US style murder charges in the UK today?

The proposed changes will introduce a three-tier system like that commonly seen by the British public on various American court dramas and sitcoms. There will be first-degree murder (mandatory life sentence), second degree murder (discretionary sentence) and manslaughter (with a maximum sentence of life).
The current law in the UK has been criticised for being unclear and lacking clarity in some cases and it is suggested that a three tier system will create a more easily understandable system as the seriousness of each case will be taken into account. However former Met Police Commissioner Lord Blair spoke on BBC Radio 4 and voiced his concern regarding explaining the differences between each tier to the public. The British public know the current system and many may not see any reason for change, holding opinions along the lines of ‘all murder is murder’ so why take into account the seriousness?
But how will these changes be brought in? The Law Commission recommended reform of homicide law six years ago and as yet no fundamental changes have been made to the system. It is unlikely that an overnight change of the law will happen and the government are planning a step by step change process. Will this lead to further confusion before we see the light at the end of the tunnel? And how long will it be before we can see the fruits of these proposals and learn whether change to the US system was the correct move for UK law? Only time will tell. These proposals have now been backed by two DPP’s; Barbara Mills QC and today by Keir Starmer QC.
Andrew Parker reckons that there will not be sufficient time or backing in parliament for this necessary and long overdue reform.

Travel in Europe?

Watch out if you have a tendency to speed in Europe. This follows agreement by EU countries to share vehicle and driving licence information. There will be a new computer system to trace errant motorists, who will then receive a fine and licence endorsement when they return home to the UK. All 27 EU countries are expected to have signed up by August 2011. It is called The European Car and Driving Licence Information System and has already received the support of the DVLA. Also, France is installing new traffic signal enforcement cameras throughout the country. Happy continental motoring!

Be Smart or be fined!

Be alert out there! Over 30 councils are using Smart cars with CCTV mast cameras and thus raising fines totalling over £8m. They are mainly parked near junctions and attempt to catch errant motorists using bus lanes or driving without due care and attention.
In the year which ended in March 2010, one hundred and eighty eight thousand motorists were caught this way. Revenue raising and the Big Brother culture?

Football violence

This firm has a long history of representing individuals and groups charged with football violence and similar matters. Our Mr Parker has attended police stations on these cases as far afield as Doncaster to Hereford. Indeed, he once represented ten fans from a lower division team who got arrested under the Public Order Act 1986 and after a lengthy Crown Court trial, 8 of the 10 defendants (who all stayed as our clients) were found not guilty.

We have experience of dealing with Banning Orders under Section 14(a) of the Football Spectators Act 1989 and we have had many calls to represent clients during the current World Cup. Most of these were under the Offences Against the Person Act 1961, Criminal Justice Act 1988 or Public Order Act 1986. Interestingly, most involved copious amounts of alcohol, which generally speaking is no defence in English law, as it leads to a self-induced state.

We have also used our facial mapping experts in group public order violence matters.

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Old Bailey Success

We recently acted for a client at the Old Bailey and we successfully argued that the police had breached the Codes of Practice by not correctly recording evidence and, in fairness, putting significant items to the suspect during his crucial recorded interview at the police station. Our client was found Not Guilty.

The magistrates/youth court can no longer grant bail to a defendant charged with murder. However, this does not apply to attempted murder and bail may still be granted in the crown court.

On a Driving Whilst Disqualified case in Croydon recently, our lawyer successfully contested the prosecution on the basis that the location of the alleged driving was not in law a ’road.’ M23LAW has had many cases in this area of law.

An update on imprisonment:

‘An update on imprisonment:

It costs around £45,000 a year to keep a youth in prison, £17,000 more than a place at Eton.

The Ministry of Justice admit that about 75% of children released from prison will reoffend within a year.

The prison population currently exceeds 85,000 people and the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has had the courage to face up to reality and suggest that we need to drastically reduce this overcrowding. Even if probably driven by economic necessity, I applaud this sea change in government thinking. Let’s see how it pans out in the next year.’

Motorbikes have 6,000 accidents a day in Britain

‘Motorbikes have 6,000 accidents a day in Britain and in the last month an incredible 10% of bikers have been involved in a crash.

One per cent of traffic is down to bikers but they account for fourteen per cent of road deaths and serious injuries. 472 were killed in 2009.

We at M23LAW recently attended a venue for bikers, in conjunction with the police Safer Roads campaign. Highways Agency Biker Safety Packs were handed out and free advice was given by our Motoring Law team.’