The Barrister Bard

Following a recent hearing in the High Court, Dr. David Southall, an eminent paediatrician, has been reinstated by the General Medical Council [GMC], albeit reluctantly, and is now free to return to child protection work. The GMC had earlier found him guilty of serious professional misconduct, based on his involvement in high […]

In one form or another, trial by jury has been with us for the best part of 800 years, although its metamorphosis into the present system is more a phenomenon of the past fifty years.

Today’s jury is drawn from both sexes, or all three if you include the ‘undeclared,’ the property qualification […]

The High Court is hearing an appeal by Southern Cross, the largest private provider of residential care for the elderly, against the decision of the Commission for Social Care Inspection [CSCI] to order the immediate closure of the Alton Centre, one of its care homes in Northamptonshire. Their decision was based on […]

The thorny issue of compensation for those falsely convicted of crime has generated a heated debate and much beating of the chest in the tabloids. I refer to two recent high profile cases exercising their collective wisdom, namely Barrie George and Colin Stagg. The case of Barrie George is known to […]