Let’s be clear: “Right to die” and “Withdrawal of treatment” are not the same

by Paul M | Sep 24, 2017 | Cases, Comment, Court of Protection, FCReportingWatch

The recent judgment of Mr Justice Peter Jackson that doctors and relatives do not always need to consult the court before withdrawing medical treatment from a terminally ill patient has been reported under headlines labelling it a “right to die” case. This is wrong...

Domestic Abuse – revised guidance issued – what does it say?

by reporting watch team | Sep 24, 2017 | Explanation, FCReportingWatch

Children at risk of psychogical or physical abuse must not have contact with parent, judges told (sic) This was the headline in The Times that arose from the publication by the President of the Family Division of a revised Practice Direction 12J (PD12J). PD12J is the...

The shaggy dog that turned out to be a woolly sheep

by Lucy R | Sep 16, 2017 | Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

As long ago as April a number of lawyers began asking questions to clarify public criticisms made by John Hemming about a case dealt with in the family court. This week John Hemming has published a blog post which appears to be an(other) attempt to answer some of our...

Hart Felt: (Non)Matrimonial Money in Hart v Hart

by Polly Morgan | Sep 12, 2017 | Cases, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

There have been a few articles in the newspapers about the latest judgment in Hart v Hart, a long-running case about the financial outcome of Mr and Mrs Hart’s divorce proceedings. Elsewhere on the Transparency Project, Mena Ruparel has criticised the inaccuracy of...

Solicitors in a state of flux

by reporting watch team | Sep 10, 2017 | Cases, Comment, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

This is a guest post by Mena Ruparel. Mena (@avoidgravity) is a solicitor and co-author of “How to be an ethical solicitor” published by Bath Publishing. On 31 August the Court of Appeal handed down the judgment in the big money case of Mr and Mrs Hart....

Misreporting the misreporting – that foster care case again

by reporting watch team | Sep 5, 2017 | Cases, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

We’ve written about the so-called “muslim foster care case” already (here and here). We’ve been somewhat critical of the coverage by The Times. But we are a little concerned that some of the criticism we have seen of media reports, particularly...