Criminal Law

Minister admits LAA had no digital disaster recovery plan

The government did not have a digital disaster recovery plan in place for the Legal Aid Agency despite knowing since 2021 that the agency’s IT systems were vulnerable to attack, it has emerged. The agency’s systems were hacked on 31 December 2024, with the cyber attack detected during routine checks in April. The system was […]

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A move towards an authoritarian state’: what those with trial experience think of removing juries

David Lammy plans to cut the number of jury trials in England and Wales. A defendant, a victim, a barrister, a KC, a judge and a juror have concerns. ‘A move towards an authoritarian state’: what those with trial experience think of removing juries David Lammy plans to cut the number of jury trials in

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Labour MP issues plea to Lammy to scrap ‘stupid’ jury trial plan

A senior Labour MP has issued a plea to Justice Secretary David Lammy to scrap “stupid” plans to reduce the number of jury trials in England and Wales to cut court backlogs. Karl Turner told the BBC: “It’s undemocratic. It is not about reducing the backlog. It is untruthful to say that it is. David

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Prisoners in England and Wales could earn early release under Texas-style shake up

The government is considering a major overhaul of the prison system, where prisoners may need to earn their freedom through “good behaviour credits” rather than being automatically released after a set period. This approach follows a similar scheme in Texas, where prisoners can reduce the length of their sentences by earning credits for good behaviour

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Crown Court Backlog could hit 100,000 cases without radical overhaul

The backlog of cases in crown courts in England and Wales could hit 100,000 unless radical action is taken to overhaul the criminal justice system, a watchdog has said. Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said prosecutors’ caseloads were already beyond what had been seen before and he feared

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Magistrates sentencing powers to double again

The lord chancellor has announced that magistrates will have their sentencing powers increased, after a previous abandoned attempt by the last government  Shabana Mahmood MP confirmed the plans to allow magistrates to issue custodial sentences for up to 12 months for a single offence – a doubling of their current powers. The government claims the

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