News
Is Coronavirus going to be a ‘Get out of Jail’ Card?
‘No’ is the simple answer. However, it is more complicated than that. Before a prosecution is commenced, the Crown Prosecution Service must apply two distinct tests. The first is whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction; If not, the case does not proceed further. If there is sufficient evidence, the second question must be answered, namely...Read More
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Mitigation; what does the Court take into account?
Mitigation The dictionary definition of “to mitigate” is to lessen in force or intensity, to make less severe. Mitigation is the act of reducing how harmful, unpleasant or bad something is. It is something that causes the court to judge a crime to be less serious or to make a punishment less severe. There are obvious mitigating factors that most people know about. These include...Read More
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Death by dangerous driving and causation
In some instances, more than one person can be responsible for causing death by dangerous driving. An unusual case arose recently where the “driver” of a car which was stationary on the hard shoulder was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. What happened? “A” was the driver of the car on the hard shoulder. She was the designated driver taking her drunk friends’ home in...Read More
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Sentencing outside of the guidelines
Sentencing is a complex process. Consequently the courts are provided with guidelines by the Sentencing Council. These assist in determining the appropriate sentence for a wide, and ever-expanding, range of offences. The guidelines provide guidance on factors the court should take into account that may affect the sentence given. Different levels of sentence are set out based on the harm...Read More
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Expert evidence
Expert evidence is used to provide information to the court, which is likely to be outside of the knowledge of the magistrates, judge or jury. Opinion evidence can be given if the expert is qualified to provide such an opinion. Duty of an expert witness An expert is under a duty to help the court by giving opinion which is objective and unbiased in relation to matters within their expertise....Read More
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