News & Insights

Crime Newsletter | April 2024

24/04/2024

 Welcome to the latest edition of the Mountford Chambers Crime and Serious Fraud newsletter. 

In the first article I consider some of the major legislative changes being introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 including the new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence, attributing criminal liability for economic crime and the changes to POCA legislation aimed at improving the recovery of that most 21st Century of assets Crypto. 

Two of the articles will be of particular interest to those involved in homicide cases and are authored by two of our highly experienced juniors, Stephanie Panchkowry, and Joe Hingston, who both regularly defend allegations of murder. 

Stephanie’s article focuses on the changes to fixing the minimum term following a conviction for murder brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 paragraph 5A of Schedule 21 and the Court of Appeal’s consideration of those changes in the recent case of Kamarra-Jarra (Ismaila) [2024] EWCA Crim 198. 

Joe’s article considers the widespread calls for reform to the laws relating to homicide following the acceptance of pleas to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and the sentence imposed in the case of Valdo Colocane who was responsible for the tragic deaths of three people including two young Nottingham University students on their way home from a night out. 

We also have an article from Charles Hannaford who addresses a number of the issues that can arise with juries. He writes about not only about potential misconduct by jurors but also the topical issue of jurors returning verdicts that might be contrary to the evidence and a Judge’s directions. 

Finally, can I thank our two second-six pupils Fatima Jama and Geogia-Mae Chung for their case law updater reviewing four recent authorities including the case of Attorney General’s Reference on a Point of Law No 1 of 2023 [2024] EWCA Crim 243 that addresses some of the issues in Charles’s article. 

Authors

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