The Legal 500 has published it’s United Kingdom 2025 edition. We are proud to announce that Reeds Solicitors has been ranked as a Top Tier criminal law firm, having performed even better than previous years. About the Legal 500 For over 30 years, the Legal 500 has assessed the strengths of law firms in over […]
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It was widely reported this month that several train companies have unlawfully prosecuted individuals by misusing the Single Justice Procedure and up to 75,000 convictions for fare evasion offences have now been quashed. This is shocking news and could have enormous consequences for the train companies involved, especially given that bills could, in theory, run […]
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I was in our local Magistrates court the other day when I was approached by a young man and his mother. He had been convicted of using a mobile phone whilst driving. He was a probationary driver, and as the offence carries obligatory endorsement of 6 penalty points, his licence had been revoked and he […]
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Even though most drivers know about clearing snow and ice from their windscreen, many are unaware of the potential to be penalised even if the covering has no impact on their vision. Here are some areas where a driver may be penalised when driving in adverse weather. Driving in Adverse Weather Guidelines Section 229 of […]
A Review of Short Term Prison Sentences The Ministry of Justice is considering the removal of short term prison sentences – namely those of less than six months – in England and Wales. Exceptions to this would be if the sentence was for violent crime or a sexual offence. The proposals stem from the argument […]
The Assault on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 (the Act) came into force on 13th November 2018 in response to increasing assaults on emergency workers. The Act does not create a new, freestanding offence, rather it provides that where the offence of common assault or battery is committed against an emergency worker acting in the […]
Solicitor and Team Leader for our mental health department, Sarah Griffiths-Jones, has been named one of Wales Online‘s 30 young lawyers to watch. The newspaper commented, “Sarah is one of just 30 accredited mental health solicitors in Wales, approved by the Law Society to represent patients detained under the Mental Health Act. Sarah has experience in […]
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There may be a time when you are interviewed by the police. Whether you request a solicitor to be present during the police interview under caution or not, you should be cautious with what you say in these interviews. Many of us have a great deal of trust towards the police, and believe that justice […]
New Guidelines: Breach of Court Orders The Sentencing Council has published new guidelines which came into effect on the 1st October 2018. Now, if you breach a court order imposed you will be subject to harsher punishment. The guidelines address breaches such as Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders and deals with 8 others, including […]
In this day and an age, our most intimate and personal lives are on our phones. Whether that is banking details and apps, texts and emails, dating and relationship apps, photographs of friends and family, and even maybe the odd “personal” photograph of ourselves. It’s not hard to understand why we keep our digital devices […]
The current law on Smacking Children At present parents can ‘smack’ or physically chastise a child so long as it is deemed ‘reasonable’. This defence is not available where the accused is charged with wounding, causing GBH, ABH or cruelty to persons less than 16 years of age. However, its remains available for parents against […]
Abigail Ashford, solicitor-advocate and team leader of our London office, was called upon by The Times to comment on her recent case at the Court of Appeal, concerning a young mother who had been sentenced to immediate custody at the County Court for contempt, without having had the benefit of legal representation. Abigail instructed Mr Abid Mahmood of Counsel […]
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You might have noticed the press writing a lot about police forces undertaking random checks on motorists and revoking licences at the roadside. We thought it might be helpful to have a look at this and provide some accurate information. What power do the police have to conduct a Roadside Eyesight Test? If you are […]
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A prima facie case is an early session for a court to determine whether the prosecution can proceed to trial with the defendant fully for the crime. At the end of this presentation it may be possible for the client’s defence to present an argument that there is ‘no case to answer’. The ‘no case […]
The most popular pet owned in the UK is a dog, with nearly 25% of the population owning one. However, many owners are unaware of the potential consequences that can follow from owning a dog. Being accused of failing to keep that dog under control can lead to Dog Control Orders, and in the worst […]
If you are suspected of driving with excess alcohol in your body, you may be asked to provide a specimen of breath or breath sample at the roadside. This will usually be done by breathing into a ‘breathalyzer’. If that sample is positive, you are likely to be arrested and taken to the police station. […]
“HMO” stands for House of Multiple Occupancy. Under the Housing Act 2004 it is a criminal offence to operate an unlicensed HMO, where a licence is required. This can be a confusing area for even experienced practitioners to negotiate, so it is no surprise that an increasing number of people seem to be getting caught […]
The Sentencing Council, responsible for setting sentencing guidelines in England and Wales, has issued a new guideline in relation to manslaughter offences. [Edit: this article was originally published in July 2018, and may not be fully accurate. If you require advice, assistance or reputation for anything related to manslaughter, please contact our solicitors now.] If […]
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Clare Fear successfully opposed an AG reference against our client’s sentence at the Court of Appeal on the 25th July, in the case of R v H . Our client was sentenced to a community order for conveying cannabis into prison. The Attorney General referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal, arguing that it […]
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When a loved one dies your life can be turned upside down. If your loss is then complicated by the need for an Inquest to establish the cause of death, it can be simply overwhelming. The Inquest hearing itself can be very daunting, taking place in a formal court room type setting; often with several […]
As reported in the media on a near daily basis, there has been a significant upturn in the use of knives across the country over the past few years. Parliament published their Knife Crime Briefing on 25th June 2018 which gave statistical support to this worrying trend. In the year ending March 2017 there were 34,700 […]
In the wake of recent reports of Prosecution failures to disclose relevant material on the defence, one of our our High Wycombe office successfully persuaded the Prosecution to discontinue a case following an abuse of process argument she raised, after crucial defence evidence was not served by the Prosecution. Evidence Disclosure: Not disclosed to Defence The case […]