Posts Tagged ‘United Kingdom’

U.K.: “The widow who refused to sue”

73-year-old Gillian Chapman has made headlines by saying “she does not want compensation from the NHS [National Health Service] over the death of her husband, a GP who contracted cancer after working in a hospital that was built using asbestos.” Notes Telegraph columnist Jemima Lewis: “The cult of compensation has had no obvious improvement on [NHS] services.”

March 6 roundup

February 25 roundup

U.K.: study finds jurors “fail to understand judges’ instructions”

“Two thirds of jurors sitting in British courts fail to understand what a judge tells them about important aspects of the law, risking serious miscarriages of justice, a study [based on 69,000 verdicts] concludes.” One possible response is a greater shift to written instructions from judges. [Telegraph] Among other conclusions of the Ministry of Justice study: “all-white juries do not discriminate against black defendants” and “men sitting on juries are less likely than women to listen to arguments and change their minds.” [Times Online]

February 12 roundup

“The greatest risk is living swaddled in bubble wrap”

What some have labelled “a worst-case scenario” approach to daily life has even reached Whitehall, the seat of [British] government itself. In front of the magnificent horse guards who stand guard in rain and shine to the delight of tourists, someone has placed an official sign on the pavement explaining, just in case humanity hadn’t twigged the fact, that “these horses may kick or bite”.

[Michael Simkins, National (Emirates) via Legal Blog Watch]

January 27 roundup