*/
David Ormerod, The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hooper
OUP, October 2009, £221.74 978-0-19-557423-0
This work is now in its 20th edition since its re-incarnation by HHJ Peter Murphy, who has now stood down as Emeritus Editor. Criminal practitioners, and his publishers, owe him a great debt of gratitude. The teams of contributors and editors are immensely strong, providing as near a guarantee as is possible of an accurate, erudite work which combines practical guidance with excellent analysis.
The book has grown over the years to 3,001 pages (with indexes). It also now comes with a supplement, containing the Criminal Procedure Rules (though not the Committee’s notes to them) and the guidelines of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. This is an excellent idea, and it is no doubt designed to raise the profiles of both.
The work covers the jurisdiction of the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court, and appeals/judicial review. It includes primary and secondary legislation, together with Codes of Practice, Practice Directions and the Attorney-General’s guidelines, in addition, of course, to commentary. More materials, such as the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines, will be found on the CD version.
The text is arranged with exceptional practicality, with generous use of headings, sub headings and the avoidance of footnotes. As far as I have discovered, cases receive only one citation, with preference given to specialist series, such as the Criminal Appeal Reports.
The work states the law as at 1 August 2009, but includes a very good section on youth rehabilitation orders, which only came into force on November 20. In any case, cumulative papers, the online service and the practice bulletins enable the reader to keep fully up to date.
The work scores most heavily over its rivals by including both main criminal jurisdictions (and some civil applications, such as closure, orders) with liberal interlacing of practical material, such as CPS practice and guidance. It was a remarkable feat to include all this whist retaining excellent accessibility. The original founding editor would be very proud indeed of the way his project has been re-born and taken forward.
Adrian Turner LLB, barrister. A longer version of this review was published in (2010) 174 JPN. 45.
The book has grown over the years to 3,001 pages (with indexes). It also now comes with a supplement, containing the Criminal Procedure Rules (though not the Committee’s notes to them) and the guidelines of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. This is an excellent idea, and it is no doubt designed to raise the profiles of both.
The work covers the jurisdiction of the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court, and appeals/judicial review. It includes primary and secondary legislation, together with Codes of Practice, Practice Directions and the Attorney-General’s guidelines, in addition, of course, to commentary. More materials, such as the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines, will be found on the CD version.
The text is arranged with exceptional practicality, with generous use of headings, sub headings and the avoidance of footnotes. As far as I have discovered, cases receive only one citation, with preference given to specialist series, such as the Criminal Appeal Reports.
The work states the law as at 1 August 2009, but includes a very good section on youth rehabilitation orders, which only came into force on November 20. In any case, cumulative papers, the online service and the practice bulletins enable the reader to keep fully up to date.
The work scores most heavily over its rivals by including both main criminal jurisdictions (and some civil applications, such as closure, orders) with liberal interlacing of practical material, such as CPS practice and guidance. It was a remarkable feat to include all this whist retaining excellent accessibility. The original founding editor would be very proud indeed of the way his project has been re-born and taken forward.
Adrian Turner LLB, barrister. A longer version of this review was published in (2010) 174 JPN. 45.
David Ormerod, The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hooper
OUP, October 2009, £221.74 978-0-19-557423-0
This work is now in its 20th edition since its re-incarnation by HHJ Peter Murphy, who has now stood down as Emeritus Editor. Criminal practitioners, and his publishers, owe him a great debt of gratitude. The teams of contributors and editors are immensely strong, providing as near a guarantee as is possible of an accurate, erudite work which combines practical guidance with excellent analysis.
The Bar Council continues to call for investment for the justice system and represent the interests of our profession both at home and abroad
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Sean’s Place, a men’s mental health charity based in Sefton, as part of its ongoing Giving Back initiative
Q&A with Tim Lynch of Jordan Lynch Private Finance
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
The Amazonian artist’s first international solo exhibition is wholly relevant to current issues in social and environmental justice, says Stephen Cragg KC
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
It’s been five years since the groundbreaking QC competition in which six Black women barristers, including the 2025 Chair of the Bar, took silk. Yet today, the number of Black KCs remains ‘critically low’. Desirée Artesi talks to Baroness Scotland KC, Allison Munroe KC and Melanie Simpson KC about the critical success factors, barriers and ideas for embedding change
