All posts in the Sentencing category

R v Druce – why the truth alone is not always enough

The judgment of the Court of Appeal in R v Druce ([2013] EWCA 40) delivered on 31st January is a stark lesson in how confiscation proceedings can go badly wrong for an ill-prepared defendant.

Post conviction in serious fraud cases

Last week 25 Bedford Row hosted a seminar focusing on ‘Post Conviction in Serious Fraud Cases’. Paul Hynes QC presented his thoughts on the latest developments in money laundering and the hard-hitting effect that the addition of such a charge has on sentencing, and then Geoffrey Payne considered the recent key cases in confiscation.

One year on: how well did the courts deal with the 2011 riots?

Last week eight men were acquitted of the murder of three men who died in Birmingham during the 2011 riots. This draws to a close a year in which the courts have been forced to deal with an almost unprecedented wave of violent, theft-related and public order cases. So what can we conclude from the way in which the courts dealt with the aftermath of the disorder?

According to the Ministry of Justice, by 15 June 2012 3,051 people (of an estimated 15,000 participants) had been brought before the courts in relation to the riots. Interestingly, it does not appear that any prosecutions were brought for the substantive offence of riot; the highest percentage of charges were for either violent disorder or robbery, followed by burglary, criminal damage and theft. There were also charges for incitement to riot, notably those cases involving social networking websites. A charge of riot requires 12 or more participants, rather than the three required for a violent disorder charge. There is also the added hurdle of the requirement of unlawful violence for a common purpose. Overcoming this final hurdle may have been the main issue for the CPS.

New guidelines for dangerous dogs offences – barking up the right tree?

The law relating to dangerous dogs has garnered substantial media attention in recent years, stemming from a spate of high profile and harrowing attacks on individuals, many involving young children. With each new case, calls for reform of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 have become louder and more persistent. That statute, introduced rapidly and pandering to a public frenzy arising from pitbull attacks, has been widely criticised for banning specific dog breeds rather than creating robust offences which would adequately punish irresponsible dog ownership. The Government, however, has been slow to respond to calls for enhanced regulation and tougher sanctions. Last week saw the first legal fruits of numerous consultations with the publication of new sentencing guidelines. This is not the only development in the pipeline as the Government gears up to close the loophole which allows dog owners whose animals attack a person while lawfully on private property to escape prosecution.

On camera – televising criminal proceedings

Television cameras were today allowed to record the sentencing of David Gilroy in the High Court in Edinburgh. This is the first time that sentencing in a UK court has been filmed for broadcast the same day – normally proceedings in Scotland are only occasionally filmed for documentaries to be broadcast weeks or months later and are heavily edited by lawyers involved in the case. Filming in most English courts has been banned since 1925.

Insider dealing v insider trading

This month the headline grabbing case for the FSA was that of Ian Hannam, the former banker at JP Morgan, who was fined £450,000 for relaying inside information about his client Heritage Oil to a prospective client in 2008. Hannam’s case is one of several, including David Einhorn and Nicholas Kyprios, which over the course of the last few months alone have been publically paraded by the FSA in order to demonstrate their stringent enforcement policy. Whilst those who work in the finance and banking sector can be left in little doubt that the FSA will vigorously pursue individuals who they believe may have engaged in market abuse or insider dealing, the threat in reality is that of a civil penalty rather than a criminal sanction.

Although the FSA has undoubtedly stepped up several gears in respect of its criminal prosecution of insider dealing, this increased effort has yet to be rewarded with the level of convictions that are being enjoyed by prosecutors in the US. Since 2009 the US Attorney’s Offices in New York alone have prosecuted 66 people for insider trading and have obtained 57 convictions and guilty pleas. In contrast, as of February 2012, the FSA had secured only 11 convictions.

Clamping down on scrap metal thieves

Following a dramatic rise in prices and a spate of incidents which have seen rail networks disrupted, church roofs pillaged and towns plunged into darkness, the scrap metal theft “epidemic” has been thrust into the spotlight. The issue has even made it into an episode of Eastenders – a sure sign of topicality! But why scrap metal? Simply put, scrap metal is hard to identify and can be sold for cash (at ever-increasing prices), making it an attractive category of stolen merchandise. It may seem like a niche offence but metal theft is estimated to cost the country £1 billion annually, with more than 1,000 offences taking place every week.

Blagging and the DPA – is it time to make offences imprisonable?

Despite it being almost 10 years since the start of Operation Motorman, and the subsequent furore which lead to the closure of the News of the World, it is still not possible for a person found guilty of illegally obtaining and disclosing personal information to be imprisoned for that offence. However, strong words from the Information Commissioner’s Office this week suggest that this may be ripe for change.

Does causing death by careless driving always mean prison?

The modern road safety regime means that, even if you haven’t touched a drop of alcohol, carelessness behind the wheel resulting in death could land you with a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment. That’s the effect of the death by careless driving offence Parliament introduced in 2006. But what aggravating factors will a court take into account when sentencing careless drivers?

Mandatory and minimum sentences – time to review their role in the criminal justice system?

A comprehensive review of the role of mandatory and minimum sentences within the criminal justice system is required in light of a report published this month by the Homicide Review Advisory Group and the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s recent announcement regarding new sentencing regimes.