Irish republican Gerry Adams was subject to an interim custody order in 1973 but now seeks to challenge it on the basis of new evidence that suggests the order should have been signed by the Secretary of State. We discuss whether this is a mere
When Copeland was arrested for possessing small amounts of an explosive substance he wasn’t a political extremist or a terrorist but just a young man who has a keen interest in bombs. In this case the Supreme Court decides whether that is enough of a
Michael Stone is a loyalist terrorist who is currently behind bars for a range of politically-motivated crimes. The thirty year tariff on his sentence was due to expire in 2018 but this ignored the fact that he had been released for a period of time
Criminal record checks are an important way to protect children and vulnerable adults from being exposed to those with a history of criminal convictions but when those convictions are for minor offences committed years ago the system operates to stymie the career opportunities of many
Wrongful conviction cases and miscarriages of justice are always of great interest to the media as they provide a mystery while simultaneously highlighting failures within our criminal justice system. However not much is made of what happens once the conviction is overturned and the innocent
What should and should not be revealed about the subject of a criminal record certificate is a matter of a debate and requires a fine balancing act between the rights of the individual and the need to protect the public. In this case the Supreme
With the EU referendum and the election of Donald Trump in 2016 people on both sides of the Atlantic began asking serious questions about the state of the democratic process in the West. In this episode we explore the origins of that debate by looking
Funding terrorism has long been an offence even as the nature of terrorism has changed. The question that is being addressed in this case is what mental element (or mens rea) is required of the accused when it comes to this crime. Should we consider
What happens when a series of criminal offences are committed over a period when a new piece of legislation comes into force? Do they fall under the new rules or the old ones? The job of the Supreme Court was made especially difficult in this
Today I had the chance to listen to an interesting podcast episode from Zero Books with law professor Heidi Matthews. This caught my eye because in law we often talk about the idea of consent but the legal definition does not necessarily marry up with