Crime Newsletter #5 – June 2020

June 25, 2020

In the fifth instalment of the crime newsletter:

UK DPAs – The Magnificent Seven?
On Friday the 31st January 2020 the Serious Fraud Office sealed a magnificent seventh Deferred Prosecution Agreement (‘DPA’) with Airbus SE. In this article, Nick Johnson QC reflects on the 7 UK DPAs; are DPAs a ‘soft option’ for a company? Have important principles been sacrificed and, if so, for what? And are UK DPAs fit for purpose when the individuals named in them as the wrongdoers go on to escape conviction at trial?

False memory syndrome; disclosure and admissibility
In this article, Ian Harris looks at false memory syndrome, disclosure and admissibility with reference to a recent case example.

Alternatives to the jury trial – a threat to our system of justice
With the right to a trial by jury under threat, Huw Edwards summarises the alternative options being discussed and explains why, in his view, these options should be opposed strongly.

Committal for Contempt of Court – making audio recordings in court
Kyra Badman examines committal for contempt of court with particular reference to the recent case of Attorney General v Pritchard [2020] EWHC 607 (QB), [2020] 2 WLUK 278.

Rape trials – Court Martial vs Criminal Justice System
In this article Caroline Abraham discusses the ongoing issue of whether service personnel rape trials should be heard in the military courts or the Crown Court under the “civilian system”.

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