoy of lorries in a four-day protest outside a shale drilling site.  Simon Roscoe Blevins, Richard Roberts, and Rich Loizou, are thought to be the first environmental demonstrators to receive custodial sentences in the UK since 1932.  Blevins and Roberts were each imprisoned for 16 months and Loizou was jailed for 15 months at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.  Further reports at The Guardian 26 September , Channel 4 News (video) and The Canary . As is so often the situation, sentencing remarks have not (yet) been published by the Judiciary and so our views are informed by media reports. The men were sentenced for the common law offence of  Public Nuisance. Nuisance: Private Nuisance is a tort (civil wrong) which developed at common law and the law was reviewed by the Supreme Court in Coventry v Lawrence [2014] UKSC 13 and a good article on the case by Davi...

The Essex Police Federation reports - " Man ordered to pay just £50 after spitting blood in officer's face " - Daily Express 26 September .  An Essex Police Officer who had blood spat in his face during a ‘disgusting’ assault as he made an arrest has hit out at the leniency the courts showed to his attacker.   PC Rhys Linge says his assailant, who was ordered to pay him £50 in compensation, will ‘feel like he’s got away with it’ and that he and his colleagues are feeling increasingly let down by the courts." The officer had been called out to assist colleagues dealing with reports of a man damaging property.  The officers managed to get the man under control, and administered first aid to him, as he had sustained a face injury which was bleeding heavily.  As he was read the details of why he was being arrested he screamed out and sprayed some blood into the air.   PC Linge asked him not to spit as blood was continuing to drip into his mouth from...

If you book a flight planned to depart after 29 March 2019 then do not be surprised to find a clause in the contract such as "subject to the regulatory environment allowing” the flight to take place.  On how air operators may seek to limit their liability see The Guardian 4 October 2018 . There have been warnings for a considerable time that Brexit could result in international flights being unable to operate - please see post 19 July 2018 - Brexit and Civil Aviation .  In that post I noted the UK government position regarding civil aviation as set out in the White Paper - The future relationship between the UK and the EU - and also included an overview of the existing Civil Aviation Regulatory system. The EU issued Brexit Preparedness Notices addressing numerous sectors including Air Transport and Aviation Safety and see the EU Commission's Air Transport Notice 11th December 2017.    Today, the government issued further documents in its series " How to prepare i...

Updated 10 October Scotland's Court of Session (Inner House) has ruled that it can make a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the question of whether notification under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) may be unilaterally withdrawn by the State which gave the notice.  Government arguments to the contrary were dismissed. Any Wightman MSP v Secretary of State for Exiting the EU [2018] CSIH 62 The petitioners, who include members of the Scottish, United Kingdom and European Parliaments, seek a declarator specifying: “whether, when and how the notification...can unilaterally be revoked”. The legal question, which the petitioners wish answered definitively, is whether the notification can be revoked in advance of the expiry of the two year period; with the effect that the UK would remain in the EU. The petitioners maintain that such an answer can only be given by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).  They therefore seek a reference to the ...

Dinner at Felsenreitschule With just under 190 days to go until Brexit Day - 11 pm on 29 March 2019 - the Prime Minister attended an Informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Salzburg, Austria.  The meeting, held mainly on 20 September, discussed Internal Security, Migration and, in EU27 format, Brexit. Leaders concentrated their discussions on three aspects of Brexit: the need to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, the future relationship and the organisation of the final phase of Brexit talks. The outcome of the meeting can only be described as embarrassing for the Prime Minister personally.  The heart was ripped out of the Chequers Proposal.  Much more crucially, the likelihood of a "No Deal" Brexit increased with immensely serious consequences for the UK both economically and politically. The end of conference statement by the European Council President (Mr Donald Tusk) may be read HERE .   Mr Tusk stated: This post meeting statement certain...