Introduction Private Prosecutions are currently an important topic, mainly due to a series of English Court cases that have been dubbed “the largest miscarriage of justice in English legal history” (to which I will return). I started to research their origin, thinking it was just another boring detail in history, it turns out they represent […]
The Post Office Horizon Scandal has taken over much of my free time, and spare money. Although I have no Standing in this or these cases I hope the sheer Injustice of it will provoke reform in the English Criminal Justice System. To recap there are hundreds of British Sub-postmasters who were prosecuted and in
A very difficult question is just exactly what is the difference between the American and British Constitution? This should be an easy question but as they say – the devil is in the details. The American constitution (US Constitution) is a well known and a published document. It is not secret, its meaning of course
Introduction When suspects are interviewed by police or the CPS they may be told that DNA gathered at the scene identifies them. Usually they are asked “why was your DNA found at the crime scene?” They are presented with a near certainty that the “gold standard” evidence will convict them. But how accurate is forensic
My Comments on Justice Pitman‘s Order Recently there have been a couple of outrageous uses of a Private Prosecution in the USA. In a previous Blog entry I mentioned that the US States had inherited them as a part of English Common Law. Upon independence, States had the option of picking or choosing existing Law
While reading an important Massachusetts Appeal (COMMONWEALTH vs. DONTE HENLEY) which is available here. I was distracted by, what I thought, was an amusing issue. The case itself is tragic; kids wanting to shoot each other because they are in different “gangs”. I will return to the case proper as it has important privacy issues
The Reg and Carole McCartney tweeted about a New Jersey DNA case which I found very interesting because it intersected with a number of issues I’m working on at the moment. The case is about using DNA forensics to test a weapon that was allegedly thrown away by a murder suspect. A weapon was recovered
New Jersey DNA Case: State of New Jersey v. Corey Pickett Read More »
I have an interest in American (US) and English Law, particularly the history thereof. One particularly difficult aspect to this is terminology as it is often bound up in the respective histories. Terminology was probably consistent up to the Commonwealth era but then it started to diverge, which is probably to be expected. The problem
Introduction The Justice Select Committee had been requested by the CCRC to investigate the use and safety of Private Prosecutions in England. This is now one of their current inquiries. The background to this inquiry is the referral of a number of Subpostmasters. On July 7th there was a public evidence gathering session. This session
During the American Revolutionary War, the Patriots in Boston formed a Committee of Safety to organize the campaign against the Crown. The Committee was known to Thomas Gage. The Boston Committee of Safety is the most notable. To my modern eyes the use of the word Safety leaves me somewhat bemused. Today it is more of an