lincoln house

Special Mental Health Courts were formally launched by the Lord Chancellor in July 2009 in Magistrates’ Courts in England and Wales.  At a time when there are more people in custody with mental health problems than ever before, criminal practitioners must be equipped and prepared to deal with the challenges of representing clients with mental health disorders at all stages of the criminal litigation process.  In this seminar, Martin Hackett and Daniel Thomas provide a timely update as to the practicalities of representing mentally disordered defendants; an overview of the relevant legal provisions that criminal practitioners will encounter in such cases, particularly with regard to sentencing; and a summary of the new Ministry of Justice initiative. Please contact the clerks for a copy of the seminar notes.