Vulnerable Witnesses within Family and Criminal Proceedings: Protections, Safeguards and Sanctions

Description

"...the book fully justifies its title and will earn a well-thumbed place on the bookshelves, not only of children's lawyers, but also of children's guardians and intermediaries who need to understand how the court can, or cannot, assist the vulnerable to give evidence..." Seen and Heard Are you prepared to protect the vulnerable in court? This book guides you through the rights of witnesses and the duties of advocates in family and criminal proceedings. Explaining the legal structure currently in place to assist vulnerable individuals, this title covers every stage of proceedings, including the investigation/pre-proceeding, and post-proceedings, whilst also looking at anonymity and protective orders. In addition, it discusses the sanctions available to the court if proper consideration and sufficient protection has not been given to vulnerable people at each stage. Covering legislation, regulation and authorities which govern these situations, it offers best practice regarding the examination of those who have difficulty understanding their case, by reason of age, circumstance or emotional and psychological difficulties. Practical help is provided through: Step-by-step guidance at each stage Helpful suggestions as to how to approach the hearing at each stage of proceedings Links to the useful guidance regularly referred to within proceedings including the Advocates Gateway

Frank Feehan KC is a family law barrister at 1 King's Bench Walk and a Recorder in the Crown Court and County Court. Much of his work is in complex medical and sexual abuse cases involving children and learning-disabled adults. He also has a substantial appellate practice concentrating in "human rights" related elements of such cases. He has appeared in most of the major Supreme Court cases in family law in the last 5 years. Caroline Harris is a barrister at 1 King's Bench Walk and practices in family law and criminal law. Family Law Children: Advising and acting in both private and public law proceedings. Criminal Law: She acts for both the prosecution and the defence at all levels and has experience up to and including the Court of Appeal.

...family practitioners will benefit from understanding how the police operate to investigate and gather evidence -particularly in the context of interviewing children, who make up a very obvious category of vulnerable witness...It's a compact text that appears to do an efficient job of distilling a lot of information into digestible paragraphs and setting out the distinctions between the criminal and family spheres in a useful exercise in comparing and contrasting... so anything that can help to bridge that gap of understanding is welcome... This handbook will be of great assistance to those starting out who need an accessible introduction to this field as well as the more elderly practitioners for whom the legal landscape has changed considerably in the last ten years. -- ICLR * ICLR * I am delighted to be able to report that the book fully justifies its title and will earn a well-thumbed place on the bookshelves, not only of children's lawyers, but also of children's guardians and intermediaries who need to understand how the court can, or cannot, assist the vulnerable to give evidence... Whilst the hoped-for 'rescue craft', in the form of the Domestic Abuse Bill, has foundered, this book does amount to a life raft for practitioners with some charts and GPS. * Seen and Heard * comprehensively examines aspects from pre-proceedings and investigations to jury directions and summing up... written in a succinct and readable manner... absolutely up to date with useful references to current case law and legislative changes * Irish Jurist *