My First FOI Request

January 26, 2012 · 0 comments

in DIY Law

As I’ve only made the one Freedom of Information Act request, I certainly don’t hold myself out to be any sort of expert. I didn’t “win” – and it was always going to be a mountain to climb getting the Information Commissioner (decision here) and the First Tier Tribunal (decision here) to require Hackney Council [...]

Tagged as: FOI

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The Cycling QC & the Hounslow Killing Zone Incident

January 24, 2012 · 0 comments

in Criminal law

It seems like it was just the other day we had to lay down the law for light jumping cyclists. Today, and with a big H/T to Messrs Legal Cheek, we’re able to see the flip-side of the same old coin – motorists who don’t think cyclists have equal protection under the Road Traffic Act [...]

Tagged as: Cyclists, RTA

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Lawyers & Other Charlatans

January 20, 2012

Friends, this is a funny old jurisdiction. Anybody can call themselves a “lawyer”. You don’t have to have one day’s worth of legal training to be a “lawyer”,  “will-writer” or “professional McKenzie Friend” – and yet these people are happy to take your money to give legal advice and do the talking for you in [...]

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The Curious Incident of the Edgware Road Cyclist

January 18, 2012

While I make no comment on the Danny Shine and PC Stout matter, as the video has been taken down, I thought it might be a useful moment to make some general comments on cycling, red lights, police powers and the law. Running red lights is an offence. Even for cyclists – and the law [...]

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Forced Marriage

January 14, 2012

One of the saddest things to see is a school-kid’s life spin out of control – and for her to feel powerless to change what is happening to her. People who live here in Hackney or in our neighbouring borough, Tower Hamlets, don’t know the half of what’s going on. I’d rather believe that than [...]

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Getting (Non Legal) Help: First Things First

January 13, 2012

Work as a legal aid or pro bono lawyer for a while – and you begin to realise there really isn’t much separating you from your clients. To quote the Unwashed Advocate, the only difference between me and my clients is circumstance. It doesn’t take much for a person’s world to be turned on its [...]

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