So Maybe The Law Isn't an Ass After All

Great to see that the Paul Chambers conviction relating to a joke tweet has been overturned by the High Court: http://bit.ly/N1xJQP

We commented in an earlier blog that this was clearly a case of rank jobsworthyness from the police, and in particular the C.P.S where the culture is one of watching one's back and not upsetting the applecart by (God forbid!) taking a decision. The people who instigated this catalogue of pantomine errors are paid a ot of money to get it right and they did anything but, though it's worrying that it's taken this long to get the just result. You can perhaps forgive magistrates, who are not legally trained and often refuse to listen to their legal adviser anyway (I know because I was one), for misconstruing the legal meaning of this words used in this case, but what on earth was the Crown Court Judge who dealt with the original appeal thinking?

Such results lead to a further rift between the people of this country and its judiciary who seem increasingly detached from each other at times.

So the law got it right in the end and Paul Chambers can get on with his life, but it's been a very damaging case for criminal law and we should all be concerned that those we like to think make the right decisions on our behalf quite often get it very very wrong. I hope that the C.P.S decision maker in this case is disciplined but of course that won't happen. Paul Chambers, an aspiring accountant, lost two jobs over this conviction and I just wonder who is going to compensate him for that?

Sudan’s Horrific Penal Code

For those proponents of sharia law, this article caught our eye and it's absolutely horrific. If you think we're too soft on our prison inmates then this is what happens when the pendulum swings the other way.

Member's Article: Professor Malcolm Hollis

With thanks to building surveyor, building pathologist and expert witness Professor Malcolm Hollis for his article: 'What is This Thing Called Dilapidation?'  Click on the link for the full article. You can see the author's full profile at X-Pro here.

Cloud Forensics - What To Do?

[ With thanks to Mr Ernesto F. Rojas, one of our X-Pro Legal (USA) expert witnesses for this article recently posted on our U.S blog. We thought it might interest U.K readers too. If you would like to post comments please visit xprolegal.blogspot.com ]

The rapidly growing sector of cloud computing services is a growing headache for the e Discovery and Digital Forensics providers sector in supporting litigation. Most of the tools developed for e Discovery and Computer Forensics are based on the acquisition of static information, with some supplementary tools that allow for the collection of live information such as memory, network connections and running applications designed to be used on discrete (physical) hardware.

The problem is further made worse by the three distinct service models that prevail amongst cloud providers: SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Program as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) these three models depending on the one chosen have a range from providing no information to only a limited ability to provide forensically responsive information. This creates a problem when a respondent to a discovery order has to generate supportable information that is required by a court, regulatory agency, or law enforcement.

At present there is very limited research into the development of tools for the forensic collection of cloud data and the existing tools have limited usage in such environments. How do you readers feel about this issue and has anyone come across any work that is leading the way in this part of the field?

Stop Moaning! We're Very Fortunate

If you're a solicitor, barrister, or some other professional with experience of working in the courts, such as an expert witness, you're probably justifiably fed up to the back teeth with swingeing cuts to Legal Aid and a general lack of business brought on by the awful economic conditions that prevail right now.

Well spare a thought for your colleagues in Burma (Myanmar). Apparently, many of the 30,000 lawyers practising in Burma are in daily fear for their lives. If they represent a client who has the temerity to take on any of the authorities they can, and frequently do, have their licences to practice summarily revoked as well as facing legal action. It's therefore understandable that many are sceptical of the so-called 'transition to democracy', following the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi [pictured] in 2010.

The head of the Burma Lawyers' Council, Mr. U Thein Oo recently stated that:

"Lawyers are treated as defendants if the court decides they have ‘challenged’ the court, or dared to ‘discuss’ the government. This is not a transition to democracy."

As lawyers are usually at the forefront of preserving the rights of free speech and freedom of association perhaps it's not a surprise that they are been victimised in this way. One can only hope that, one step at a time, the country will change for the better. 

But next time your heart sinks at the latest legal outrage perpetrated on the professions by those who govern us, spare a thought for those elsewhere - we're actually quite fortunate by comparison.

Earth-Shattering Justice

In a week when the Supreme Court in the U.S has provided a momentus judgment I thought this video of the Brazilian Supreme Court getting all of its windows completely shattered by supersonic jets provided some light relief. Had the same thing happened in D.C last Thursday could the day have been any more dramatic?

The Supreme Court Building is on the bottom right of the picture as the first jet flies over. I wonder if they were in session?