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Last week the Hillsborough trial involving ex-police officer David Duckenfield ended without reaching a conclusion; a number of papers reported that there was a ‘hung jury’ – so, what does that mean? In an ideal world, a jury will reach a clear conclusion by either convicting or acquitting the defendant. In a case with 12 … Continued

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued new guidance to prosecutors as to which offences may be committed regarding “child-like” sex dolls after more than 200 seizures by Customs Officers in the last two years. The potential offences are: 1) Importing obscene articles. 2) Publishing an article for gain or not, or having an article for … Continued

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the case of R v Max Clifford, the disgraced celebrity PR guru who was convicted in 2014 of a number of sexual offences and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. Clifford died in 2017, so why did the appeal proceed? Section 44A of The Criminal Appeal Act … Continued

The murder of James Bulger in 1993 shocked everyone. That the killers who committed such a violent crime were only ten years of age was astounding. Many people, rightly, felt they should be punished to the full extent of the law. But some people think that the punishment should go further. As a result, Jon … Continued

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 confers a power to make regulations if an ‘emergency’ has occurred or is about to occur. In other words, a power to declare a state of emergency and make regulations to deal with it. The reason that this is currently interesting is that the definition of emergency within the Act … Continued

HMRC is reported to be investigating alleged violations of a new criminal offence, part of the crackdown on money laundering, for the first time. A freedom of information request made by law firm Greenberg Taurig revealed there are five current criminal investigations. The Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduced the new offence of failing to prevent … Continued

The Home Secretary will this week hold an urgent meeting with police chiefs to discuss the recent rise in knife crime. This follows another week of senseless killings and the publication of figures that show the number of people aged 16 and under being stabbed rose by 93% between 2016 and 2018. Channel 4 found, … Continued

Individuals who are victims of domestic abuse can often become criminalised when challenging their abuser and trying to report the abuse to the authorities. The line between victim and perpetrator becomes blurred; When police attend domestic disturbances and an injured party makes an allegation, they are duty bound to arrest the alleged ‘perpetrator’. This is … Continued

  In straitened financial circumstances, it can be tempting to consider purchasing counterfeit money. While the price of such ‘currency’ fluctuates widely, it is often as low as 25% of the face value, making it a tempting proposition. State currency producers spend millions each year on devising and improving security safeguards, and that counterfeit currency … Continued

The short answer is: maybe.  Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a defence to specific criminal charges where it is shown that they were committed under a compulsion due to slavery or exploitation (for over-18s) or as a direct consequence of slavery or exploitation (for under-18s). The latter test, for children, is … Continued

In a recent case His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson QC was faced with the task of sentencing 3 offenders for their part in causing the death of 4 people, and seriously injuring 3 others. The main offender Elliot Bower received a total prison sentence of 11 1/2 years. The offence of causing death by dangerous … Continued