News

Can consent to sexual activity be given in advance? Will “advance consent” be a defence for sexual activity with a person who is asleep or unconscious?

Sexual offences against a person with a mental disorder: at what point will a “mental disorder” mean a person lacks capacity to consent to sexual activity? Where do we draw the line? And how will incapacity be proved?

The Sentencing Act 2020 or ‘the Sentencing Code’, as it is often referred to, came into force on 1 December 2020 and applies to all those convicted on or after this date.

A review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim report.

The current Coronavirus pandemic has presented all of us with unprecedented challenges, especially whilst under lockdown.

The COVID19 pandemic has meant that every aspect of society, including the Criminal Justice System, has had to adapt to the many new challenges that we face.

The PDS has advocates who specialise in supporting clients with Autism. Find out how we can help.

Getting the right advice at the right time is critical when you are being interviewed at the police station.

New rules and guidance have been published (for both Magistrates and Crown Court cases). Everyone must adhere to these rules.

People who are neurodivergent may have a condition to which s4 Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 and the Pritchard criteria apply. Neurodivergence may also be relevant to full and partial defences such as insanity, diminished responsibility or duress and to the mens rea of certain offences.