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All posts by mlcleaver

Term Time Holidays – 3 Key Points

In a major decision today on the subject of term time holidays for children the Supreme Court held that the concept of ‘regular attendance’ should be applied strictly and at the discretion of the headteacher. In this bonus episode we look at the three key

Charlie Gard Case Heading to the Supreme Court

The legal wranglings surrounding the fate of nine-month old Charlie Gard are now beginning to approach their conclusion when the Supreme Court will hear an emergency proceeding next week. On one side the Great Ormond Street Hospital will argue that Charlie’s life support should be

Paterson Receives 15 Year Jail Term

A breast surgeon who carried out wholly unnecessary operations on patients has been jailed today for 15 years. Ian Paterson apparently showed no remorse whatsoever during the trial for the countless victims who had his full trust and confidence. The exact motives remain unclear but

R v Docherty [2016] UKSC 62

Docherty was convicted in a criminal trial and was considered to be a ‘dangerous offender’. He was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection (IPP) under the old sentencing regime of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 but argued he should have been sentenced under the new

R v Golds [2016] UKSC 61

This criminal law case revolved around the interpretation of the phrase ‘substantially impaired’ in the context of a murder case and the purported diminished responsibility of the defendant. The underlying issue goes much deeper however and addresses the role of judges and juries in trials.

R v Mitchell (Northern Ireland) [2016] UKSC 55

What happens when the prosecution wants to prove that a defendant has a propensity towards violence during a trial? After a rather vague direction in this Northern Irish case the Supreme Court had to decide how propensity works and the burden of proof required from