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Martin, Johnston & Socha Insights

Criminal Law news & updates from Martin, Johnstone & Socha's expert criminal defence solicitors.

MJS Take Over Higgins, Morledge & Litterick

Martin Johnstone & Socha are pleased to announce the acquisition of Higgins, Morledge & Litterick of Alloa and their integration into our leading criminal defence firm.

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7212 Hits

Overseas Drivers Escape Speeding Offences

Overseas drivers have escaped 23,295 speeding offences since January 2013, the equivalent of £2.3 million worth of speeding tickets, according to road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

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1958 Hits

Scotland Passes New Act to Combat Forced Marriage

On the 30th September 2014 the Scottish Parliament passed the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which makes it illegal to use threats or coercion to attempt to force someone into marriage. MSP’s passed the Westminster legislation on the issue after it was enacted in England Wales in June. 

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1772 Hits

Getting Away With Murder? - The Oscar Pistorius Trial

A South African Judge determined that Oscar Pistorius was not guilty of premeditated murder, after firing four fatal shots into his bathroom with his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp inside. The judge had to decide between “dollus eventualis” (common murder), culpable homicide or acquittal after clearing Pistorius of the premeditated murder charge.

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2054 Hits

One in Six Women Drivers Admit to Drink Driving

One in six (17%) female motorists thought they might have driven whilst over the legal limit in the past year, according to new research from Direct Line Car Insurance and Rees Jeffreys Road Fund.

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1858 Hits

Man Claims Miscarriage of Justice After Two Staged Accidents To Murder Wives

Malcolm Webster, who murdered his first wife by staging a car accident and attempted to murder his second wife in the same way, is further appealing his life sentence claiming that he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

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2009 Hits

Glasgow Sheriff Court Struggles with Number of Domestic Abuse Cases

Glasgow Sheriff Court is under strain from the sheer number of domestic abuse cases coming through the courts. The ‘busiest court in Europe’ currently has a backlog of 1300 domestic abuse cases, with victims waiting up to 19 weeks to have their case heard. The Scottish Court Service however, belives this to be an improvement – it was previously 22 weeks.Domestic abuse cases currently represent around 25 percent of all summary cases coming through the court an din order to relieve the mounting number of cases, additional ‘daily trial courts’ will be held by senior prosecutors next month. 

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2785 Hits

Pilot Project of Clare’s Law to be Introduced in Aberdeen and Ayrshire

The law which will allow police to disclose details as to whether an individual has a history of violence known as “Clare’s Law’ is to be introduced in Aberdeen and Ayrshire.

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1849 Hits

Scottish Drivers Committing More Than 40 Serious Offences Per Day

New figures reveal Scottish motorists are suspected of committing 40 or more serious road traffic offences each day.

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1831 Hits

Andy Coulsoun to Face Perjury Charges

Former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson has formally been charged with three counts of perjury at a hearing in the High Court in Glasgow.

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1978 Hits

Police Look for "Cinderella" Thief

Police in County Durham  are currently searching for a man who left a fairytale calling card  on Sunday night after attempting to steal cider from a local shop.

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2044 Hits

Police Scotland Stop and Search Rates Almost Nine Times Higher Than NYPD

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) have discovered that the rate of searches carried out by Police Scotland, per 10,000 people is nearly nine times higher than that carried out in in the New York Police Department (NYPD) 

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10421 Hits

Law Society of Scotland Raises Concern over Rushed Data Bill

Emergency legislation  which allows telecoms companies to retain customer information to be passed at Westminster raises substantial concerns, the Law Society of Scotland has said.

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1780 Hits

New Sheriffs Appointed

Six new sheriffs have been appointed across Scotland.

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4233 Hits

Crime Trends in Scotland Published

Police Scotland have published information detailing the numbers of crimes committed in different areas of Scotland.

The information, gathered from policing management data systems, is not official recorded crime statistics but indicates that:

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2284 Hits

Rise in Reporting of Sexual Crime

There has been an increase in the number of sexual crimes, including rape, reported to the police, according to a recent report from Police Scotland.

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1897 Hits

Hate Crime in Scotland

A recent report from the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service has revealed the number of hate crimes that took place in Scotland in 2013-14.

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2008 Hits

Cracking Down on Organised Crime

Perpetrators of serious and organised crime are to be hit harder and faster in the pocket under plans recently unveiled by the UK and Scottish Governments.

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1940 Hits

Police Launch Annual Drink Drive Campaign

The 2014 Summer Drink Drive campaign has been launched by Police Scotland and the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, supported by Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland.

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1926 Hits

Speeding Drivers Caught on Camera

A freedom of information request submitted to the police from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has revealed that a motorist traveling at 149mph on the M25 at Swanley holds the record for the highest speed clocked by a speed camera in England and Wales between April 2013 and May 2014. 

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1963 Hits

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