Recently in Criminal law Category

The Crown Prosecution Service yesterday dramatically revealed that they would not oppose the appeal of Sam Hallam against murder charges which have seen him serve seven years in prison.

He was told on Wednesday that he would be released from prison with immediate effect.

Mr Hallam, 24, was jailed in 2005 for the murder of Essayas Kassahun, a trainee chef. He was just 17 years old at the time, and stood accused of being part of a baseball-bat-wielding gang who attacked and killed Mr Kassahun in East London.

A woman who was abused on the social-network site Facebook has launched a landmark legal action against her tormentors in a case which could have wide ramifications for online conduct.

Nicola Brookes is taking legal action against Facebook to reveal the details of those who posted abuse on their site by setting up a fake profile using her name and details and using the rogue site to send explicit messages to underage girls, prompting taunts that she was a paedophile.

If successful, she has said that she will use the information to launch a private prosecution against her online tormentors, referred to in computer jargon as 'trolls'.

A Russian oligarch is suing the renowned auction house Christie's after claiming that they sold him a 'fake' painting for £1.7m in 2005.

The painting in question is Odalisque and was believed to be the work of Russian artist Boris Kustodiev. The painting was bought at an auction in 2005 by Viktor Vekselberg, 56, who is head of Renova Group and worth an estimated $12bn.

Counsel for Mr Vekselberg, Henry Legge QC, claims that the painting cannot be by the artist as the signature on it was signed several years after his death, and as a result they believe that their client is due a refund.

The solicitor general for Scotland, Lesley Thomson QC, has announced that a review of bail is under way, which it is hoped will help ensure that public safety from offenders remains at the "top of the agenda" north of the border.

The review will focus on bail applications in cases involving offences such as stalking and domestic abuse where victims may remain at risk if bail is granted.

Thomson announced the review at an event to mark National Stalking Awareness Day at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

Dame Jo Williams, the chair of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the body which regulates healthcare provision in the UK, has launched a stinging attack on the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley for diverting resources away from front-line services after he ordered a comprehensive audit of abortion clinics in the UK.

The move came after the Telegraph exposed malpractice by a number of abortion clinics, who were offering women the chance to have an abortion, purely because the sex of the child was not what they were hoping for.

The Health Secretary responded by ordering the CQC to conduct unannounced inspections of more than 300 clinics in England and Wales, a move which Dame Jo Williams said impacted on the planned regulatory activity of the CQC, and is estimated to have cost around £1m.

Sarah's law, the legislation which allows parents to request information from police about sexual offences committed by adults living in their local area may have helped save up to 200 children according to Home Office figures released today.

The law is a year old today, coming into force on 4^th April 2011. To mark the occasion, the Home Secretary, Theresa May revealed detailed figures of the use of the law by parents and police since its inclusion on the statute book.

The figures reveal that some 1600 enquiries were made by worried parents to police, from which 900 were converted into formal applications. Following investigation by police, some 160 disclosures were made relating to child sex offences, along with 58 other crimes.

Drug campaigners have today backed calls from senior police officers who have warned that new laws to ban so-called 'legal highs' will not be as effective as the Government hopes.

At present, the government strategy to tackle legal highs is to place them on lists of banned substances, a move which experts say won't work.

'Legal highs' are drugs which offer users similar effects to banned substances but avoid punishment by having altered chemical structures. They are continually evolving, and as they are not illegal can be sold freely over the internet.

The UK Government has confirmed that the law which allows possession of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs will not be changed in time for the London Olympics.

The announcement raises the spectre that athletes could bring banned substances with them to London, where authorities would be powerless to intervene.

The legal anomaly has come to light after it was revealed that UK law is in this regard quite different from the law on possession of anabolic steroids in other former Olympic host countries, including Australia, Canada and China.

A spate of recent cases has highlighted the disturbing amount of racism on social networking sites such as Twitter, prompting celebrities and footballers to quit the medium and sparking a debate on how racism can be tackled online.

Recent cases include that of a student who was jailed after posting a racist comment about the collapsed Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba. Another similar case involved a student at Newcastle University. Joshua Cryer, 21, admitted using the social networking site to post racist abuse about the former Liverpool striker, Stan Collymore.

The Crown Prosecution Service is using a variety of laws to bring these foul-mouthed bigots to justice. Joshua Cryer was charged under section 127 of the Communications Act, for sending grossly offensive messages, including racist taunts, to Collymore. He was sentenced to a two-year community order, 240 hours community service and ordered to pay £150 costs.

Tony Nicklinson, the 57-year-old man suffering from 'locked-in syndrome' has won the first stage of his High Court case, after a judge ruled yesterday against a Ministry of Justice application to have the case struck out.

The MoJ had stated in a preliminary 'strike out' application that a case such as this, which is seeking a dramatic change in the law to allow a defence of necessity for a murder charge, should not be heard by a court, but rather should rightfully be debated in Parliament.

However, lawyers acting for Mr Nicklinson, who describes his life as 'miserable and demeaning', successfully argued that his case should be heard on its very particular set of facts. They claim that this would not open the flood-gates, and instead would allow courts in future to decide such harrowing cases on their individual merits.

The progress of the case of Tony Nicklinson, who was left severely disabled by a stroke and now wishes to be helped to die, will be decided by a High Court judge later today.

Mr Justice Charles must rule on an application from Ministry of Justice lawyers to have the case 'struck out' before argument has been heard, on the basis that such a change in the law should be made by Parliament and not the courts.

Mr Nicklinson, 57, lives in Melksham, Wiltshire with his wife. He suffered a catastrophic stroke in 2005 which has left him with 'locked-in syndrome', a medical condition which has left him unable to move any muscles in his body apart from his eyelids. As a consequence Mr Nicklinson relies on round-the-clock care and can only communicate by blinking.

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday committed the UK to the Council of Europe convention on violence against women. The convention aims to criminalise both verbal and non-verbal or physical sexual harassment. The signing event was held to mark International Women's Day.

The convention has now been signed by 18 countries, including Germany, France and the Ukraine. The convention includes pledges which commit signatories to enacting measures to criminalise or impose sanctions for "unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment".

Other measures outlaw 'psychological violence' which suggests that bullying could also be covered under new legislation.

David Cameron is today set to announce a change in law which will see stalking become a criminal offence in its own right for the first time.

Although police have some powers to act already, at present they must wait for another crime to be committed before they can intervene.

The state of the present law on the matter means that at present it is estimated that only 2% of those who engage in stalking activity are jailed. The maximum custodial sentence for someone convicted of harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 at the moment is six months in prison.

The Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the Government will delay the roll-out of Clare's Law, contrary to reports that it could be implemented in 2012.

May announced to MPs yesterday that a consultation on the new law has raised fears that it could be abused by people to 'spy' on others.

The new law will allow women the opportunity to request information from the police relating to the domestic violence past of their partners.

The Home Office has announced that legal changes will be trialled that will allow women to request information from the police relating to any domestic violence committed by their current partners.

The change in the law has been called 'Clare's Law' after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her former partner in Manchester in 2009.

The sad case of Clare Wood has been particularly highlighted as she had made several complaints about her former boyfriend George Appleton to police. Mr Appleton went on to kill Ms Wood, and then later hanged himself.