Lincoln House Chambers are pleased to provide the third instalment of a three part Criminal Update focusing on key criminal cases from the last 18 months. This series of updates looked at some of the important criminal cases, legislative changes and other developments that will be of benefit to all practitioners with a special interest in crime.
In this, the final part of our review, we look particularly at sentencing decisions but have included cases relating to POCA and R-v-Killick, a useful reminder of the limitations on DNA evidence. We also look at Hodgin which is a useful reminder to make sure the Better Case Management (BCM) form is fully completed, especially if it is known at the point of sending that the Defendant will plead guilty in the Crown Court.
As the delays caused by a lack of funding and Covid continue to affect cases and especially trials, we also look at the case of Beattie-Milligan which may be helpful in mitigating the length of sentence where there has been a delay for which the Defendant is not responsible.
Finally, it is not always clear what some phrases used in the Sentencing Guidelines actually mean; there have been a number of cases this year which bring some clarity which have also been referenced.
The updates have been produced by Richard English & Rachel Cooper, both are Criminal Law specialists with practices which regularly include the most serious criminal cases involving mental health issues, children & sexual offences.
We hope you find this, and what had been provided during 2020, interesting and helpful.