Criminal Law

The Law Society, the agency that governs solicitors in England and Wales, has issued a report on the demise of criminal defence solicitors, specifically duty solicitor across the country. Analysis of the number of criminal defence solicitors in England and Wales has shown an alarming 37% fall in duty solicitors. In the past ten years,

Prisoners are being held on remand for years, while victims of crime are waiting up similar periods for their cases to be heard in court, the Telegraph reports. A record 16,200 people are presently imprisoned on remand without being tried or convicted. This is 16% of the total prison population – a 50-year high. The backlog of pending

Prisons are on course to run out of space by spring despite the early release of hundreds of offenders, ministers have been warned. Figures seen by The Telegraph show that only 550 spaces remain in male prisons, with 99.35 per cent of jail cells full to capacity, while 113 spaces are left in the women’s estate at 97 per

Dominic Raab has been accused of failing to take the concerns of criminal barristers in England and Wales seriously as the estimated number of cases delayed by their strike hit 2,000. Barristers once again joined picket lines across the country on Monday as the walkout over legal aid fees entered its second week. Speaking outside the Royal Courts

Hundreds of barristers have today begun open-ended action over legal aid funding that could see the criminal justice system slowly grind to a halt within weeks. Dozens of chambers have publicly declared they are adopting a policy of ‘no returns’ from today – withdrawing a longstanding gesture of goodwill in which barristers cover for colleagues

Whingeing about the weather is an ancient British tradition. So when a November cold snap combined with a crumbling court infrastructure, the sound of lawyers crying “we’re freezing” could be heard across the land. Dominic Raab, the lord chancellor, and his officials at the Ministry of Justice were inundated with complaints on Twitter flagging up

Just around the corner from where the Krays used to hold sway in east London’s Brick Lane there is an establishment called Alcotraz. Described as “London’s first immersive theatrical cocktail bar”, Alcotraz allows you to dress up in a prison uniform, get locked up in a cell, have a cocktail or two, and get your