“The case was concerned with the development of Automatic Facial Recognition technology for the prevention and detection of crime and the court reviewed, specifically, the adequacy of the current legal framework. The judicial review claim focused on certain AFR deployments in the course of a pilot project which commenced in mid-2017. It prompted the Divisional Court to consider the police’s common law powers as well as the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention, the data protection legislation and the public sector equality requirement ...”

ADDED Monday 25^th January 2021

“The case concerned the approach to be taken to prosecution applications to adduce a defendant’s convictions, where those convictions are very old but where it is nevertheless said that they demonstrate propensity. The court considered the respective roles of the judge and the jury in relation to bad character evidence of this sort, emphasising the two-stage assessment by the judge of capacity to demonstrate propensity and of likely prejudice. And their Lordships also took the opportunity to reiterate the guidance recently given by the Court of Appeal about the content of sentencing remarks …”

ADDED Wednesday 20^th January 2021

“The case concerned the true construction of the provisions within Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 that create the money laundering offences. In particular, it focused on the point at which property becomes criminal property for the purpose of the different types of prohibited dealing there set out. It is fair to say that the appeal rested on a technicality and bore no relation to the merits of the case but, as the court itself recognised, that is no bar to a successful appeal if the point is sound …”

ADDED Monday 18^th January 2021

“The BBC applied for judicial review of a production order, relating to a journalist’s written note of a pre-broadcast interview conducted with an alleged victim of sexual abuse, prior to him being interviewed live by Victoria Derbyshire on her flagship programme. The central issue was whether material obtained by way of a PACE production order must be likely to be immediately admissible in evidence, i.e. admissible on its face and without more, rather than just contingently admissible: subject to the occurrence of later events after it has been obtained, in particular, developments in the course of a trial ...”

ADDED Friday 15^th January 2021

“The case brought into sharp focus once again the extent to which our system of jury trial depends on the members of the jury, individually and collectively, to comply with their oaths and affirmations, to follow the legal directions of the trial judge and above all, to try cases only on the evidence. It is a pretty stark reminder, if one were needed, of the ever-present risk that individual jurors may conduct their own inquiries and researches, especially online. It provides helpful practical guidance, in the event of a breach, as to how trial judges can go about putting the genie back into the bottle. And it should also serve as a salutary warning to jurors and prospective jurors about the life-changing consequences they face if they fall prey to temptation and flout the rules prohibiting internet research …”

ADDED Thursday 14^th January 2021

“The case considered the principles to be applied when sentencing a corporation for major health and safety breaches and also included guidance as to the length of skeleton arguments in criminal appeals ...”

ADDED Friday 8^th January 2021

“The case made clear that, where a defendant is charged with fraud by failing to disclose information, it must be shown that he or she was indeed under a legal duty to disclose the information in question ...”

ADDED Monday 4^th January 2021

“The case related to confiscation proceedings following conviction for breach of a planning enforcement notice and is a salutary reminder of the importance of drafting charges so as to reflect the full extent of the criminality alleged ...”

ADDED Thursday 31^st December 2020

“The case explains the practical effect of a relatively recent change in the legislative provisions governing the joinder and severance of counts in an indictment ...”

ADDED Wednesday 30^th December 2020

“The court had to consider the lawfulness of the Justice Secretary’s policy on when it is permissible for him to decline to follow a Parole Board recommendation that a prisoner be moved to an open prison ...”

ADDED Tuesday 29^th December 2020