Angela Wrightson, open justice and ‘piling needles on haystacks’

by Julie Doughty | Apr 12, 2016 | Cases, Notorious

BY JUDITH TOWNEND. ORIGINALLY POSTED AT THE JUSTICE GAP. Thanks to The Justice Gap for permision to re-post here. Unlike the two children who murdered the toddler James Bulger in 1993, and the teenage boy who killed secondary school teacher Ann Maguire in 2014, the...

Should the standard of proof for child sexual abuse be lowered so that more of those accused can be tried and convicted in the criminal courts?

by Louise Tickle | Jan 25, 2016 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Notorious

Should the standard of proof for child sexual abuse be lowered so that more of those accused can be tried and convicted in the criminal courts? This seemed to be the argument being made by Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, on the Today programme...

Four-year-old boy will be taken away from parents with learning difficulties because social workers say he’s ‘not getting the cuddles he needs’

by Lucy R | Jan 19, 2016 | Cases, Notorious

The Daily Mail has reported a story today with the headline “Four-year-old boy will be taken away from parents with learning difficulties because social workers say he’s ‘not getting the cuddles he needs’”. It is a story arising from the judgment of the...

Fields v Fields – A judgment dealing with transparency issues

by Lucy R | Aug 2, 2015 | Analysis, Cases, Explanation, Notorious

This judgment of Mr Justice Holman was published in June. You can read it in full on BAILII here : Fields v Fields (Rev 1) [2015] EWHC 1670 (Fam) (04 June 2015). It is a decision made in financial remedy proceedings (sorting out the finances after separation of a...

RIGHTS INFO – the #50cases project

by Paul M | Jun 26, 2015 | Analysis, Cases, Notorious, Transparency News

We believe that transparency in family justice relies on recognition of human rights. Essentially, achieving transparency in a way that balances everyone’s rights (including the rights of children) can be explained through three important Articles in the European...

When journalists ignore source material it is public debate which pays the price

by Lucy R | Jun 23, 2015 | Analysis, Cases, Explanation, Notorious

Christopher Booker wrote about the case of Ethan Williams in The Telegraph this weekend, in an article entitled : When judges defy instinct, it is children who pay the price – We were presented with two flatly opposing views of the story of Rebecca Minnock, who...