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28 July 2016 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7709 / Categories: Opinion
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A good fit?

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Jon Robins considers the new Lord Chancellor’s credentials

As to what kind of justice secretary Liz Truss might be, the first signs perhaps don’t augur too well. Not much is known about the first female lord chancellor’s thinking on the many justice issues that are presently crowding her in-tray, but we do know that the MP for south west Norfolk repeatedly voted in support of the LASPO cuts and, in a 2011 publication, co-authored a provocative case for reversing “the tide of soft justice” arguing that prisons should be “tough, unpleasant and uncomfortable places”.

Faulks off

Lord Faulks clearly felt that Truss’s lack of qualifications for this ancient office was beyond the pale. “I have nothing against Ms Truss personally,” the justice minister told The Times as he announced his resignation. “But is she going to have the clout able to stand up to the prime minister when necessary on behalf of the judges? Is she going to be able to stand up, come the moment, to the prime minister, for the rule of law and for the judiciary...without fear of damaging her career?”

An

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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