A new expert witness service from arts therapy specialists Chroma has been hailed a success by personal injury lawyers and case managers.
Chroma, the UK’s leading provider of arts therapies, launched the first creative arts therapies (CATs) expert witness service in the UK in February, and many PI lawyers are already looking forward to sending instructions to use the service.
As part of our 25 years trading celebrations, Forensic Healthcare Services have chosen Farleigh Hospice as our nominated charity. The team will be taking part in various activities throughout the year, such as 10k walks, sky dives and linking with local schools to raise money.
We are hoping to reach our target of £10,000 with FHC and its experts making donations to the charity as well.
Farleigh Hospice is a charity very close to both Judy Payne-James' and Alex Earl's hearts as they unfortunately lost their mums in 2022. Without the care and dedication from Farleigh Hospice, their mums would not have been provided with the vital help and comfort they needed in their last few weeks. Supporting Farleigh was an easy choice to make.
Criticism from lawyers, judges and the press may be deterring health professionals from being expert witnesses in family cases. Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, warned back in 2018 that the supply of expertise was ‘drying up’.
In autumn 2018 Sir Andrew established a working group to identify the scale of the problem, to look at the causes and to identify possible solutions. Mr Justice Williams was appointed to chair the group with representation from the judiciary, legal profession, royal medical colleges and other interested bodies.
In the UK it is not unlawful to drink and drive. It is only unlawful to drive while above the prescribed limit of alcohol or be unfit to drive through the amount of alcohol consumed.The prescribed limit also differs around the UK. Scotland, for example, has a stricter level than England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Prosecutions of suspected drink drivers sometimes fail because the police fail to follow correct procedures.
As an ex-police custody sergeant, police trainer and now expert witness, Joanne Caffrey has conducted in excess of 1,000 evidential drink drive procedures, taught officers what they should be doing, and provided courts with reports for what the officers did or did not do.
Time and time again prosecutions fail because officers do not comply with basic fundamental principles and practices in law, or lack knowledge and confidence in which procedure they should be following.
Now, in this volume, Ms Caffrey outlines the real-life procedures for bringing a prosecution.She explains: “Law books are available which discuss the legislation and case law, but what this book brings to the reader is the holistic safer custody process to safeguard the prosecution and safeguard the detainee, preserving life whilst not losing evidence. I use my experience to draw upon real case examples of how prosecutions have failed against suspected drink drivers.”
The book is aimed at all police staff – from the point of scene attendance to arrest, transport and the custody unit ‘station procedures’. Defence and prosecution teams will also find it extremely useful to understand what should have occurred.
Lord Neuberger delivered the keynote address at the annual conference of the Expert Witness Institute at Church House, Westminster in September. ELIZABETH ROBSON TAYLOR of Richmond Green Chambers summarises the highlights.
Looking back on autumn, lawyers will recall that it isn’t just a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness – although most do enjoy those. With predictable regularity, the falling leaves of autumn not only herald in the new legal year, they also create a really quite inspiring backdrop for fruitful new opportunities to meet, greet, network, contemplate and confer.
