The independent Sentencing Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The new guidelines are the first for these offences. They have been developed through consultation to help judges...
News
Campaigning for fairness in criminal lawCLSA Leveson submission
You can read the CLSA submission here and the CLSA Pilot Paper here
Sentencing Council: Publication of definitive sentencing guideline for offences of strangulation and suffocation
The Sentencing Council has published, in accordance with section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, a sentencing guideline for offences of strangulation and suffocation which will come into effect on 1 January 2025. This follows a consultation which took place...
The CLSA and the LCCSA welcome High Court’s Landmark Judgment on Legal Aid Funding
The Criminal Law Solicitors‘ Association and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association welcome the High Court’s landmark judgment on Legal Aid funding and urge the Government to implement the full financial recommendation in the Bellamy review without delay...
CLSA PRESS RELEASE – LOWER CRIME CONSULTATION
The government have today published a consultation on Lower Crime Legal Aid Rates below. https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/crime-lower-consultation/ We will be considering the content and replying in detail in due course. We cautiously welcome...
Local Criminal Justice Board: Call for Evidence – Legal Sector
Dear legal community The Ministry of Justice has launched a Call for Evidence on Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) on 8 January 2024. Local Criminal Justice System (CJS) partners are crucial to driving improvements across the system, and this Call for Evidence...
‘Degrading and demoralising’: High Court hears evidence from criminal legal aid solicitors
The Law Society Gazette By Monidipa Fouzder 14 December 2023
The hearing of R (The Law Society) v the Lord Chancellor begins today in front of the High Court.
The Law Society are challenging the decisions of the Lord Chancellor not to implement the recommendations of the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review in full. The Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review was a government commissioned review into the state of the...
Law Society and CLSA win on all points at interim JR hearing
On 28th November the High Court held an interim hearing of the JR brought by the Law Society, with the CLSA as an interested party, against the failure to implement the Bellamy recommendations in full. At the hearing the Judge made it clear that he wanted to keep the...