Crimial

Good character as mitigation

What is good character?

As far as the criminal courts are concerned, a person of good character is usually someone without convictions or cautions recorded against them. It is of particular relevance in a ...

Encrochat

A vast number of cases are awaiting a criminal trial that will rely, to a greater or lesser extent, on the admissibility of communications made via the supposedly highly encrypted Encrochat service.

The Court of Appeal has...

Success in the Magistrates Court for the Criminal Department

Our client was charged with a common assault against a relative of his ex partner.

We were able to arrange a voluntary interview for him rather than an arrest where he was represented by Peter Haney and he was able to give...

Police find girl,14, with axe in Newsham Park – Louise Bauress defends

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed to have found the axe in bushes while in the park with friends and did not know it was an offense to have the weapon.

She attended a voluntary interview where she a...

Custody Time Limits & Young Defendants – MOJ exempt children from extended custody time limits

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the government introduced changes to the custody time limit regulations that extended the custody time limits in the Crown Court by two months to address ongoing delays in the crim...

Firearms – New sentencing guidelines from January 2021

Eight new guidelines have been published for Firearms offences following an earlier consultation. The guidelines will come into force on 1 January 2021.

What are sentencing guidelines?

Did you know that e-scooters fall within the definition of a motor vehicle? You would not be alone if you said no. Due to the growing popularity of e-scooters and general ignorance in respect of the laws governing them, the Metropolitan Police have issued an open letter to r...

Surveillance Society – Facial Recognition -Court of Appeal Puts Brakes on Police Scheme

Surveillance Society – Facial Recognition -Court of Appeal Puts Brakes on Police Scheme

Several police forces have been using facial recognition technology to detect suspects. Cameras placed in public plac...