A link to some more stuff I said elsewhere on the topic of legal aid reform, and more importantly to what some other people (including a not-so-anonymous blogger) said about legal aid reform: Falling on deaf ears, By Jean-Yves Gilg, Giles Peaker, Lucy Reed & Juliette Frangos
Tag Archives: legal aid sentencing and punishment of offenders bill
Lawyers do it standing on their heads
Some days I think that lawyers make better journalists than journalists do. Perhaps journalists would make better lawyers than lawyers do…?
Cases in point:
- Justice: RIP?, regarding the ill informed illiberal illogical response to the way the defence was conducted in the Bellfield trial, by the awesome ex-lawyer-type @_millymoo
- Legal aid and the negligence of the press (well, ok legal journalist but still…)
- Lawyer-come-boffin Richard Moorhead offers A Few More Despairing Words. Thanks Richard. Warmed me cockles…
- Nearly Legal: For Whom The Bill Tolls
- @FelicityGerry:does not want to Vajazzle
These are mostly (not all) about legal aid reform, but only because this is pretty much all I have been reading about this week. There is a wider point.
It would be great if I can write a blog post next week saying how pleasantly surprised I was at the excellent coverage (any coverage) of the second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. Watch this space…
Postscript – See! It can be done: Guardian editorial on Legal Aid Reform (26/6/11). Duly chastened.
Trying To End Things
I’ve had two very different articles published today, both about attempts to end things:
- an article on the bringing to a close of children proceedings through the making of orders under s91(14) Children Act 1989: Section 91(14) Orders – A Never Ending Story? (Family Law Week), and
- an article on the attempt to bring an end to civil legal aid by the government: Ignore the warnings about legal aid changes and risk meltdown in courts (Guardian)
Those responsible for the latter could do to take a leaf out of the former: draconian powers, not to be used summarily…sadly we read today that the Government is planning to fast track the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill – second reading on Weds next week. That is really, really shoddy: politics at its worst.