PLUS: Last hurrah for Blackfriars View in your browser Thursday September 10 2020 By Jonathan Ames Good morning. Who among us hasn’t from time to time thought that they really fancied breaking the law in a very specific and limited way? Clocking a ton on the motorway for a very specific and limited 30 seconds, for example. Or snorting one very specifically measured line of cocaine … Perhaps that’s enough examples. The current government seems to be right on board with that as Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, explained to MPs this week. However, the lawyers in Whitehall appears not to be quite so chuffed with that approach. In a way, the row over the government’s approach to the legal niceties of the Brexit withdrawal deal was a welcome distraction from the depressing grind of the battle against the coronavirus. And there was a government move on that front as well, as the justice secretary tweaked the law to extend the custody time limit for those charged with serious crimes. It was all part of the running saga involving the ever-growing backlog of criminal cases that has been exacerbated by the anti-virus measures. One commercial law firm was adamant this week that it wasn’t going to be pressured by ministers to rush its staff back into its 11 offices across the country just so the government can demonstrate that it has got the bug on the run. And out in the high streets of England and Wales, there is now hard evidence that the cost of legal advice depends on where you live. Those in the northeast are getting the cheapest deals. In the city of dreaming spires, Oxford's Said Business School is in hot water after an employment tribunal revealed that it charged the Cabinet Office almost a million bob for an executive leadership scheme that it "cut and paste" from an existing course. The future of judicial review is in part in the hands of a former justice minister who is chairing a controversial independent review. In an interview with Times Law, Lord Faulks attempts to calm nerves. Right, I’m jumping on the bike to charge around the streets of London, jumping red lights in a specific and limited manner. Until next week … In this week's Times Law Are courts meddling too much in politics? Lord Faulks tells Frances Gibb about his inquiry into the right to challenge government decisions Curbs to limit judges making “political” rulings will be considered by an independent inquiry launched amid wide concerns that the courts are thwarting government business, The Times has learnt. Read the full story Features round-up More from Times Law Judge hits out at ministers over ‘slow’ coronavirus response Departing is such sweet sorrow -- how law firm partners should retire gracefully Lawyer of the week: Helen Blackburn on acting for the mother of two children who was accused of wrongfully keeping her children in England after moving from Germany Out of court diary -- Time to be a braver woman In conversation | Frances Crook ‘Prisons are grim and prisons policy even grimmer’ The head of the Howard League for Penal Reform tells Catherine Baksi of leaving school at 15, managing a punk band and her fight to improve prison conditions Frances Crook has worked for the Howard League – the oldest penal reform charity in the world – as director and now chief executive since 1986, so she has had plenty of time to come to terms with jokes about her name. Read the full story Comment Custody extension will make justice less fair While extending custody time limits is understandable, the government's move will drain the urgency and creativity from judges and will make pleas more likely, warn Jeremy Benson, QC, and Sailesh Mehta Every civil society sets limits on the time that a person accused of a crime spends in custody while awaiting trial. In England and Wales, this figure had been set at six months. Read the full story Comment Law must be a more inclusive profession Only by understanding the barriers minority lawyers face can we remove them and level the playing field for our whole industry, says Simon Davis Action is needed now to build a more inclusive legal profession. The law can offer fulfilling careers, but like every sector it needs to have some frank conversations about diversity. Read the full story Comment Coronavirus proves how vital legal regulators are Moves to boost transparency at representative bodies will make them fairer and more accessible at an urgent moment in time, writes Helen Phillips Renters facing eviction, workers struggling to understand furlough or redundancy rights, or consumers demanding refunds for undelivered services -- every day during the coronavirus pandemic we hear about people needing effective legal advice. Read the full story Comment Assange’s extradition would undermine the rule of law British and international policy on rendition has made removing a person the default option. This ought to change if human rights are to be upheld, says Paul Arnell Julian Assange’s extradition case currently taking place at the Old Bailey raises significant questions for journalism and human rights. Read the full story In Brief Elsewhere this week ... Trans challenge over equality advice -- The Times Mother faces paying £40,000 legal bill to daughter’s murderer -- The Times Regulators investigate elite London law firm Mishcon de Reya -- The Guardian No, the government is not attacking the rule of law -- Spiked Lingerie tycoon launches legal fight to force Garrick Club to admit women for first time -- Mail Online Leading firm fined for money laundering check failures -- Legal Futures Wannabe barrister compels 16 chambers to hand over their interview notes on him -- Roll on Friday Scots juries to sit in Odeons -- Law Gazette Tweet of the week UK govt: young people need to abide by social distancing rules or we are cancelling Christmas Also UK govt: we are only breaking the law in a specific and limited way #comms @cath_haddon Blue Bag Last hurrah for Blackfriars Six months into the coronavirus crisis and last weekend the Ministry of Justice published a “criminal courts recovery plan”. The measures, which include employing 1,600 extra court staff, installing Plexiglass to separate jurors and opening eight more Nightingale courts, were roundly trashed this week by Judge Keith Raynor, in a damning judgment refusing to extend the custody time limit for a teenager who had been in prison for 321 days awaiting trial. The ministry’s plan to tackle the backlog of approaching 600,000 criminal cases was set out in a 16-page document, complete with colour pictures of the courts in time of Covid. One eagle-eyed court reporter, Josh Mellor, reckoned he spotted an irony in the choice of image used, which depicted an usher leading a chap through a door. Mellor and several criminal barristers claimed to recognise the setting as the inside of Blackfriars crown court in London – a modern, ten-court building that the ministry closed and flogged for a reported £65 million to developers at the end of last year. Readers will be pleased to learn that the usher pictured was not deemed to be surplus to requirement, and according to Mellor he has been redeployed to another court. Tweet of the week ⁦@centreWJ⁩ strategic planning day -we mean business! @HWistrich Quote of the week “I would take away the power of magistrates to send people to prison and give them different powers to help solve people’s problems..." Frances Crook, the chief executive of the Howard Legal for Penal Reform Read the full story Times Law report Judge entitled to take account of possibility that bribery confessions had been obtained by torture Where defendants to a claim for sums due under a charterparty claimed that it was unenforceable as having been procured by bribery, and relied on confessions to that effect, but which the claimants said had been obtained by torture, it was open to the judge to take account of the possibility of torture without actually deciding that question and to treat it as one of the factors to consider when deciding whether there had been bribery at all. Read the full story Follow us If you no longer wish to receive these communications, please follow this link to edit your email preferences. 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