the barrister
#60
ESSENTIAL READING FOR BARRISTERS
29 th A pril - 23 rd M ay 2014
E st . 1999
www.barristermagazine.com
EASTER TERM ISSUE
Barristers risk losing their Public Access advantage - Unless essential steps are taken With the Bar Council stoking the furnace over ‘public access’ for the last 10 years, there has been constant regulatory change surrounding the initiative, suggesting either a carefully measured approach to improving competitive practices, or an ad hoc response to what may be fundamental flaws in the original idea that no amount of regulatory adjustment can resolve. While the intention behind regulatory change is to present new opportunities, the Bar’s ‘evolution’ towards public access has so far only exposed barristers to competition for legal work from solicitors. Unfortunately, for many members of the Bar,
losing to solicitors in the public access arena is a foregone conclusion, particularly for those less savvy in marketing techniques. Barristers have traditionally had far less experience Dr Yuri Rapoport, than solicitors in Executive Director, dealing directly Legal Cost Finance with clients, and chambers have had considerably p.6 fewer resources than firms of
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ISSN 1468-926X
Features Justice – the principled case for televising courts 13 Open By Richard Glover. School of Law, University of Wolverhampton, co-author, Murphy on Evidence cult of victimhood and 21 The the limits of the law– Part 1 By Barbara Hewson, barrister, Lincoln’s Inn children: Female 29 Hurting Genital Mutilation & custodial restraint By Dexter Dias QC, Garden Court Chambers. Visiting Scholar, Cambridge University cooperation in 32 International criminal cases By David O’Mahony, barrister, 7 Bedford Row
The verdict on reasonable doubt Much has been said about the ability
suggest that interpretations of BRD can
of jurors to understand legal direction
vary considerably between jurors, and
in criminal trials.
In particular, legal
inappropriate application of the standard
direction regarding the criminal standard
is a basis of appeal upon conviction. This
of proof, beyond reasonable doubt (BRD)
is potentially problematic as in the eyes of
has
the law BRD is a static concept that should
come
under
close
scrutiny
with
questions raised as to the extent to which
be uniformly applied.
News 03
City students triumph in moot at European Court of Human Rights
05
New judicial member appointed to QC Appointments Selection Panel
jurors’ correctly understand and apply the standard. Although reasonable doubt
Over the last few years, I have been working
is embedded in legal parlance and the
in collaboration with Prof. Mandeep K.
Publishing Director: Derek Payne
general public are familiar with the phrase,
Dhami from the University of Middlesex
0845 5190 176
it does not necessarily follow that jurors
and Dr. Katrin Mueller-Johnson from the
truly understand what it means. Indeed,
University of Cambridge on an Arts
there is plenty of research evidence to
and Humanities Research Council
email: info@barristermagazine.com Publishers: media management corporation ltd Design and Production: Alan Pritchard email: info@soinspire.me.uk
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