Police Station Skills for Legal Advisers kit (two
books)
The Accreditation Manual & The Practical
Reference (both Available separately at £59.95 RRP UK )
Edition: 3rd 2004
Author: Eric Shepherd
ISBN: 1853287571
Publishers: The Law Society
Price: £109.95
RRP UK
Publication Date: May 2004
Police Station Skills for Legal Advisers is an
essential two-part reference for those engaging in active defence in the police
station. It provides a wealth of information for all legal advisers whether
seeking accreditation or already accredited.
Written in a clear, practical fashion, this popular
kit covers all you need to successfully defend a client, including:
The law and official guidelines
Police investigation and case-building
The various forms of evidence
Pre-interview disclosure
Police interviewing and other investigative
procedures
The practices and procedures of investigating,
custody and identification officers
Working with interpreters and an appropriate adults
Assessing the client's emotional, mental and
physical state
Identifying and advising on the safest defence
Preparing a defence statement
Preparing the client for interview or an
identification procedure.
The third edition takes account of the many
fundamental changes that have occurred since the second edition - in the law,
police investigation and the detention and questioning of individuals in police
stations.
This kit consists of the Accreditation Manual and
the Practical Reference, both of which are available separately.
Police Station Skills for Legal Advisers is
endorsed by the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society.
The author Eric Shepherd has extensive experience
of working with the criminal justice system, including 23 years as a consultant
to the police service in investigation and investigative interviewing.
Title:
Sexual Offences Act 2003 A Guide to the New Law
Edition:
2004
Author:
Paul Lewis
ISBN:
1853289655
Publishers:
The Law Society
Price
£34.95 RRP UK
Publication
Date: Feb 2004
The Sexual Offences Act is the most far-reaching and comprehensive legislative
reform in the area for over 100 years. It aims to overhaul and consolidate all
sexual offences into one major Act and to introduce and define a number of new
offences.
This
guide provides detailed advice on the practical implications of these radical
changes including:
Strengthening
and modernising the law on sex offences, including consent, indecency,
prostitution, trafficking, sexual assault and rape
Increased
protection for children and vulnerable people
The
introduction of measures to tighten the requirements of the sex offender's
register and improve monitoring of offenders.
Written
by a practising criminal lawyer, this authoritative guide is essential reading
for criminal lawyers who need to advise clients on the new law. In addition to
detailed commentary the book includes the full text of the new Act.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Paul
Lewis is a Partner and Solicitor Advocate at David Phillips and Partners in
Liverpool. He is co-editor of, and a regular lecturer for, CrimeLine, the
online weekly criminal law updater. His experience in handling sex offence
cases has meant he has been consulted by the All Party Group into Abuse at
Childrens’ Homes and instructed on the recommendation of FASO, representing
those falsely accused of sexual offences.
CONTENTS
Part
1. Offences;
Part
3. The Sexual Offences Act 2003.
This
is a landmark statute that repeals almost all of the Sexual Offences Act 1956
and many other statutory provisions enacted since, it is, "a new criminal
code of sexual offences".
Within
the Police service there will be a need for a complete re-write of training
manuals and training courses - in fact as with other times when legislation has
drastically altered the law, eg; (Theft Act 1968, and PACE 1984), there will be
a need for short courses to help officers absorb all the changes.
For
those teaching or preparing these courses something more than the bare statute
will be useful; - albeit it also contains the statute in full.
Some
of the most important changes are:,
New definition for rape
Section 9 Theft Act 1968, burglary with intent to commit rape – now
Section 63, “Trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence”.
Section 2 Procurement - new offence.
Section 3 Procurement - new offence.
Section 4 Administer drugs - new offence.
Section 5 USI - repealed, new offence.
Section 6 USI repealed, new offence.
Section 10 Incest - now familial sexual abuse, embracing more members
of the family.
Section 12 Buggery - repealed.
Sections 14 & 15 Indecent assault - new offences.
Indecency with Children Act 1960- repealed, new offences.
Changes to prostitution laws.
Protection of Children Act 1978 - now a child "under 18", was 16.
Kerb Crawling - now a woman can commit the offence.
Indecent exposure, now it is "person exposes genitals", not
"his person"; now a woman can commit the offence, it will not be an
offence under this new section to expose breasts or buttocks,
Whilst recently completing
my BSc in Forensic Science, my third year research dissertation was entitled
"An analysis of the grooming processes used by paedophiles on the
Internet." As a part of the research
process I had to analyse the recent laws that had been passed in relation to
grooming as an individual offence and implemented into the new Sexual Offences
Act 2003. My initial (and wrong)
assumption was that an extensive understanding of the law would be the core of
my project. However as I progressed
with research, I found that my need for knowledge of the new laws passed would
be a rather minor part of the project.
For this purpose the book Sexual Offences Act 2003: A Guide to the
New Law, was an excellent resource for an understanding of the new law. The layout was a very logical and easy to
follow manner, using different font sizes, capital letters and underlining
titles. The guide overall was extremely
comprehensive, clearly explaining each section of the new law including a
useful explanatory commentary at points where terms may not be fully understood
or unclear in the wording of the Act.
It began with a background to the introduction of the new
legislation and the procedure, which was taken in order to implement it into
law. At this point were also detailed
issues that the new law had failed to recognise and implement into the law.
From a personal standpoint rather than an academic perspective, I found it
interesting that date rape had not been included in the Act and my intrigue was
satisfied by the information supplied within the chapter.
For the purposes of my research, my primary focus was on Chapter
3, which covered the topic of child sexual offences, in particular, the offence
of meeting a child following a sexual grooming. The information contained within the 1.5 pages covering the
grooming offences was extremely useful for my understanding of the law, and
essentially translating the wording of the legislation into a simplified
guide. Every sentence contained a
relevant point of information, so essentially the purpose of the text was never
deviated from and at no point was there a sense of rambling, a theme which was
continued throughout the book. I did
however note that there had been no mention of the fact that as the legislation
was being proposed, the maximum sentence was given at 5 years and then
increased to 10 years. I mention this
as it had caused me some confusion when I began to read further around the
topic, using this book as my basis for information on the subject of the
legislation of grooming.
A vast proportion of the book was appendices, containing the full
text of the Act, I found it was useful to read the section relevant to my
studies as it is written in legislation and then using the information
contained within the chapters of the book in order to understood the
implications of the legislation and covering any points which were not fully
explained within the act. An unexpected appendix, which drew my attention, was
that of minor amendments which included other acts that had been changed or
affected by the introduction of the new law.
This book was written as a guide for
Practising Criminal Lawyers. It is not
within my capacity to comment if it would be a useful guide for the targeted
audience. However, as a student needing
an understanding of a section of the recently implemented law, I found that it
fulfilled my requirements of needing the essential information about the new
offence of grooming for understanding and progression with my research. As a
‘guide to the new law’ this book fully met all my expectations including the
law in its entirety and a comprehensive and relevant explanation of each
section of the new law. I would recommend this book to anyone needing an
understanding of the law, its background, its implications and the differences
between it and the legislation that preceded it.
I am glad I have had the opportunity
to use this book as a part of my studies.
Marie Meehan.
Title:
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Edition:
1st
Author:
Andrew Keogh
ISBN:
1 85328 877 2
Publishers:
The Law Society
Price
£34.95 RRP UK
Publication
Date: March 2004
Controversial
and far-reaching, the new Criminal Justice Act 2003 is one of the most
important pieces of criminal legislation ever passed. This comprehensive guide
offers a clear explanation as to how the new law will affect current practice.
It provides a quick overview of each of the new provisions, followed by a more
detailed analysis with reference to appropriate cases and new and existing
legislative provisions.
Major
proposals contained in the Act include:
* new charging methods for offences
* street bail
* reverse presumptions
under the Bail Act for offending while on bail, failing to appear and abolition
of high court bail
* overhaul of disclosure provisions
* retrial for serious offences
* overhaul of hearsay provisions
* new definition of bad
character and overhaul of admissibility provisions
* new prosecution appeals mechanism for
termination rulings
* complete overhaul of sentencing,
including new regime for dangerous offenders and life prisoners and
introduction of new forms of custody including intermittent custody.
The
book includes a copy of the Act in full and details of a website dedicated to
keeping abreast of implementation dates. It will enable solicitors to avoid
potential pitfalls and negotiate these radical legislative changes with
confidence.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Andrew
Keogh is a duty solicitor and higher court advocate with Tuckers Solicitors in
Manchester. He lectures widely and regularly appears on television and radio in
relation to criminal litigation issues. He is the author of the Criminal
Appeals and Review Remedies (1999) and CLSA Duty Solicitors' Handbook, 2nd
edition (Law Society, 2003).
CONTENTS
1.
Police powers;
2.
Bail;
3.
Abolition of High Court
jurisdiction;
4.
Allocation of offences;
5.
Jury trial;
6.
Trial management;
7.
Prosecution appeals;
8.
Retrials;
9.
Evidence;
10.
Sentencing; Appendix: The
Criminal Justice Act.
Criminal Defence - Good
Practice in the Criminal Courts
Edition: 2nd edition
Author: Roger Ede and
Anthony Edwards
ISBN: 1853288306
Publishers The Law Society
Price: £44.95
Publication Date: 2002
Criminal
Defence is a practical, step-by-step guide to preparing a criminal case.
It prompts solicitors when
actions need to be considered, when investigations need to be made, and when
information needs to be gathered.
A practical, step-by-step
guide to preparing a criminal case in the Youth, Crown or magistrates court.
* Endorsed by the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society
* Offers advice on practice management, case management,
investigation of defence and prosecution cases.
Appendices include the mode
of trial guidelines, sentencing guidelines and the new code for crown
prosecutors.
First edition has been
completely updated.
CONTENTS:
What Reviewers said about
the 1st edition:
“There is no doubt that
every practice doing crime must have a copy in its library.” Law Society's
Gazette
“The information Is clear,
unambiguous and current, presented in a very user-friendly way.” Criminal
Practitioners Newsletter.
Features include:
A new chapter on Youth Court.
Advice on public funding
following the introduction of the Legal Services Commission and the Criminal
Defence Service.
Reference to the revised
Legal Services Commission Transaction Criteria recommendations following the
introduction of the Legal Services Commission Specialist Quality Mark.
Complete text of the Code
for Crown Prosecutors 2000, the mode of trial guidelines and sentencing guidelines.
The Standards of Competence
required for accreditation as a duty solicitor.
The authors
Roger Ede is a member of the
Law Society's Representation and Law Reform Directorate and the Governing
Council of the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners. He also
sits as a Deputy District Judge.
Anthony Edwards is the
Senior Partner in the leading criminal practice TV Edwards, an established
author and a lecturer for a range of internal and external training
organisations.
Drinking
and Driving Offences
Author:
Jonathan Black
ISBN:
1853288519
Publishers:
The Law Society
Price
£29.95 Paperback
Publication
Date: December 2002
Drinking and
Driving Offences provides practitioners with a logical route through the maze
of legislation, practice and case law that has developed around the subject of
drink-driving.
The
book draws on important case material to explain and highlight the various
statutory provisions that apply to the driver who drinks.
Key
features:
Analyses
all relevant case law on the statutory provisions relating to drinking and
driving.
Examines
all major challenges in the courts to breathalyser law.
Reviews
the statutory provisions relating to the Human Rights Act 1998.
Includes
details of the Magistrates Courts' sentencing guidelines. There is a helpful
checklists at the end of every chapter.
Written
in an accessible fashion, this practical book gathers together all you need to
know about statute and case law relating to drink-driving offences in one
concise volume.
CONTENTS
An
overview of the procedure; The screening breath test; The arrest, Protection
for hospital patients; Driving or in charge whilst under the influence; The “in
charge” statutory defence; Drinking whilst over the prescribed limit; Evidence
of analysis; Using specimen evidence, post-accident consumption and
back-calculation; Failure to provide a specimen; Causing death whilst under the
influence of drink or drugs; Sentencing.
Author’s
Preface
Legislation
governing the drinking driver was first passed in 1925 and since that time, the
procedural and evidential requirements of such legislation have provided a rich
harvest for those whose work brings them regularly into magistrates' courts.
Prior
to 1962, it was an offence to drive whilst unfit through drink or drugs; the
evidence necessary to prove this being usually obtained either as a result of
the way in which the vehicle had been driven or by reference to physical
appearance or behaviour on the part of the driver. In 1962, the offence became one of driving whilst impaired, but
unfortunately, no definition of impairment was provided by statute. At the same
time provision was made for courts to take account of blood-alcohol levels in
determining the extent and nature of the impairment, although in practice, most
police forces continued to rely upon evidence of bad driving or behaviour
rather than on scientific proof.
The
Road Safety Act 1967 was to prove a landmark in providing an evidential basis
upon which to found what previously were mere suspicions. The Act, which came
into force on 9 October 1967, created three new offences:
(a) driving or being in
charge of a vehicle having consumed a quantity of alcohol over the prescribed
limit;
(b) refusing to take a screening breath
test; and
(c) refusing to provide a
blood or urine specimen for a laboratory test.
The
Act also introduced new phraseology into the English language: the breathalyser,
a device designed to give an indication at the roadside that a driver was
driving or in charge of a vehicle after consuming so much alcohol that he was
over a prescribed limit - defined as being more than 80 mg (milligrammes) of
alcohol in 100 ml of blood, or more than 107 mg in the case of a sample of
urine.
The
latter provisions aroused strong feelings in Parliament, especially during the
Committee stages of the Bill where Mr Gresham Cooke maintained that “the
prohibited level could be reached after three or four drinks at a cocktail
party”.
The
Times newspaper of 25 November 1966 also quoted Mr David Mitchell as claiming
that the average guest at a civic function would consume two cocktails, a third
of a bottle of wine and a glass of port. This, it was asserted, took him over
the limit so that:
When
the Prime Minister stands up at the Lord Mayor's Banquet and talks, are we
suggesting that he is drunk in charge of the Nation's affairs and impaired in
his judgement because he has gone to such a dinner and had the normal things?
The
provisions of the Act were introduced by the then Minister of Transport, Mrs
Barbara Castle MP as a “tough law for a tough problem”. Certainly, the police
reacted with gusto, carrying out 2,791 roadside breath tests in England and
Wales between 9 and 13 October, of which 1,029 were positive (Hansard, 23
November 1967). However, a comparison
of successful drink-driving related prosecutions before and after the Act
tended to show only a slight increase in the number of successful prosecutions
after the implementation date.
Implementation
of the Act also opened up new pastures for those concerned with defending
drivers alleged to be over the limit. The Justice of the Peace newspaper
reported in its 23 December 1967 edition that:
Innumerable
tips, none effective, on how a drinking motorist could avoid the consequences
of his folly, having circulated in the temporarily diminished bars of the
country reached the pages of the newspapers (a motorist who followed one of
those tips had a conviction for failing to supply a specimen of breath added to
his conviction of exceeding the statutory limit) while the President of the
National Federation of Licensed Victuallers tested, to his apparent
satisfaction, “anti-breathalyser tablets”.
In
addition, tests on the effect of certain popular brands of aftershave were
extensively carried out to ensure that drivers were not prejudiced by a form of
intoxication by osmosis!
Subsequent
changes in drink-driving law and procedure were brought about by the Transport
Act 1981, which came into force on 6 May 1983.
The Act replaced what were, by then, the provisions of the Road Traffic
Act 1972 with new provisions of driving, attempting to drive or being in
charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol levels, together with offences
of failing to provide a specimen of breath for a roadside test or for
laboratory analysis.
Most
Importantly, the Act replaced, to a large extent, the messy and time-consuming
requirements to provide specimens of blood or urine, with a new procedure which
analysed the proportion of alcohol in the offender's breath (subject to the
option to supply blood or urine in limited cases). Again, the new procedures created a catalogue of case law as
defendants tested first the wording of the statute, then the reliability of the
new devices and finally the procedures themselves.
A
final consolidation of the various statutory provisions and penalties was
brought about by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Traffic Offenders Act
1988. Subject to certain amendments by the Road Traffic Act 1991, the law in
this book refers to those enactments unless otherwise stated.
In
recent years there has been a continuing debate into whether or not the
prescribed limits should be reduced both to enhance road safety and to bring
the limit into line with that of other European countries. The Government
indicated in 1998 that it was minded to adopt the 50 mg limit used in 10 other
EU member states. However, in March 2002 this proposal was abandoned in favour
of other measures designed to reduce the incidence of drink-driving, such as
better education and stronger enforcement of the existing law.
The
purpose of this book is to examine the effect of Divisional Court (and other)
judgments relative to the main provisions of the Road Traffic Acts of 1988. The
book looks at the extent to which these judgments have impinged upon that area
of the law since the last major changes in the Transport Act 1981 were introduced
on 6 May 1983, and tries to provide a logical route for practitioners through
the maze of legislation, practice and case law that has developed around the
subject of drink-driving. The book concentrates mainly on case law since 1983,
although previous case law is referred to either where new developments have
superseded that case law or where it is necessary to refer to the old in order
to understand the new.
The
law is stated as at 1 October 2002.
Jonathan
S W Black Havant
About
the author:
Jonathan
Black has worked in the Magistrates' Courts Service since qualifying as a
solicitor in 1980. He is currently Area Clerk to the Justices and Director of
Legal Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. He has extensive experience of lecturing and has previously
written two books, Drinking & Driving: A Decade of Development (1994) and
Introduction to Youth Justice (1999).
He is also a member of the Criminal Justice Consultative Council.