Court cuts

The Ministry of Justice want to save £1 billion over the next 3 years - a lot of which may come from the Court Service budget.

What do you think the impact of this will be? A lot of people see trouble ahead...

Listen to a podcast on this here...

Bail

Have a look at CJS Online for a good (if basic) explanation of the bail process. It's a good site for simple explanations of the criminal process generally.

Gratuitous celebrity link: here's a pic of Naomi Campbell attending a bail hearing in May this year! (She was granted bail but ended up with 200 hours community service for assault - no one is above the law!)

Also, have a look at the Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 - this gave the prosecution the right to appeal against a decision to grant a defendant bail for the first time.

Get more young people in court... as Magistrates

So says Helen Woodward of Bury Magistrates Court. Article here.

Thanks to Nabeela for this one!

Must see legal TV...

BBC2, Fridays, 9pm. The Barristers. Download episode 1 for BBC iPlayer here!

Have a look at the fantastic website for the programme - loads of video clips from trainee barristers and experts for you to watch.

By the way - interesting radio discussion here about why the Bar is so male-dominated...

On a different note, there are proposals afoot for welsh-speaking juries to be selected in Wales if the defendant requests it... listen to a discussion on this here...

Police powers self-test!

Have a go at this great exercise on police powers from St Joseph's school on Tyneside - great for revising detention of suspects at the police station...

42 days - ace speech by Diane Abbott

(If video does not display click here for a transcript).

Is she right? Let me know what you think - make a comment!

Is the law tough enough as it is? The government and some tories think not!

For more on the government's (now doomed?) proposals and an analysis of the position in other countries have a read of this and this...

Law at Uni? "BBB" Universities...

I have complied a list of the 10 best universities at which to read law which have entry criteria of 340 points or below, based on a student getting 3 Bs at A2 and one AS level at grade C. They are ranked in order of UCAS points required. I have left out Unis a really long way away like Portsmouth and Swansea and cherry-picked a bit. To form your own view have a look here.

Hull (331 UCAS points and Officially Very Good because Mr Howells went there)
Essex (330 UCAS points)
Aberystwyth (318)
Man Met (318)
Keele (312 )
Nottingham Trent (299)
Leeds Met (289)
Sheffield Hallam (283)
Central Lancashire (276)
Liverpool John Moores (267)


Happy hunting... and AS students, start having a think about your options and the grades you need!

Powers of Arrest

For information about Powers of Arrest have a look here or for more detail here.

The five powers you need to know for the exam are

• Section 24 of PACE (as amended by SOCPA 2005);


• S24A PACE (Citizen's arrest);


• Arrest for Breach of the Peace;


• Arrest under s46A of PACE (1984) for breach of bail conditions; and


• Arrest under warrant - s1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act (1980)

The various Codes of Practice under PACE are here. Have a look at Code G on arrest.

Thinking point: Have a read of the Daily Mirror article here. Do the police's powers of arrest under PACE now go too far?

For wider commentary on the increase in the power of the state over the individual, read this article by Henry Porter. Is he right?

The end for Guantanamo?

Story here about what Obama plans to do about Guantanamo.

Now that's change we can believe in... not sure about the proposal to set up "special" courts though...

A little extra...

A2 students, there are some good PDF files accessible online from the University of London. Save them and stick them in your file for some extra detail on cases!

Links as follows:

Offer and Acceptance

Consideration

Intention to Create Legal Relations

WARNING: These are not A Level texts - they are aimed at Uni students but may help you with an overview of topics.

Stop and Search... know your rights!

For a good overview of your rights if the police want to stop and search you, have a look at Liberty's guide here.

The Home Office also have guidance on it here, or have a look at the West Midlands Police's guidance here.

It's also worth reading an excellent guide published by the Home Office called "Stop and Search Explained - how police powers work in the community". And have a look at this video for a variety of views on using stop and search!

Also, have a look at Code A which governs stop and search under PACE 1984 here.

It's interesting to note that despite the extensive powers available to the police under s60 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the government want to extend police powers to stop and search without a reason still further for 24 hour periods where they believe serious crime is being committed.

Is this a step too far? Have a look at the above article. Do you share David Cameron's confidence that it will not damage community relations? AS students - your views please! Make a comment below.

Everybody...

New video here from Amnesty International on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Good gallery about the making of it here as well - lots of famous actors involved including Emilia Fox (pictured).