tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27881166425337084192023-11-16T12:46:06.377+00:00PublawyerSome thoughts and comments on Public Law, Human Rights and Constitutional Law and so on and so forth, with the occasional bit of technology drivelThe Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-7188731062860784482008-08-05T12:52:00.003+01:002008-08-05T13:53:31.954+01:00Basically BonkersIan Oakley sounds like he should have been a fairly bright, if somewhat dull, person. His <a href="http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/resources/images/585942/?type=display">picture </a>makes him look pretty dull too. In fact he sounds like he should have been very dull:<br /><ul><li>Went to Durham University - yep, dull, although we'll give him some credit for taking History</li><li>Regulator at the FSA - dull to the max</li><li>Founding Chairman of Monmouth Conservative Future - sounds dull, whatever it is</li><li>Facebook friend of Chris Grayling, Grant Shapps and Louise Bagshawe (although his Facebook profile seems to have gone) - really big yawn<br /></li><li>Conservative candidate for Newport East in 2001 - fairly dull, managed to get ex-Tory Alan Howarth's majority for Labour under 10,000</li><li>Councillor in Hillingdon - du.. well you get the idea<br /></li><li>Conservative parliamentary candidate for Watford</li></ul>Or at least he <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> the Tory candidate for Watford until about two weeks ago, which is when he stops sounding quite so dull. He was <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4364170.ece">arrested</a> in connection with a campaign of harassment against Liberal Democrats in Watford and resigned as the parliamentary candidate. There's a comment on that TimesOnline article that maybe Oakley was the real victim. That suggestion doesn't look quite so clever today as Oakley <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7542549.stm">pleaded guilty</a> at St Albans Magistrates' Court to five counts of criminal damage and two of harassment. It seems that over a period of two to three years Oakley targetted his Lib Dem opponents by:<br /><ul><li>Slashing car tyres</li><li>Smashing lights on cars</li><li>Making silent phone calls</li><li>Sending poison pen letters</li><li>Painting grafitti on an opponent's house calling him a "perv"</li><li>Accused one of his opponents of being a child abuser</li></ul>Now, do you think he learnt this kind of thing at Durham, the FSA or Conservative HQ? The Mags told Oakley that his conduct was "very, very serious indeed, so serious that custody would be an option".<br /><br />Oakley has been taken off the main Conservative party website, but his entry hasn't disappeared yet - you can still find it through the <a href="http://search.conservatives.com/search?q=cache:-znDC5s8N7sJ:www.conservatives.com/tile.do%3Fdef%3Dpeople.person.page%26personID%3D133614+oakley&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=conservatives&site=conservatives&proxystylesheet=conservatives&oe=UTF-8">cache</a>. The <a href="http://www.watfordconservatives.co.uk/">Watford Conservatives site</a> also seems to have purged any mention of Oakley, but their banner proclaims "Cleaner. Greener. Safer." and it's a good point. Keep a close eye on the perps at all times and you should be a lot safer.<br /><br />Daniel Finkelstein <a href="http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/08/ian-oakley---my.html">fesses up to his part in Oakley's selection</a> and says that there "wasn't the smallest sign that he was, well, basically bonkers."The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-18365910029062539672008-08-04T22:43:00.000+01:002008-08-04T22:44:45.424+01:00Rumours of my demise...... have been greatly exaggerated. Although this site hasn't seen much action for a while I have been active, for instance on <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>. Everyone knows what Twitter is by now, but if you don't then think of it like microblogging, such as <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, but more communal and immediate. It's one of those technologies that tend to all get lumped together as "social networking", but I see Twitter as sociable, not just social. While it gets compared to Facebook statuses it is clearly far more versatile than that. Have a look at <a href="http://twitterapps.co.uk/">Twitterapps</a> to see some of the things that can be done with it. There's plenty more at <a href="http://everythingtwitter.com/">Everything Twitter</a> and a neat visualisation at <a href="http://projects.flowingdata.com/twitter/">Twitter World</a>.<br /><br />One of the advantages over a regular blog is that it somehow seems more acceptable to go off topic, because each tweet is gone soon after posting, so you get to see a different perspective on people. A while back there was a bit of a debate about people using <a href="http://www.twitterfeed.com/">twitterfeed</a> to publicise their blog posts. I personally find it quite useful to see when new posts go up, but that's partly to do with how I get my RSS. An idea of what the appropriate <a href="http://www.adrants.com/2008/04/seth-godin-praises-twitter-seths.php">tweetiquette</a> is will take time to develop. I still get worried sometimes about going <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> far off topic. <a href="http://tweetburner.com/">Tweetburner</a> is useful for seeing just how interesting my links to assorted football stories are to people (answer: slightly). Tweetburner gives you a bookmarklet that allows you to post a nice short URL for any webpage and still leaves room for a comment about it. You can then see how many people follow the link, although there's no way of telling whether they actually stayed on the page for more than a second.<br /><br />One problem that I have found is that it is easy to follow too many tweeters and inevitably interesting stuff gets lost in the noise. That's not the real real big issue though - instead that is whether interest will be maintained or whether it will peter out as many people's facebook usage has. The Ed Techie discussed this way back in January: <a href="http://nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/no_good_reason/2008/01/facebook---the.html">Facebook - the holiday romance</a>. The only advantage Twitter has over the many other similar services would seem to be the number of users - although sometimes this can be too much stress leading to the famous<a href="http://failwhale.com/"> Fail Whale</a>. Twitter is only as useful as the stuff that gets posted/tweeted/whatever.<br /><br />Props to Nick Holmes at <a href="http://www.binarylaw.co.uk/">Binary Law</a> who issued the <a href="http://www.binarylaw.co.uk/index.php/2008/05/30/all-blawgers-should-tweet/">clarion call for law bloggers to get on Twitter</a>. His other suggestion, for <a href="http://www.binarylaw.co.uk/index.php/2008/06/02/law-tweeting-proposition-2/">subject specific news feeds</a>, has, I think, only yielded one new feed - <a href="http://twitter.com/housinglaw">Housing Law</a> from Nearly Legal. Also available are feeds for:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://twitter.com/PrivacyLaw">Privacy</a></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/InternetLaw">Internet</a></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/CopyrightLaw">Copyright</a></li></ul>Any I've missed?<br /><br />I have also grabbed <a href="http://twitter.com/hrlaw">HRLaw</a> to act as a feed for Human Rights stories, but as yet I haven't finished sorting the sources and putting them through pipes. If anybody has any suggestions for must-have feeds then please let me know.<br /><br />The real clincher has to be the opportunity to converse with a <a href="http://twitter.com/Tempranillo">gorilla</a>. I wonder if he's thinking about moving to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/18/animalwelfare.animalbehaviour?gusrc=rss&feed=global">Spain</a>. Regardless, the campaign to get Tempranillo his own website starts here and now.<br /><br />That's enough about Twitter, if you're interested then you can find my tweets <a href="http://twitter.com/robinfriday">here</a>.<br /><br />Random thought: Is copying the <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/08/lego-indiana-jones-v.html">Lego approach</a> a sure fire route to winning privacy claims?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-35647233654358036832008-05-23T14:29:00.006+01:002008-06-02T12:06:31.476+01:00Common Sense 2 v City of London Police 0<a href="http://thelawwestofealingbroadway.blogspot.com/2008/05/myopic.html">Bystander</a> and <a href="http://blog.geeklawyer.org/2008/05/21/random-fire-10/">Geeklawyer</a> have already covered the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/20/1">story</a> of the City of London Police issuing a teenager with a summons under <a href="http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=public+order+act&Year=1986&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&parentActiveTextDocId=2236942&ActiveTextDocId=2236961&filesize=4686">section 5 </a>of the <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1986/pdf/ukpga_19860064_en.pdf">Public Order Act 1986</a> for displaying a sign calling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology">Scientology</a> a "dangerous cult" during the Anonymous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Chanology">Project Chanology</a> demonstrations. The teenager relied on Latey J's judgment in <em>Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody</em>). I can't find an authoritative copy, only this <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/audit/latey.html">one</a>, but the <a href="http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T3805794263&format=GNBFULL&sort=null&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3805794278&cisb=22_T3805794277&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=279841&docNo=1">LexisNexis summary</a> of the appeal ([1985] FLR 493) suggests that it is accurate as would appear to be this <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/audit/appeal.html">copy of the appeal judgment</a>. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/23/religion">The Guardian </a> is now reporting that the CPS has rightly decided not to take this any further, hopefully putting the cops firmly back in their box, on the basis that his sign was criticism, rather than abusive, insulting or offensive. There isn't a statement from the CPS, at least not their website, but interestingly one of their most recent news items is the text of a lecture given at Birmingham University on <a href="http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/nationalnews/free_expression_05_03_08.html">'Free Expression and the Rule of Law'</a>.<br /><br />Vaguely interesting fact: Mark Thomas holds the world record for the most protests by one person in one day (<a href="http://www.markthomasinfo.com/nsarticles/default.asp?id=23">link 1</a>, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/oct/12/houseofcommons.comment">link 2</a>).<br /><br />Making it a doubly bad day for the City of London Police, Latham LJ and Underhill J have ruled that the warrant that they obtained to <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3990477.ece">raid Harry Redknapp's home was unlawful</a>. Bit of a bungle by the cops on this one too, as this was a really high profile raid as part of investigations into corruption in transfers of footballers. Harry Redknapp is manager of Portsmouth and his house was searched while he was out of the country by police accompanied by media coverage that Redknapp's lawyers have claimed was encouraged by them. The Police have issued a <a href="http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/Media/News/Statementinresponsetojudicialreviewjudgement.htm">short statement in response</a>.<br /><br />Update: the Redknapp judgment is now on BAILII:<a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/1177.html"> [2008] EWHC 1177 (Admin)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1986/pdf/ukpga_19860064_en.pdf"></a>The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-43265051600012310182008-04-26T13:19:00.004+01:002008-04-26T14:02:08.285+01:00Know Your Rights<span style="font-style: italic;">The first in a very occasional series connecting current news stories with random other links, all set to </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Know-Your-Rights-lyrics-The-Clash/461A42C67B9ECAC6482568AB002FF385">lyrics</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Your_Rights">songs</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.theclashonline.com/">The Clash</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><br />This is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgqhaZmPFRg">public service announcement</a> ... with <a href="http://www.w3.org/">links</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html#C.Art2">You have the right not to be killed</a><br /><a href="http://www.constitution.org/18th/coke3rd1797/coke3rd1797_051-100.pdf">Murder is a crime</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/nyregion/26bell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">Unless it was done by a policeman</a> or aristocrat<br /><a href="http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/stockwell_one.pdf">Know your rights</a><br /><br />I was going to link to something about <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/22/wkenya122.xml">Thomas Cholmondeley</a> for the 'aristocrat' bit, but that's pre-empting the outcome a bit.<br /><br />Coming soon, the various measures for calculating inflation will be plotted against 'Lost in the Supermarket'.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-37548421287391954572008-04-15T09:57:00.004+01:002008-04-15T10:12:20.391+01:00How to Vote (Pt 2)1. Go to polling station.<br />2. Collect ballot paper.<br />3. Go to booth.<br />4. Mark an 'x' next to your preferred candidate.<br />5. <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=142778&in_page_id=2">Do NOT eat the ballot paper</a>.<br />6. Place ballot paper in box.<br /><br />If you absolutely have to eat your ballot paper, remember you can do it with relative impunity in the comfort of your own home by requesting a postal ballot. Don't worry, somebody else will probably vote for you anyway.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-33097635878911187082008-04-03T14:27:00.003+01:002008-04-03T14:54:00.216+01:00Health and Social Care BillA spy has pointed out to me two articles in the <a href="http://www.solicitorsjournal.com">Solicitors Journal</a>, <a href="http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/story.asp?sectioncode=103&storycode=12251&c=3">'Human Rights Act extended to cover residents in private care homes'</a> and <a href="http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/story.asp?sectioncode=10&storycode=12261&c=1">'Form and Function'</a>, which cover proposed amendments to the <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/healthandsocialcare.html">Health and Social Care Bill</a> which will reverse the decision of the House of Lords in <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldjudgmt/jd070620/birm-1.htm">YL v Birmingham</a> as far as private care homes are concerned. I wrote about this <a href="http://publaw.blogspot.com/2007/07/reflections-and-musings-on-yl-v.html">way back when</a>, and I think that this is only part of the answer and one of the politically easier options for the Government as it avoids tackling tricky issues about the wider reach of the HRA. It's worth noting that the <a href="http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=363304&NewsAreaID=2">Department of Health press release</a> does contained buried away in the notes to editors this little gem:<br /><blockquote></blockquote>"The Government is also considering how to address the wider question of the scope of the Human Rights Act, and has undertaken to consult on this issue."<br /><br />All in all, it's a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned, but cannot be seen as the end of the road.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-88470151343632701272008-04-01T07:30:00.003+01:002008-04-01T08:32:28.484+01:00Not a waste of time at allScott Baker LJ has ruined everybody's hopes of finally getting to the bottom of what really happened to Diana, Dodi and Henri Paul by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/apr/01/diana.monarchy">shooting down Mohamed al Fayed's claims</a> that MI6, Prince Philip, Slobodan Milosevic and you killed them, stating that there was no evidence to suggest otherwise.<br /><br />Ask yourself this though, if MI6 <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> kill somebody then they'd make sure that there <span style="font-style: italic;">wasn't</span> any evidence, wouldn't they?<br /><br />He also appears to have ruled out any possible participation by the lone gunman, Savo Milosevic, a Paul McCartney lookalike, Alex Krycek, Martin Bormann or New Coke.<br /><br />Scott Baker LJ noted that Mike Mansfield had dialled down the crazy compared to al Fayed:<br /><blockquote></blockquote>"Mohamed Al Fayed's beliefs are to be contrasted with the way in which his legal team have been approaching the matter to witnesses. Advocates are bound by professional rules of conduct which do not allow them to make allegations of serious misconduct for which there is no evidence. Those representing Mohamed Al Fayed did not suggest to a number of the key players in the alleged conspiracy that they had played the part ascribed to them over the years."<br /><br />Expect some sort of intervention soon from Heather Mills as to why <a href="http://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/standardsandguidance/codeofconduct/section1codeofconduct/partvii_conductofworkbypractisingbarristers/">Part VII of the Bar Code of Conduct</a> is all part of the system's way to defeat justice.<br /><br />No word yet though from Mansfield as to whether the current form of <a href="http://www.fulhamfc.com/">al Fayed's Thames-side toy</a> is simply part of an incredibly cunning long term strategy to make them the <a href="http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/stats_football/english_league_tables/1973-74.asp#1">Manchester United</a> of London.<br /><br />All in all <a href="http://www.scottbaker-inquests.gov.uk/costs.htm">money well spent</a> then.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-3822558806573138412008-03-14T12:28:00.008+00:002008-03-26T16:52:01.067+00:00How to Vote (pt 1)<div>Local elections are coming up in May and a few stories about voting have caught my eye over the last couple of weeks.<br /></div><br /><div>Taking them in chronological order, firstly the Divisional Court has held in <span style="font-style: italic;">Pilling v Reynolds</span> [2008] EWHC 316 (QB) that a '\' next to a name on a ballot paper can be counted as a vote, even though it wasn't in the right box. This would seem to be right, to hold otherwise would be to do quite a damage to <span style="font-style: italic;">Ruffle v Rogers</span>. When I started to write this post the case was only reported on <a href="http://www.lawtel.com/%7E613623b5299f46568ee75bf4be702db8%7E/content/display.asp?ID=AC0116569&HL=Y&BK=Y&ResultID=20349067">Lawtel</a> (<a href="http://www.lawtel.com/%7E613623b5299f46568ee75bf4be702db8%7E/content/display.asp?ID=AC0116569DC.pdf">full judgment</a> Edit: I can't seem to get the darn Lawtel links to work at the mo), but thanks to my brilliant tardiness it can now also be accessed via <a href="http://login.westlaw.co.uk/wluk/app/document?rs=WLUK1.0&vr=1.0&src=ri&docguid=I637A57F0F18C11DCA019B55E166D6C42&bctocguid=I1D0AA9361DD211B297BBE2003208A825&bchistory=6;7;&page=0&rlanchor=result1&ststate=S;S&linktype=ref&dochiskey=0">Westlaw</a> or <a href="http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal/search/runRemoteLink.do?service=citator&csi=279841&remotekey2=%5B2008%5D+All+ER+%28D%29+54+%28Mar%29&remotekey1=REPORT-CITATION&risb=21_T3350946371&citatorCC=GB">LexisNexis</a>, but not it seems via any non-subscription services (Edit: It is on BAILII, just they called it <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2008/316.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Re Burnley Local Government Election</span></a>).</div><div></div><br />There has been quite a bit of coverage about Eshaq Khan, a Conservative Councillor in Slough who has been <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3578988.ece">found guilty of vote rigging</a>. At least 145 postal votes were faked, probably hundreds in total, making his 120 vote majority look a tad vulnerable. The Times has followed this up with several articles about postal voting, such as <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3578995.ece">this</a>, <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3578882.ece">this</a>, <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3586716.ece">this</a> and <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article3578438.ece">this leader</a>. <a href="http://www.hendersonchambers.co.uk/newsdetail.asp?newsid=53">Richard Mawrey QC</a> gave the judgment.<br /><br />Postal voting is just one of the many <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7310544.stm">concerns surrounding the Zimbabwean elections</a> on Saturday. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mugabe might just clinch it.<br /><div></div><br /><div>It appears that <a href="http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3582166.ece">Youtube has been hit by vote rigging</a> of some sort as well, after a change at the top of it's most watched video leaderboard. Is Youtube still even going? The explanation appears to be that the video was tagged with "hot" and "sex", a throwback to the days before cats controlled the internet. </div><br /><div>Then yesterday's Guardian carried a report on its front page about <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/24/localgovernment.voterapathy">proposals to reform electoral legislation</a> to encourage greater participation. Apparently the quite ridiculous combination of alternative or supplementary votes (not clear which) AND compulsory participation is being mooted. <a href="http://fairvote.org/?page=148">Ken Ritchie</a>, Chief Executive of the <a href="http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/">Electoral Reform Society</a> has <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/26/localgovernment.voterapathy">responded to these proposals</a>. See also the view over at <a href="http://www.makemyvotecount.org.uk/blog/archives/2008/03/the_guardian_ta_1.html">Make My Vote Count</a>. How long before somebody suggests tagging ballot papers with "hot" and "sex" to increase voter turnout? Actually, it looks like I just did. Patent pending.</div><div></div><br /><div>Also buried within the Guardian was this report about the value of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/24/past.conservatives">influence-peddling to MPs</a>. The research paper, <a href="http://people.fas.harvard.edu/%7Ejgrimmer/MPsforsale.pdf">'MPs For Sale? Estimating Returns to Office in Post-War British Politics'</a>, has been carried out by two Harvard researchers and there is a <a href="http://www.iq.harvard.edu/blog/sss/archives/2008/03/andy_eggers_and.shtml">brief summary available as well</a>. There is also a little bit of <a href="http://www.stat.columbia.edu/%7Ecook/movabletype/archives/2008/03/mps_for_sale.html">analysis about their statistical analysis</a>.<br /><br />And finally, Bhutan has become the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7313325.stm">world's newest democracy</a>, possibly inspired by Slough.<br /></div>The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-51859406437836072132008-02-22T13:17:00.003+00:002008-02-22T13:30:42.044+00:00WikileaksAlthough <a href="http://wikileaks.org/">wikileaks.org</a> is no longer <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/18/91556/1784/766/458936">available</a>, there are a whole host of <a href="http://wikileaks.cx/wiki/Wikileaks:Cover_Names">cover names</a> or the <a href="http://88.80.13.160/">ip address</a> is still working. More at <a href="http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/media_law_prof_blog/2008/02/a-website-opera.html">Media Law Profs</a> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/us/19cnd-wiki.html?bl&ex=1203570000&en=263d3103b011973c&ei=5087%0A">New York Times</a>.<br /><br />I'd have called it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samizdat">samizdat</a>.org, but whatever, I've got a nose bleed to attend to.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-11166819346301544562008-02-20T20:57:00.003+00:002008-02-20T21:05:18.412+00:00New Immigration Bill<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/feb/20/immigrationpolicy.immigration">Here</a>, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/immigrants-face-stronger-british-citizenship-process-784566.html">here</a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7253933.stm">here</a>, although unsurprisingly not <a href="http://www.leaderofthehouseofcommons.gov.uk/output/page2133.asp">here</a> yet.<br /><br />It's a small point, but since when have nonpayment of taxes and law breaking NOT been integral parts of British society?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-28374494469653816672008-02-01T12:00:00.002+00:002008-12-09T17:45:37.413+00:00Dusting off the cobwebs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkqP1aYOvJ5zEEYFAzCpuKNLKZ0HZsd9URaoZb9DOHT1QlPuptkh_YVV75gpBXy_x0hIRCpqnXcWFVI3MoWMuCaXDGAMRwYWOAOe2AA5Uj4a5C_oLnzaj2L24gZuD_KG8QcvVgkwDDJ2k/s1600-h/nir.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkqP1aYOvJ5zEEYFAzCpuKNLKZ0HZsd9URaoZb9DOHT1QlPuptkh_YVV75gpBXy_x0hIRCpqnXcWFVI3MoWMuCaXDGAMRwYWOAOe2AA5Uj4a5C_oLnzaj2L24gZuD_KG8QcvVgkwDDJ2k/s400/nir.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163406022272460098" border="0" /></a><br />Well, it's been a long time and I all I have are rather poor excuses about the combined load of work and study. Anyway, while the tumbleweed has been blowing through here (although bizarrely feedburner reports that the number of subscribers has gone up quite a bit during January - welcome you poor deluded newcomers) I have realised that I a) need to make more of an effort and b) nope, just that.<br /><br />I was going to do a rather potted summary of some of the most interesting developments during the hiatus, but to be honest I'm sure that somebody somewhere has already covered everything, so I'll leave it at that for now.<br /><br />This year will mark the tenth anniversaries of the <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980042_en_1">Human Rights Act</a> and devolution (<a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980046_en_1">Scotland Act</a> and <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980038_en_1">Government of Wales Act</a>). More on both of these over the course of the year. I also have a new project in the pipeline which might be of interest/use for some people, which I'll write more about later.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-73027352590434314482007-12-20T15:08:00.000+00:002007-12-20T15:18:38.933+00:00I still haven't found what I'm looking forWhile I would still like to see something that allows me to easily <a href="http://publaw.blogspot.com/2007/10/athens-toolbar-not-quite-there-yet.html">cross search Athens resources</a>, I have been using a little Firefox addon for a while which is fantastically useful. Dr. Evil's <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3682">'Add to Search Bar'</a> creates a search bar entry for pretty much any website that has a search facility. It works well with sites like BAILII and you can use it with Westlaw as well, but so far I haven't been able to get it to play with LexisNexis. A bit more tweaking perhaps.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-87715170225732078582007-12-20T14:23:00.000+00:002007-12-20T14:49:28.758+00:00Christmas Party Food Safety WarningGeeklawyer has been busy <a href="http://blog.geeklawyer.org/2007/12/17/council-jobsworths-you-cant-photograph-your-kid-in-the-parks/">robustly defending</a> Manchester Council's brave anti-photo policy and quite rightly too. Won't somebody please think of the children? Now Mrs Publawyer has pointed out a disturbing trend by the CPS to allow youngsters to roam the country hurling party snacks at all and sundry <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23428468-details/Assault+charge+against+boy,+12,+who+threw+sausage+at+pensioner+in+%27Just+William%27+prank+finally+dropped/article.do">without fear of prosecution</a>. While some will applaud this as a victory for common sense, I can see the darker and more disturbing side. Everyone knows that cocktail sausage assaults are the cannabis of the non-fatal offences ladder. Before you know it they'll be sharpening the corners of doritos and turning them into 3-point throwing stars and bludgeoning the unsuspecting with empty coke bottles with cocktail sticks inserted.<br /><br />And before my other regular reader points out that this is an old story, I would like to highlight that this story did indeed break in August, but it is only this week that the CPS have decided to discontinue the case and as I only heard about <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> yesterday evening I have to work with what crumbs I can.<br /><br />Following on from that revelation was a discussion on youth justice on Radio 4's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/unreliableevidence/pip/9nq4p/">'Unreliable Evidence'</a>. Lots of complaints, but not much in the way of workable solutions. A working party is all very well and good, but any ideas, <span style="font-style: italic;">any at all</span>, for the way forward? Someone (I think he was a magistrate, but I can't get the Listen Again function to work to check it) appeared at one point to be just a well-timed Clive Anderson intervention away from advocating all out vigilante reprisals as the way to cure the defects in the youth justice system. Marvellous. Some mention was also made of the tendency of the police to arrest and charge youngsters even in trivial cases due to their targets etc, but why do the CPS make the decision to prosecute anyway?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-29543109246262688602007-12-01T16:58:00.000+00:002007-12-01T17:07:24.308+00:00"It’s a free country, i'n'it?”Excellent stuff from Baroness Hale (at 112) as the <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldjudgmt/jd071128/countr-1.htm">House of Lords</a> slapped down the Countryside Alliance's latest challenge against anti-hunting legislation this week. <a href="http://headoflegal.blogspot.com/2007/11/countryside-alliance-v-attorney-general.html">Head of Legal</a> has some more serious analysis, but I want to know if the Lords will be completely embracing this kind of approach and soon be texting their speeches in. Presumably <a href="http://www.scjc.state.ny.us/Determinations/R/restaino.htm">this fella</a> would completely flip out at such a development. Assuming of course that he hasn't already.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-55589194480346904432007-11-21T11:35:00.000+00:002007-11-27T19:55:17.584+00:00Whoops!<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm">D'oh</a>! Perhaps Sir Ian Blair's resignation letter has got lost in the same way. Just don't judge him on one letter ok? Equally don't judge HMRC on one lost CD ... there was two? Morons, why didn't they just use a DVD?<br /><br />Anyway, if HMRC can rustle up the cash they can get the disks back through <a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290184203092">eBay</a> and everybody can stop frantically giving their kids new birthdays so that they can change their PINs to something they can still remember - "Chantelle, CHANTELLE! Mummy can't remember when your new birthday is, go and get another new PIN from the bank and we'll get you another birthday. Hmm, how many months are there in a year anyway?"<br /><br />More seriously, the whole sorry scenario is more proof, if it were needed, that big government and secure, efficient, value-for-money IT project management do not go hand in hand. Remember kids, aggravated damages are available for misuse of private information, I think we can slap something together.<br /><br />More on this from <a href="http://charonqc.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/and-they-want-us-to-have-identity-cards/">Charon QC</a>, <a href="http://blog.geeklawyer.org/2007/11/20/on-fallibility-and-encryption/">Geeklawyer</a> and <a href="http://impact.freethcartwright.com/2007/11/the-treasury-lo.html">IMPACT</a>.<br /><br />Update: eBay have pulled the listing, doubtless after HMRC turned up at their door thinking they had the CDs, but there is a copy at <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/21/hmarc_ebay_auction/">The Register</a>. Of the eBay listing, not the CDs, that would be just plain crazy. And in order to improve my posting average I reserve the right to branch off into restaurant reviews.<br />The NAO link in my comment below should be <a href="http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/07-08/0708_child_benefit_data.htm">http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/07-08/0708_child_benefit_data.htm</a><br />Sorry bout dat.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-33753499955581658882007-10-25T20:05:00.000+01:002007-10-25T20:12:54.157+01:00Play nicely nowThe Guardian this week <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/22/news.blogging">reported</a> the case of several blogging critics of Sheffield Wednesday being unmasked. The judgment is up on <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2007/2375.html">BAILII</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.itpro.co.uk/features/131900/">Elsewhere</a> apparently "claims of patent infringement are rife" within open source.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-69600623892315042782007-10-16T19:18:00.000+01:002007-10-16T19:29:16.782+01:00Athens toolbar - not quite there yetThe <a href="https://auth.athensams.net/my/home/">Athens</a> <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/337">toolbar</a> has been around for quite a while now - the most recent version is almost one year old. It's a good idea in principle, but missing a few key features that could make it a vital addon.<br /><br />When not logged into Athens the toolbar has only one option, which is to take you straight to the MyAthens login screen. Once logged in you have a drop down list of all your Athens resources, a log out button and a few account management options. Ok, these are relatively useful, but not really anything that couldn't be achieved with del.icio.us and some judicious tagging. Far better are the features that it doesn't have yet. Add in an easy way to switch between Athens accounts for those us of us with more than one that cover different areas and it's instantly more useful. How about a search box? I realise cross searching might still be a step too far, but a search engine box like Firefox's standard one which allows you to specify Westlaw or LexisNexis would save me literally seconds every day. Over the course of a year the savings could be as much as a couple of minutes. Until then I fear the toolbar might be taking up too much screen real estate to justify its existence.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-6268271542275468322007-09-24T19:04:00.000+01:002007-09-24T19:11:54.568+01:00More letters after your name than in itThey're all at it. The College of Law was granted the power to award degrees last year and has now <a href="http://www.college-of-law.co.uk/news/article-5296.html">awarded 599 LLB</a> degrees to students who have completed their GDL and BVC or LPC courses. The Inns of Court School of Law allows BVC students to <a href="http://www.city.ac.uk/law/vocational/bvc_llm.html">gain an LLM</a> (in Professional Legal Skills) by completing a 15,000-20,000 word dissertation. Now BPP has also <a href="http://www.hemscott.com/news/rna/item.do?newsId=50702088996441">gained degree awarding powers</a>. I understand that they will be offering LLB degrees to GDL students and will provide an option for BVC/LPC students to upgrade to an LLM by completing a couple of extra courses. The big question is what value will these qualifications have to the outside world?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-22867293278271158452007-09-14T11:14:00.000+01:002007-09-14T12:29:12.323+01:00This has made me think...(You know, it's got me thinking)*. Yes, although it has been rather quiet round here lately (leading to a public rebuke), a number of interesting issues have arisen which have led me off of some tangential thoughts. One subject that has exercised me lately has been that of retribution and rehabilitation. The case of Chindamo started me off on this path. I appreciate that the world has moved on since then, but I must plead the defence of being exceptionally busy as I have started a new job and a new course at the same time, leading to me being quite behind the times at the moment. The issue of retribution and rehabilitation is central to why and to what extent we punish criminals for their crimes. Once they have served their time then the retributive component of that punishment must be over. This is why I have no issue with Learco Chindamo's right to stay in the UK upon his future release from prison. The argument could be made that the sentence itself is too short, but that is an entirely different issue. For what it's worth I think that the length of sentence is appropriate given his age, but it is an argument that I could entertain. What I cannot see is what the purpose of expelling him would be, when he is to all intents and purposes a UK national.<br /><br />One of the most fascinating aspects of studying and working with the law is how it makes you think, challenges your preconceptions and then forces you to acknowledge that you may have been wrong. It's probably true to say that at certain levels the academic study of many subjects does this too, but what I have noticed with law is particularly how my own internal inconsistencies of argument are challenged. This leads me back to Chindamo. I have few difficulties in accepting that upon his release he should be allowed to try and build as normal a life as any other murderer. However, my initial reaction when I first heard that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hughes">Lee Hughes</a> was to be signed by Oldham Athletic FC was an outbreak of moral outrage. Hughes was a moderately succesful forward (0 goals in 23 Premier League games) whose chairman used to reward his goal scoring feats with gifts of fast cars. This proved to be a particularly bad idea when his Mercedes CL500 was involved in a crash which killed a passenger in another vehicle instantly. Another passenger died over a year later. Hughes went on the run for a day. Publawyer will wisely avoid to suggest that this would allow the Jack Daniels in his bloodstream to dissipate. During his incarceration he somewhat inevitably found religion and is now a 'changed man'. While I feel that the sentence (six years) is atrociously light I also have to accept that I cannot square my gut feelings on this with my thoughts on Chindamo. Unlike Oldham's chairman Simon Blitz I cannot cowardly refuse to pass moral judgement, but I can admit that once his sentence is complete perhaps Hughes does have the right to resume his career. I sometimes naively cling to the ideal the professional sportsmen should act as role models, but they are, at least from one perspective, all businessmen. Of course the other perspective is that football clubs are all institutions with their roots in the local community and should bear this in mind rather than scrambling mindlessly to reach the soul sapping money of the advertisers. Once they lose interest clubs are going to realise that all they have left is the fans.<br /><br />Hughes has so far only played one game for Oldham, playing all 90 minutes of a <a href="http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=526739">4-1 defeat to Hartlepool</a>. Perhaps his punishment is still ongoing.<br /><br />There are a couple of interesting current American cases to contrast these with. One is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick">Michael Vick</a> who is unlikely to play professional American Football again after his guilty plea to dog fighting and gambling charges (although note that the NFL's main objection is to the gambling not the animal cruelty), the other is the case of Scott McCausland. McCausland was convicted of piracy and upon his release from prison is only allowed to use a computer with monitoring software installed <a href="http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/123359/linux-felon-must-learn-to-love-windows.html">forcing him to use Windows</a>. Cruel and unusual, anyone?<br /><br />*10 indie prestige points to the first person to identify this line. Don't just google it, you're only cheating yourselves. Anyway if you do cheat how do you sleep? How do you last the night and keep the dogs at bay?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-6166756630827606942007-09-14T10:06:00.000+01:002007-09-14T10:12:16.945+01:00HR UpdateI missed this when it first came out, but courtesy of the <a href="http://www.spr-consilio.com/">Consilio</a> updater <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtrights/156/156i.pdf">here</a> is the latest Joint Committee on Human Rights report. It is 107 pages long so might be one for a lengthy train journey, but the topic (Older People in Healthcare) is vitally important and one of the areas where Human Rights legislation can potentially make a great difference, but which are traditionally ignored in the media hysteria about KFC for perps and convicts getting released when they've finished their sentences.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-92126162548669776952007-08-22T11:56:00.000+01:002007-08-23T09:50:50.938+01:00Spot the DifferenceIf you've written for the "popular" press in the last week try this little exercise. See if you can spot the difference between <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1972/19720068.htm">this</a> and <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980042.htm">this</a>. Then try applying your new found knowledge to the Chindamo <a href="http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/ia131072006.doc">judgment</a>.<br /><br />Then you might like to try:<a href="http://eulawblogger.blogspot.com/2007/08/chindamo-case.html"><br />The Chindamo case</a><br /><a href="http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/archives/283">Human Rights - once more with feeling</a><br /><a href="http://headoflegal.blogspot.com/2007/08/learco-chindamo-and-law.html">Learco Chindamo and the law</a><br /><br />Finally, you might be surprised to discover that it is possible to write a reasonably balanced and (shock horror!) accurate report. Try <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2153680,00.html">The Guardian</a> and <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2303135.ece">The Times</a>.<br /><br />This exercise is available free of charge, even if you are a lowly Secretary of State for Justice or a humble Leader of the Opposition. Not too hard was it?The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-22645218061137840922007-08-18T08:55:00.000+01:002007-08-18T09:06:48.320+01:00Nu LooksOk, I try to keep the non-law postings brief and to an absolute minimum, so all I've got to say is that I'm in the process of messing around with the site look. Let me know if I hit upon anything you really like or really despise. I check any changes with FF, IE and mobile Opera, but do let me know if it seems to be broken in any browser/OS combination.<br /><br />If you subscribed to the feed a long time ago it might be worth changing to the <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Publawyer">feedburner</a> one, it doesn't seem to randomly claim to have a whole load of new postings all the time.<br /><br />Incidentally, is it just me or are Blogger templates a total pain to try and change? Would I be better off switching to Wordpress? On the subject of templates if you use Google Analytics and then change your template, don't forget to add the tracking code back in again otherwise you end up why absolutely nobody has visited for two weeks, which is what happened to ... err ... somebody I know (puts hands in pockets, walks away whistling).The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-18899167627370999422007-08-10T12:07:00.000+01:002008-12-09T17:45:39.137+00:00Pupillage and Postgraduate QualificationsSlightly off topic for this august web journal, but I have been thinking quite a bit about <a href="http://pupillageandhowtogetit.blogspot.com/2007/07/mas-and-other-further-academic-degrees.html">this post</a> on Simon Myerson's excellent blog. Simon suggests that a Masters degree is generally not much use in gaining a pupillage. Barrister-2-b has also <a href="http://barrister2b.blogspot.com/2007/06/to-masters-or-not-to-masters.html">asked</a> whether a Masters degree can boost the chances of getting pupillage. As the last few pupils I have spoken to have all had some sort of postgraduate qualification it seemed to me that this must confer some sort of an advantage, but the opinions of those in the know was mixed.<br /><br />In the spirit of statistical adventure I donned my favourite anorak and gathered information from 50 sets in the South East, mainly in London, chosen on a random basis (although it seems to be slightly skewed towards Chancery sets and away from Criminal) from the latest Chambers Student Guide, on tenants that they have taken on in the last five years. This has not been done with any degree of scientific rigour so don't be surprised if it seems like cold fusion if you try and recreate these results. I have tried to exclude the Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin 'fake' MAs, although it is possible that some have slipped through. It is equally possible that some qualifications have been under reported on the web. A few websites have not been updated for the most recent batches of tenants, so the information used is for just three or four years. What I haven't been able to do is analyse the <span style="font-style: italic;">type</span> of postgrad qualification in too much detail as many websites don't list these, but merely describe them. So, if for instance, someone is described as having "a Masters from UCL" I can't tell if that is an LLM or an MA in Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, so I have simply recorded it as a postgrad level qualification. The websites of the 50 sets yielded information on a total of 350 barristers. At an average of about 600 new tenants a year, this represents around 11-12% of the total number taken on during this time. Perhaps most importantly, this data is for pupils who were offered tenancy - it does not tell us anything about those who got pupillage, but weren't good (or lucky) enough to continue past a year.<br /><br />Out of these 350, seven had moved over after practising as a solicitor. I have included them in the pie charts, but left them out of the percentage comparison chart at the bottom. Note how the purple (or the blackcurrant in the pie) which represents those with postgraduate qualifications increases as the value of the pupillage award offered increases and the yellow (or custard) decreases correspondingly. At Chambers offering over £20,000 for a pupillage over half of the recent tenants have a postgraduate qualification.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDUwxSjkg8KZwuj57PF4aW7NX1RHjE9Xn36iGZLjuxCowgaOZpkewc7yR9Cqy1nLhtvec53zY-0-6sNUlaCtfAy7snjZIiHGRwAYR9nXxBKFj9Hx8tYeoG2LXoPbaDCwTNnm7lns_Qr3v/s1600-h/chart1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDUwxSjkg8KZwuj57PF4aW7NX1RHjE9Xn36iGZLjuxCowgaOZpkewc7yR9Cqy1nLhtvec53zY-0-6sNUlaCtfAy7snjZIiHGRwAYR9nXxBKFj9Hx8tYeoG2LXoPbaDCwTNnm7lns_Qr3v/s320/chart1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042532973573650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7vyNDsV4A6lxAUFb8lbohrKPaLUh9PYt3tRG0cYMCGnexgyzTvJ7BKtxmo2bIta8g9Ma0UPRLIWZtx-30an9bINcavktqykVqMod2H22J3DhYiJ5Roxtk3CBWmzkcPbLgXY97Gi3v22h/s1600-h/chart2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7vyNDsV4A6lxAUFb8lbohrKPaLUh9PYt3tRG0cYMCGnexgyzTvJ7BKtxmo2bIta8g9Ma0UPRLIWZtx-30an9bINcavktqykVqMod2H22J3DhYiJ5Roxtk3CBWmzkcPbLgXY97Gi3v22h/s320/chart2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042477138998786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDWm8R0dPkiAbb9oFmYqsGsKMnVyYSk9dn_82u6oedQeetxDYfLHn53sD-mLBu7XKqsv74e_gJxXbY7MpMobfXghmqOi3_aYrIKThgeMaeC_zDmEeZJkoJxB_RpYYjM4WifsSZu7mlLRG/s1600-h/chart3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDWm8R0dPkiAbb9oFmYqsGsKMnVyYSk9dn_82u6oedQeetxDYfLHn53sD-mLBu7XKqsv74e_gJxXbY7MpMobfXghmqOi3_aYrIKThgeMaeC_zDmEeZJkoJxB_RpYYjM4WifsSZu7mlLRG/s320/chart3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042395534620146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiwkUVXEoGGNpCNoMfi8O_QhsKHLGgXV3TpnOOO4h-x9Rxkrlr_wOJrh7ZNYKhp_6vXUbAEVggAjm6ASN7nLhVouZc5PntV8GAV_vRQvj7wdWTGgBtIBteVbk1GfNu0js2Z3P3HYSvK7o/s1600-h/chart4.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiwkUVXEoGGNpCNoMfi8O_QhsKHLGgXV3TpnOOO4h-x9Rxkrlr_wOJrh7ZNYKhp_6vXUbAEVggAjm6ASN7nLhVouZc5PntV8GAV_vRQvj7wdWTGgBtIBteVbk1GfNu0js2Z3P3HYSvK7o/s320/chart4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042331110110690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K2rbVGwcd5Kgioq4OMsiYf70fL4vOu7ddswJpiOJc-HD0YUXuRGs2780_TTL2iRbj5iWE6ZN7bsR_mFA36BF-y1AZEIWUd6RqyaK6f-v0DHdjT1Brb7AoMJT8kpoyg6rHGzfgrBOjuqV/s1600-h/chart5.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K2rbVGwcd5Kgioq4OMsiYf70fL4vOu7ddswJpiOJc-HD0YUXuRGs2780_TTL2iRbj5iWE6ZN7bsR_mFA36BF-y1AZEIWUd6RqyaK6f-v0DHdjT1Brb7AoMJT8kpoyg6rHGzfgrBOjuqV/s320/chart5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042270980568530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1okBUcmiwIm8g5LSCD_6og_Dt-fp936rFqwamLxqPWmBHzGPk1iQESNR7zL2eBk414fArlR93LVJ6deaz2GZ5DsKFw_mvTYH9x42XXIo7WMbddMpBceWqIZfD1z8pqIfh8ZRZfhpKB4os/s1600-h/chart6.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1okBUcmiwIm8g5LSCD_6og_Dt-fp936rFqwamLxqPWmBHzGPk1iQESNR7zL2eBk414fArlR93LVJ6deaz2GZ5DsKFw_mvTYH9x42XXIo7WMbddMpBceWqIZfD1z8pqIfh8ZRZfhpKB4os/s320/chart6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097042210851026370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSp6MNV5pk4cark2QM6NaXzaUfNmWcbJfKMZJagr3RICpIa59Q8RXHVFSXEss1uO-8As61u7Vf8yIPrq2TokxymiZgR3gBmcCvQBt1ga3EuTyByY2yb142J-2RXuuoNxA3eAFNRyLh621/s1600-h/chart7.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSp6MNV5pk4cark2QM6NaXzaUfNmWcbJfKMZJagr3RICpIa59Q8RXHVFSXEss1uO-8As61u7Vf8yIPrq2TokxymiZgR3gBmcCvQBt1ga3EuTyByY2yb142J-2RXuuoNxA3eAFNRyLh621/s400/chart7.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097043688319776290" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There is definitely a correlation of sorts in this last graph. I think the slight reversal at £45k could possibly be attributed to the relatively small sample size for that level of pupillage award.<br /><br />Although as I mentioned above I have not been able to dig into the level of postgraduate qualifications in any great detail, amongst all these qualifications there are:<br />31 BCLs<br />40 LLMs<br />42 MAs<br />12 MPhils<br />14 PhDs<br /><br />What does this mean in terms of the usefulness of a postgraduate qualification in gaining pupillage? It's difficult to be too certain as it's very possible that some of these qualifications have been gained after securing pupillage or even after securing tenancy. None the less, the more that chambers pays its pupils, the greater the likelihood that they will have an extra qualification. As an anecdotal observation, but not one that I recorded data for, it seemed to me going through the websites that at these 'top-end' chambers it was only Oxbridge graduates that were taken on without any postgraduate level qualifications. There are, of course, many non-sinister explanations for this, so I'm not going to jump to the obvious old boys network conclusion.<br /><br />I'm sure this data needs far more analysis to build an accurate picture, but I hope this adds something to the debate. What I am acutely aware that it does not do, nor do I make any claim that it does, is show causation. The whole thing may also seem blindingly obvious to some, but I think pretty graphs are always good.<br /><br />Update (1): See Simon Myerson's new post on this topic <a href="http://pupillageandhowtogetit.blogspot.com/2007/08/ma-update-hat-tip-publawyer.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Update (2): Simon requested a further breakdown of the courses and the institutions offering them. I have gathered information on a further 19 sets bringing us to a grand total of 500 barristers. These extra 150 reflect the general picture given above, but they also offer up a few more examples of different qualifications, so that I now have information on qualifications from 42 different institutions, as follows:<br />54 Oxford<br />40 Cambridge<br />14 KCL<br />11 Harvard<br />9 LSE<br />7 UCL<br />7 London<br />6 City<br />4 NYU<br />4 Toronto<br />3 Columbia<br />3 Pennsylvania<br />2 College of Europe<br />2 EUI, Florence<br />2 McGill<br />2 Paris<br /><br />There were a further 26 institutions which only had one representative, such as Birmingham, Bristol, Chicago, Courtauld Institute, Duke Law School, Essex, Georgetown, Konstanz, Middlesex, Newcastle, Nottingham, Open, Belfast, Coventry, Sheffield, Siena, Sorbonne, Virginia, Westminster and Yale.<br /><br />Among the level of qualifications that I could obtain information on are:<br />65 LLMs<br />46 MAs<br />41 BCLs<br />20 MPhils<br />13 PhDs<br />5 DPhils<br />5 Diplomas<br />3 MScs<br />2 MSts<br />1 MPP<br />1 MJur<br /><br />Among these were the following varied specialisations:<br />DPhils: Public and Regulatory Law; Modern History; Ancient History; Philosophy<br />LLMs: Commercial and Corporate Law; Comparative, European and Public Law; Human Rights; Criminal and Public Law; EC Law; French and European Law; International Trade Law; Employment Law; Comparative European and International Legal Studies<br />MPhils: Medieval History; Political Thought and Intellectual History; International Relations; Historical Studies; Politics; Economics; English Literature; International Development; Philosophy; Theology<br />MAs: Modern History; Communication Policy Studies; International Economic and Stragetic Studies; Irish Politics; Medical Law and Ethics; 20th C Literature; Irish Politics; Law; Comparative Legal and Constitutional Theory; Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies; Crime, Human Rights and the International Community; Disability Studies; Ethics; Administrative Law; Privacy in English Law; Architectural History; Labour Law; Legal and Political Philosophy<br />PhDs: Development Education; International Criminal Law; Neuroscience; Urban Consumer Space; Damages and Human Rights; Philosophy; Musicology<br />Diplomas: EC Competition Law; EC Law; International Human RightsThe Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-40372743300491398212007-08-07T15:26:00.000+01:002007-08-07T15:56:43.336+01:00Judges - they're not all badTurns out that when judges aren't <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2006/719.html">making up daft codes</a>, <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2007/720.html">failing to stand down and then coming over all intemperate</a>, <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2151792.ece">getting blackmailed over affairs</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Bruce_Campbell#Scandal">smuggling cigarettes and alcohol</a> (way back in the day) they are actually doing an ok job. At least that's what the <a href="http://www.judicialcomplaints.gov.uk/docs/OJC_Annual_Report_2006-2007.pdf">Annual Report</a> of the <a href="http://www.judicialcomplaints.gov.uk/index.htm">Office for Judicial Complaints</a> would have us believe. Dale Simon, Head of the OJC, has been interviewed by <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2208414.ece">The Times</a> about this.The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788116642533708419.post-80842033897412680552007-08-03T09:36:00.000+01:002007-08-07T15:24:13.620+01:00Stockwell II: The Return of the Cover-upApparently we're supposed to believe that Ian Blair was totally ignorant about the chaos and misinformation spread by the Met in the aftermath of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell station. Either someone's lying or that's a heck of a way to run a police force. Still, hands up who really thought someone would take the blame and get punished? After all it was only Jonathan Foreigner wot got shot.<br /><span chatdir="1"><span chatindex="708205E3D3488480"><br />The full Stockwell Two report is <a href="http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/ipcc_stockwell_2.pdf">here</a>, a short list of questions and answers is <a href="http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/stockwell_2_q_a.pdf">here</a> (</span></span><span chatdir="1"><span chatindex="708205E3D3488480">note the instructions for the subs at the top of page 2 - very professional).</span></span><br /><span chatdir="1"><span chatindex="708205E3D3488480"><br />Elsewhere in the blogipeligo: <a href="http://blog.geeklawyer.org/2007/08/02/faking-it/trackback/">Geeklayer</a> ¦ <a href="http://adrianmonck.blogspot.com/2007/08/stockwell-2-policing-public-information_04.html">Adrian Monck</a></span></span><span chatdir="1"><span chatindex="708205E3D3488480"><br /></span></span>The Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821563327259040800noreply@blogger.com2