Skip to main content

Fracking protesters ~ sentences were manifestly excessive

The three men convicted of public nuisance in connection with their protest against "fracking" at a Cuadrilla site near Preston have had their sentences of imprisonment quashed.

Whilst The Guardian reports that the men "walked free" this is not strictly accurate.   They are out of prison but they remain convicted.  The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) held that their sentences were "manifestly excessive" and that community sentences with a significant amount of unpaid work would have been appropriate.  Given that the men have been in prison for three weeks, the court substituted conditional discharges for 2 years.

A conditional discharge has the effect specified by the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 section 13.  Then three men would be well advised not to commit any further offence within the 2 year period because, if they do, the court may deal with them, for the offence for which the order was made, in any way in which it could deal with them if they had just been convicted by or before that court of that offence.

From the outset, these sentences appeared to be excessive (post 27 September).  There is a further question relating to an appearance of bias on the part of the judge who sentenced the men (post October 2018).  The point was raised in the Court of Appeal when Kirsty Brimelow QC (for the men) said that there "is sufficient evidence here to raise apparent bias, in particular we rely on the letter written by his sister in support of fracking in 2014. That letter was orchestrated by Cuadrilla.”   The Lord Chief Justice did not accept this as grounds in the appeal saying that the issue needed further investigation and a response from Altham.

It is reported that the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) has received a complaint regarding HHJ Robert Altham which will be considered in accordance with the relevant rules and procedures.

The vast majority of judicial complaints relate to Justices of the Peace and complaints against professional judges are relatively rare - see JCIO here.

The Court of Appeal will hand down reasons for its decision at a later date.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Fastest Way To Lose Weight For Women

Have you been looking for the fastest way to shed pounds for girls however have come up empty handed? Is there a reason why girls have exclusive questions and issues than guys with regard to health? There is a lot incorrect information and contradictions in the health enterprise that it is able to make your head spin. We are going to address the ones very problems and get proper to the point. You want to lose weight the healthy way and also you want it fast. Let's jump proper in! 1)Fasting 1-2 times every week Don't fear approximately "ravenous" yourself or wondering if your frame will cross into "hunger mode." This is one in all the biggest myths of the diet and health industry. Fasting for a 24 hour period 1-2 instances per week is a completely healthful and useful way to lose fats. Fasting offers the digestive machine a break whilst creating a big caloric deficit this is needed to lose the extra pounds. Fasting has also been related to assuaging health tr...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Do You Get Lean? Start Eating Functionally

 Now, I like most of the people enjoy a chunk of ingesting out, specially breakfasts and even takeaways now and then and these ingredients can be included into your upkeep diet in moderation depending to your interest degree and fitness situation, however on the subject of achieving your goal within the first area a disciplined strategy is required. The manner to consume to get lean is knowing the GI/GL cost of the ingredients you eat and the way those impact the glycogen stores in your muscle groups and liver, to get lean you want to lower those shops so that you can enter the fat burning sector. So going into this you want to have your desires clean, you are trying to lose body fat, you want to be leaner and it's going to take discipline and effort, human beings that strive to tell you in any other case are possibly looking to kid you into shopping for their merchandise or some thing on the premise that it's the clean way. Now it's handiest human nature to are seeking ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tips For Women Trying to Lose Body Fat

  Most dieters understand the physical venture of seeking to shed pounds, however many dieters forget the psychological struggles ahead. Below are  guidelines for women trying to lose body fat. Don't Live By The Scale When beginning a new diet you need to put yourself for fulfillment, no longer failure. One way to improve your motivation and keep losing body fats is to area less emphasis on a weight scale. It's not unusual for dieters who've exercised continuously and feel great to lose motivation when they step on a scale. Losing frame fat, and dropping body weight are not the same aim. It's possible to lessen your body fat and advantage new muscle without dropping a unmarried pound of frame weight, due to the fact the moves offset one another. A fantastic action may be perceived as negative when that happens. You have much less body fat with greater muscle definition, however you view the development in a bad light due to the fact your frame weight is the same....
Post a Comment
Read more