Making a Murderer, in the UK?
22nd Sept 2016
Chris Topping – Director of JC Group and civil rights, actions against the police and Inquests solicitor. Chris is also Chair of the Access to Justice Committee at Liverpool Law Society.
· Lord McNally: “A plea to all the lawyers – those coming up and those already there. You have got to accept that bandying about access to justice, it’s really quite fraudulent.”
On 14 September 2016, instead of holding a regular monthly meeting in London, we decided to attend an event held by the think tank Politeia on 'Legal Aid: Its Role in an Effective Justice System', featuring the former Minister for Legal Aid, Shailesh Vara MP. YLAL member Henry Gaster-Evans attended the talk and kindly provided this report.
YLAL Monthly Meeting – July 2016
Attendees: Rachel, Ollie, John, Imogen, Francis, Ian, Gift, Nathan, Phil, Nina, Callum, Catriona, Karolina, Richard, Martin, Andrea, Daniel, Kate, Louise, Rachel, Maia, Matt, Mark, Anastasia, Emily, Eva, Sophie and others.
1.Welcome and introduction
Meeting in London
1. Welcome and introduction
2. Justice in the dock
Jodie Blackstock, Director of Criminal Justice at JUSTICE told us about JUSTICE's In The Dock report. The report considers the use of the dock in criminal trials, and the impact of this on the defendant's right to a fair trial.
Since the last meeting in April, please find below a brief update on what people can get involved with/support and attend for YLAL North: -
Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) has responded to the Ministry of Justice Consultation on Tribunal Fees in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chambers) - you can read our full response here. The consultation is available to read here.
The subject of the meeting was Being a Legal Officer in a Human Rights Charity: what's involved and how to get there. We were joined by Hermione McEwen, legal officer at Freedom from Torture, to speak about her career to date and how the charity's work has been affected by cuts to legal aid.
We had a great talk with Hermione, it was a privilege to hear from someone who has had so much experience as a lawyer and judge. Thanks to all that came and especially to Katy Moulton for organising.
Attendees: Rachel, Ollie, Philip, Tara, Janine, Imogen, Frances, Daniel, Max, Oliver, Anastasia, Rosie, Aileen, Sonya, Rushika, Henry, Catriona, Richard, Nathan, Emily, Rebecca, Kate, Susanne, Claire, Gimhani, Ian, Katherine and others
1. Welcome and introduction
2. Crowdfunding justice and junior doctors' contract – Guest Speakers
CrowdJustice: Julia Salasky
This is Young Legal Aid Lawyers' submission to the call for written evidence by the Bach Commission on Access to Justice, which was set up by Lord Bach after he was asked by Jeremy Corbyn to carry out a comprehensive review of legal aid for the Labour Party, considering civil, crime, family and social welfare law.
The terms of the review are:
To set out the principles that should be at the heart of the legal aid system.
To develop a legal aid policy that is credible, principled and up to date.
Attendees Katherine Barnes, Katie Tilet, Eirwen Pierrot, Rachel Etheridge, Francesca Allen, Aileen Redmond, Derek Bernard, Charlotte Bellamy, Susanne Seaton, Frances McCormack, Daniel Cooper, Jenny Mansell, Hannah Gomersall, Radhika Shah, Anastasia Solopova, Nishmita Bhamra, Rebecca Hacker, Peter Walker, Ornina Kassem, Tara Mulcair, Nathan Adams, Tobias Smith, Karolina Rychlicka, Oliver Carter, Rachel Francis, Henry Gaster-Evans, John Briant, Caterina Franchi, Heather Thomas, Anne Shirley Mitchell, Tom Trim, Holly Buick, Marie Monnet, Connor Johnston, Mark Webster, Onika Ph
