Stephen Davies
@sdavieslaw
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Criminal Defence Solicitor | London | Academic | Policy | Politics | I specialise in criminal law, procedure, legal aid, policy & access to justice.
London | South Shields
Joined June 2015
RT @alysharte: Lead story on @BBCRadio4 and front page of the news website - my latest investigation: . Courts service 'covered up' IT bug….
bbc.co.uk
Sources say judges in courts and tribunals will have made rulings when evidence was incomplete.
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Wow! If you thought the justice system couldn’t deteriorate any further:. “Courts service covered up IT bug that caused evidence to go missing”. To quote @neill_bob from 5y ago “this points to a grave failure of proper management on the part of HMCTS”.
bbc.co.uk
Sources say judges in courts and tribunals will have made rulings when evidence was incomplete.
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The analysis of the High Ct, compared to the MC daily is astonishing. "The MC failed to apply the correct approach & failed to have regard to relevant considerations. The decision was, therefore, unlawful &the challenge on ground 1 succeeds" - Malone [2025] EWHC 1740 (Admin).
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I for one always listen to Hardy-Susskind because she knows what she’s talking about. I wish politicians would engage more with practitioners at the coal face. It’s all good and well commissioning ‘independent reviews’, but some of us live and breathe the coalface daily. Idea:.
No one listens to me but the way to speed things up is to have a 4 day trial week. This would:. a) allow judges to rattle through interlocutory hearings that delay trials.b) allow counsel to sort out the things that delay trials .c) attract back caregivers who often do RASSO work.
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RT @BarristerSecret: I prosecute and defend the most serious sexual offences in our courts. The overwhelming majority of offenders are Bri….
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Rome continues to burn. Trial dates in 2029 represents a collapse in justice. The professions are standing, but in a chronic state of stress. Govt Ministers continue to fail us; I bet they wouldn’t bother reaching for the defibrillator.
theguardian.com
Barristers report going unpaid and cases being turned away amid fears firms will desert legal aid work altogether
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“The MoJ originally said applicants' personal data since 2010 may have been accessed”. “Today, the department said further investigations showed some data going back to 2007 may have been accessed”. Why have @MoJGovUK held data for so long? .
lawgazette.co.uk
New system will be introduced in September - but may not mark end of months of disruption for legal aid lawyers.
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I wonder what the odds are when it comes to the portal going back online in September?.
lawgazette.co.uk
Disruption endured by lawyers in submitting applications and receiving payments to last at least another month.
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“…burnt out, overstretched, and financially constrained”. If the Govt followLeveson’s recommendations & shift cases to an intermediate court for a fixed fee lesser than what the Crown Court fee would be, solicitors firm would still sign the crime contract. It’s embarrassing.
Duty solicitors are a staple of every modern detective drama. But with numbers plummeting, their attendance is becoming less dependable in real‑life police stations. @legalhackette reports ⬇️.
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Leveson’s Review of Criminal Courts stated a net impact of 7-9k sitting days. I cannot imagine any political adviser suggesting the financial and constitutional cost is worth such a pitiful political reward beyond this parliamentary term. @ShabanaMahmood open the current courts?.
Today 6 of Old Bailey’s Crown court rooms are shut.Monday 8 of 18 or 45% didn’t sit.Snaresbrook had 5 of 20 effectively shut, 4 not sitting, 1 sitting but no cases. London backlog: 17,492 at 31/3/25.up 1500 since sitting days cut in October.It had fallen 2000 over 2yrs previously
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The football transfer market is rather cringe on social media. Commentators like to throw the phrase “world exclusive” around like confetti. They can’t seem to operate without a catchphrase either. Don’t worry though, you can ask Grok to confirm. Bring back Rednapp at the window!.
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Incredible. I’m still shocked that a newly promoted premier league team like Sunderland is able to lure a player of Xhaka’s calibre.
🚨 🛩️ VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: .Granit Xhaka has landed in the North East to sign for Sunderland! .🎥 Watch @SkySportsNews video (below) of the Swiss international landing by private jet this evening this — alongside #SAFC owner Kyril Louis Dreyfus, who’s got his man. 🩺 💰 The
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This is an incredible signing for Sunderland. I can’t wait to watch Xhaka in midfield, particularly against Newcastle in the north east derby. Given the transfer window so far, there’s now real hope we can stay up and even compete!.
🚨🔴⚪️ EXCLUSIVE: Granit Xhaka to Sunderland, here we go! Deal agreed between all parties involved. Understand fee will be €20m, contract until 2027. Green light from Bayer Leverkusen for the player to fly today and complete his move to #SAFC, one more ambitious signing.
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If you think criminal justice cannot sink any further, think again!. Forensic Science Regulator - Regulator’s Notification No 02-2025:. “There is a risk of misidentification of drugs and therefore incorrect drug and/or class attributed to the result”.
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Lovely new home shirt for the new Premier League season. With the new additions to the squad, I imagine @mrdjsalter will be nervous as West Ham fan for the first game at the Stadium of Light.
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“This is useful for me to take back”. Not good enough. To be in business means an intention to profit. Business also needs a degree of certainty. Post Bellamy Review, I’ve not seen any noticeable change. LAA hack & Leveson prospects makes it worse.
lawgazette.co.uk
Law firm director tells minister staff are spending at least two hours more per case but costs assessment guidance prohibits payment.
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“the status quo, or vested interests of long-standing rights being espoused by some legal professionals, will have to be set aside”. Quite a remarkable thing for the inspector of the CPS to say without mentioning Crown Court rooms are sitting idle doing nothing every day.
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Leveson said that there’s no other choice other than to limit the cases that can be tried by jury & instead have a bench or judge alone. The most astonishing aspect of his review is that it would only yield 7-9k sitting days per year. The other solution? Open up the courts!.
📈Today, 18 July 2025, 114 out of the 516 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting. That's 22% of them. #courtstats #CS18072025
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I am pleased to contribute to @APPGJustice’s Summer Bulletin regarding Leveson’s Review of Criminal Courts. In R v Crawley, Sir Brian said abuse of process is a remedy of “last resort.” I say the same about restricting jury trials. Open every court room! .
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RT @MaxJLHardy: 1. Does this defendant need to be prosecuted?.2. Does this defendant need to be prosecuted now?.A solution to the Crown Cou….
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