tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post5779668491361273123..comments2024-03-24T23:01:57.640+00:00Comments on The Justice Diaries: Freedom of Information campaign : Make the Law Society of Scotland comply with FOIUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-79301276755379289192009-07-06T22:53:49.617+01:002009-07-06T22:53:49.617+01:00# Anonymous @ 10.21pm
Good to hear it ... and dir...# Anonymous @ 10.21pm<br /><br />Good to hear it ... and dirty tricks come as part of the package when it comes to dealing with the Law Society.<br /><br />I'd encourage everyone so inclined to post up a copy of the Law Society/exempt from FOI image and get writing to the Justice Secretary as others have already done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-91423497618360145762009-07-06T22:21:50.608+01:002009-07-06T22:21:50.608+01:00This more than any of your recent stuff has the La...This more than any of your recent stuff has the Law Society worried - I was talking to a colleague today who said the LSS will be going full out to kill any idea they should be made foi accountable.<br /><br />Expect some dirty tricks which I'm sure you will be ready for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-43272737445934628442009-06-29T14:23:03.859+01:002009-06-29T14:23:03.859+01:00Very well put Peter.There is no justification for ...Very well put Peter.There is no justification for such a level of secrecy at the slcc especially given their receipt of so much public money.<br />The Law Society too should be made compliant with freedom of information and backdate it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-86318732368889114712009-06-25T22:41:57.406+01:002009-06-25T22:41:57.406+01:00This is such an excellent idea Peter.I wish you al...This is such an excellent idea Peter.I wish you all the best for its success and everyone who takes part.<br />Good luck everyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-38483575065323281692009-06-24T15:48:05.662+01:002009-06-24T15:48:05.662+01:00Lawyers, doctors and Satin, same thingLawyers, doctors and Satin, same thingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-2609733357541659252009-06-24T14:31:14.565+01:002009-06-24T14:31:14.565+01:00I think the question must still be asked why and h...I think the question must still be asked why and how did the Law Society manage to secure immunity from FOI and an investigation of that too but I do support your campaign Peter.Keep up the good work !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-58508678245157464112009-06-24T14:11:29.537+01:002009-06-24T14:11:29.537+01:00Solicitor Probed Over Home Scam
Feb 24 2008 Exclu...Solicitor Probed Over Home Scam<br /><br />Feb 24 2008 Exclusive by Norman Silvester<br /><br />A SOLICITOR is being investigated after buyers lost thousands of pounds on dream homes that were never built.<br /><br />Tony Murphy faces a Law Society probe over his role in the collapse last month of Glen Isla Homes, which cost 29 people up to £300,000 in lost deposits.<br /><br />Bentley-driving builder Stephen Connelly raked in the money - plus £185,000 of taxpayers' cash - before he flogged the site in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, for £700,000 and his company went under.<br /><br />Connelly's lawyer Murphy, of Hamilton, will be asked why he charged £50,000 in fees to the firm before it went to the wall.<br /><br />The Law Society will also probe his role in the transfer of £230,000 from Glen Isla to another of Connelly's firms, 1st Access Rentals.<br /><br />Liquidator Wyllie and Bisset are trying to get creditors' money back.<br /><br />They found that Murphy, who lives in a £400,000 house with wife Janice, had a Glen Isla credit card and signed cheques - even though he is not listed as a director.<br /><br />The Law Society said: "A number of reports are being investigated."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-58063577412878554842009-06-24T13:58:52.782+01:002009-06-24T13:58:52.782+01:00Lawyer quizzed in £350k fraud probe
Apr 20 2008 B...Lawyer quizzed in £350k fraud probe<br /><br />Apr 20 2008 By Derek Alexander<br /><br />More Scottish News Brief's £350k Cash Quiz<br /><br />A LAWYER is at the centre of a £350,000 fraud probe after legal aid bosses called in police.<br /><br />Ian Robertson, 54, was quizzed by detectives over an alleged three-year swindle centred on visits he made to clients in Peterhead Prison.<br /><br />The company boss - who was once convicted of head-butting his wife - and a lawyer who works for him were last week told they cannot claim any more legal aid.<br /><br />Bosses at the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) also froze payments for work already done.<br /><br />Paisley-based Robertson and Ross raked in £832,800 in payments last year.<br /><br />A source said: "Fraud allegations are taken very seriously.<br /><br />"Solicitor firms have the potential to make a substantial amount of money each year and there has to be accountability.<br /><br />"If there is a suspicion of fraud then they have to make sure it is properly investigated."<br /><br />Ten years ago, Robertson was fined £200 for butting his cheating wife in the face.<br /><br />He flipped when he found out he had paid for a foreign holiday for Fiona and her lover Brian Beacom.<br /><br />It is understood fraud squad officers moved in to question Robertson this month after an anonymous letter to the SLAB.<br /><br />Legal aid pays for people on low incomes to get help from lawyers. The SLAB is responsible for managing the system in Scotland and is funded by the taxpayer.<br /><br />A SLAB spokesman said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the case."<br /><br />Robertson said: "We are co-operating fully with the inquiry but I am disappointed details have been leaked.<br /><br />"My position is that all work which we have claimed for has been carried out and I am confident that this will be resolved satisfactorily and quickly."<br /><br />SUNDAY EMAIL<br /><br />d.alexander@sundaymail.co.ukAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-36676213376937669752009-06-24T12:14:03.161+01:002009-06-24T12:14:03.161+01:00Judge claims paedophile victim 'dressed provoc...Judge claims paedophile victim 'dressed provocatively'<br /><br />5:30am Monday 25th June 2007<br />By George Gaynor »<br /><br />A child protection charity has attacked a decision to save a paedophile from a long jail term after a judge said his 10-year-old rape victim dressed "provocatively".<br /><br />Window cleaner Keith Fenn, of Starwort Path, Blackbird Leys, could be free in just four months after admitting twice having sex with the child.<br /><br />Kidscape has branded the sentence dished out by Judge Julian Hall as a "disgrace" and called for him to be axed from the bench.<br /><br />Judge Hall, who hit the headlines after telling another paedophile to buy his child victim a bicycle, could have jailed Fenn for at least five years.<br /><br />At Oxford Crown Court on Friday, Judge Hall described the rape in a park in Henley-on-Thames, as an "absolute crime", but insisted it was an "exceptional" case because of the girl's perceived maturity.<br /><br />Fenn, 25, was given concurrent two-year and 18-month sentences, but could will be free in months after spending eight months in jail on remand.<br /><br />His friend Darren Wright, 34, was given a nine-month jail term for inciting the girl to engage in a sex act on the same night on October 14, last year. Unemployed Wright had also served eight months, so was immediately freed.<br /><br />Judge Hall said: "It is an absolute crime because she was only 10.<br /><br />"In my experience this has been the most difficult sentencing exercise I have ever had to decide on. The circumstances in this case are exceptional.<br /><br />"It is quite clear she is a very disturbed child and a very needy child and she is a sexually precocious child. She liked to dress provocatively.<br /><br />"Did she look like she was 10? Certainly not. She looked 16, that was a matter that was accepted."<br /><br />The court was told the girl approached the two men in Henley-on-Thames.<br /><br />"They started chatting in the street and she told them she was 16.<br /><br />After making their way to a recreation ground in Luke Avenue, the girl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - had oral and full sex with Fenn.<br /><br />In a police interview, when asked about whether she gave consent, she said: "I'm in the middle, I don't actually know."<br /><br />Later Wright forced the girl to commit a sexual act on him at his home in Mount View, Henley-on- Thames.<br /><br />Fenn had admitted two counts of rape of a child aged under 13 years and Wright admitted one charge of causing or inciting sexual activity with a child aged under 13 years.<br /><br />Michele Elliot, from Kidscape, said: "This particular case really took my breath away because I cannot imagine a 25-year-old man not realising how old she was.<br /><br />"This sentence is a disgrace.<br /><br />"What message does this send to anyone considering doing the same?<br /><br />"He should be off the bench.<br /><br />"A decision like that is utterly ridiculous.<br /><br />"Clearly, some judges seem to be a law unto themselves."<br /><br />Both men were placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-42395914484107528532009-06-24T12:11:18.481+01:002009-06-24T12:11:18.481+01:00By ALASTAIR TAYLOR
Published: 12 Apr 2006
A JUDGE...By ALASTAIR TAYLOR<br />Published: 12 Apr 2006<br /><br />A JUDGE let a paedophile walk free after asking the parents of his seven-year-old victim to “understand” the attacker.<br /><br />Judge John Walford’s decision outraged the mum and dad ? and was blasted as “mad” by children’s groups last night.<br /><br />And now the Attorney General is set to look at whether the sentence was unduly lenient - and could refer the case to the Court of Appeal.<br /><br />Pervert Anthony Lindus, 27, carried out two sex attacks on the little girl, a distant relative.<br /><br />She was left “badly affected, anxious and emotional,” Teesside Crown Court heard.<br /><br />But Judge Walford described Lindus as “vulnerable” and declared that his problems would increase if he was sent to prison.<br /><br />He gave him a suspended 12-month jail sentence.<br /><br />And referring to the girl and her family as he spoke to Lindus, he said: “I just hope they will find it within themselves to understand your limitations and accept my conclusion that a custody setting might be in fact even more likely to produce in you a problem in the future than if you were treated within the setting of the community.”<br /><br />But last night the child’s parents told how she was now terrified to go outside.<br /><br />Her distraught mother, aged 24, said: “This is not justice, he should have gone to jail.”<br /><br />The girl’s 41-year-old stepfather said: “The judge got it badly wrong. Any parent would understand our bitter anger and disappointment.<br /><br />“Surely our little girl is the one who was vulnerable. This man exploited that and should be behind bars, not a free man.” The court heard the parents left the child and her two younger sisters with Lindus, who they trusted, while they went out to bingo.<br /><br />He was found in the girl’s bedroom when the stepdad returned early. She later revealed she was also attacked 18 months before.<br /><br />Lindus, of Darlington, Co Durham, admitted two counts of indecent assault.<br /><br />A report on him said he was “immature” and had never had a sexual relationship. Judge Walford said he was guilty of a serious breach of trust but had no previous form.<br /><br />Shy Keenan, of victims group Phoenix Survivors, said she would appeal to the Attorney General against the leniency of the sentence.<br /><br />She added: “Sex offenders should be getting jail, not tea and sympathy.”<br /><br />Nikki Kerr, of children’s charity Kidscape, said: “The judge acknowledged it was serious, then let him walk out. This man is a danger and was aware of what he did because he attacked her twice. The parents must be shocked the judge seems more concerned about him than their daughter.”<br /><br />A Barnardo’s spokeswoman said: “The judge is wrong in asking the parents to understand his reasons for not jailing this man.<br /><br />“Why should they be expected to understand?”<br /><br />Judge Walford, 58, is no stranger to controversy.<br /><br />Last year he deferred sentence on a serial thief so the crook could watch his favourite football team, Hartlepool, in the League One promotion playoff.<br /><br />But Lord Goldsmith is set to review his decision not to jail Lindus.<br /><br />A spokeswoman for the Attorney General said: "He will look at all the evidence that was put before the court<br /><br />"If he decides that the sentence was below reasonable expectations he can refer the case to the Court of Appeal."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-13951500698672173272009-06-24T12:04:45.119+01:002009-06-24T12:04:45.119+01:00Scandal grows over suspect body parts
31 August 20...Scandal grows over suspect body parts<br />31 August 2006 by Peter Aldhous and San Francisco.<br /><br />Have you heard the saying "Trust me I am a doctor"?<br /> <br />If you are scheduled for reconstructive orthopaedic surgery, or need a new heart valve, you might want to check where the tissue you are given has come from. For the second time this year, a firm supplying body parts for surgery has been shut down by the US Food and Drug Administration, and more safety scandals are expected to emerge from this booming industry.<br /><br />The latest scare surrounds Donor Referral Services, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, which harvested body parts, including bone, tendons and heart valves, from corpses in funeral homes. FDA inspectors found numerous safety breaches, including a failure to follow procedures intended to prevent bacterial contamination, and errors in the medical histories of the donors. The FDA is still investigating, and will not comment on how many patients received tainted tissues.<br /><br />This incident follows a scandal surrounding Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, New Jersey, which closed in February after similar safety breaches. Company staff were called "bodysnatchers" in media reports, after harvesting tissues from donors without proper consent, and four men now face criminal charges.<br /><br />Retrieving, processing and distributing body parts is a massive industry, with annual revenues in the US exceeding $1 billion. Yet the safety regulations breached by the two firms did not come into effect until May last year. "We're now peeling the onion and finding where it's rotten," says Areta Kupchyk, a lawyer who helped write the regulations while at the FDA.<br /><br />The European Union has also started regulating the tissue industry. Since April this year, organisations handling human tissues for use in surgery must be licensed and are subject to inspection. So far, no major problems have emerged with European operators. (Thank Christ for that).<br /><br />The US scandals may have a global reach nonetheless. Australian patients were among those given tissues harvested by Biomedical Tissue Services. Also, Don Keenan, a lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, is representing patients in Germany and Austria who claim they were infected by other tissues exported from the US.<br /><br />Keenan's firm has already won damages for American victims of tainted tissues, including the family of Brian Lykins, who died in 2001 from a massive infection of Clostridium bacteria. His knee was rebuilt using cartilage from a corpse left unrefrigerated for at least 19 hours.<br /><br />The FDA's inspectors face a huge task, as hundreds of organisations in the US handle human tissues for use in surgery. One way forward would be to require them all to be accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks, which would open them up to additional inspections. Registration takes months, and neither Biomedical Tissue Services nor Donor Referral Services went through this process, which is still voluntary. Similarly, CryoLife of Atlanta, which processed the tissue that killed Lykins, was not accredited at the time. <br /><br /><br />You see some humans will do anything for money. Getting a new heart valve is like playing Russian Roulette.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-89323523100600913452009-06-24T11:51:06.254+01:002009-06-24T11:51:06.254+01:00Yes, I agree with you entirely ... the SLCC are ac...Yes, I agree with you entirely ... the SLCC are acting just like any other self regulator in their approach to FOI ... but of course, the hard habits of being tethered to the Law Society are hard to shake, and with the SLCC having no external oversight, other than possibly a run to the Court of Session by a client, which would be blocked anyway because no legal representation could be secured ... these people can get away with what they want .. for now.<br /><br />Yes Peter I agree, what we are dealing with is JUDICIAL DICTATORSHIP, BUT THEY WILL NOT KEEP THINGS THIS WAY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-43226021136388860782009-06-24T11:41:51.811+01:002009-06-24T11:41:51.811+01:00Thanks for this.I will join in too.Anything to mak...Thanks for this.I will join in too.Anything to make the right to know wider available to everyone is a good ideaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-41037912059609082452009-06-24T00:18:37.297+01:002009-06-24T00:18:37.297+01:00Hi Peter
It seems totally mad to me we are even ha...Hi Peter<br />It seems totally mad to me we are even having this discussion after all the scandals at Westminster with the black ink and their expenses claims !<br /><br />Why are the SNP defending lawyers imunity from freedom of information and why are they hiding behind all that same black ink the mps down in London used to cover up their own fiddles ?<br /><br />Just disgusting really and even though I will email MacAskill I am not expecting much back but I can tell you this I will never vote SNP ever again in fact I will probably never vote again unless people such as yourself stand up and get into politics because every single one of them are just in it to line their own pockets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-72568558389254296862009-06-23T23:57:11.173+01:002009-06-23T23:57:11.173+01:00To all of you people like myself, who are writing ...To all of you people like myself, who are writing to Kenny MacAskill, if he does not write to us, he will be demonstrating that he belongs in The Law Society. <br /><br />His silence on a subject as serious as this, will demonstrate he is not fit for the office he currently holds. He was elected by his constituents and is accountable to those people and all Scots. If he remains silent he will show that we are not getting what we are campaigning for, and he should resign and go back to a law firm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-90124732890636330942009-06-23T23:40:23.000+01:002009-06-23T23:40:23.000+01:00# Anonymous @ 10.41pm
Yes, I agree with you entir...# Anonymous @ 10.41pm<br /><br />Yes, I agree with you entirely ... the SLCC are acting just like any other self regulator in their approach to FOI ... but of course, the hard habits of being tethered to the Law Society are hard to shake, and with the SLCC having no external oversight, other than possibly a run to the Court of Session by a client, which would be blocked anyway because no legal representation could be secured ... these people can get away with what they want .. for now.<br /><br />#"Scots Against Injustice" @ 11.01pm<br /><br />Thanks.<br /><br />I would encourage as many people to join the campaign, even make it your own campaign, and do something about the level of secrecy in the Scots legal profession.<br /><br />If it is left to Mr MacAskill, Scotland will continue to face injustice on a huge scale, simply because the current Justice Secretary is too close to his colleagues in the legal profession to proceed reforms solely in the public interest over those of the vested interests of the Scots legal establishment.<br /><br />Put the public first this time and ensure Justice is delivered for all, as is our right.Diary of Injusticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00697476580161690118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-1617878434771056232009-06-23T23:01:20.029+01:002009-06-23T23:01:20.029+01:00"Scots Against Injustice" commends Peter..."Scots Against Injustice" commends Peter's Freedom of Information campaign and backs his efforts 100%.<br /><br />Very well done as always Peter ... a great pity there weren't more like you out there.<br /><br />Let's all start to put the pressure on MacAskill by writing to him about this as Peter suggests ... and post any replies you receive here.<br /><br />Let all injustice victims come together to show MacAskill, Salmond and this SNP Government that we have had enough of their inaction and protection of those sacred cows and we want the reforms that Peter has been fighting for, for many years ... along with many others out there who are not as well-known as he is.<br /><br />Enough is enough Messrs MacAskill and Salmond. Stop treating your 5,090,000 fellow Scots with utter contempt and disdain and do the right thing ... or be gone with you both and the SNP for good ... who have miserably failed their fellow Scots on justice issues and reforms over the past two years of their governance.<br /><br />http://shirleymckie.myfastforum.org/sutra3657.php#3657"Scots Against Injustice"http://shirleymckie.myfastforum.org/sutra3657.php#3657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-77526030719933415552009-06-23T22:41:27.420+01:002009-06-23T22:41:27.420+01:00We have right on our side. The numbers of blanked ...We have right on our side. The numbers of blanked out documents proves that fact. <br /><br />Only self regulators need to blank everything out on documents, because they have a lot to hide. They do not want you to see what they have been doing to you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-24693794312604471712009-06-23T22:16:36.993+01:002009-06-23T22:16:36.993+01:00A quick look at Scotland Against Crooked lawyers w...A quick look at Scotland Against Crooked lawyers www.sacl/info and Mr Cherbi's website, and watching the press demonstrates one fact. No lawyer can be trusted by any client.<br /><br />People have devastating accidents, and their compensation stolen, trusting clients get their life savings stolen and these human maggots take everything. That is why people hate lawyers. The disease that allows this to happen is SELF REGULATION. They are self protecting thieves, beware you may be next. The only lawyer that can be trusted is in the cemetary. That is the place they can do you no harm, unless one of their colleagues takes over your case should your lawyer die. <br /><br />To all of Scotlands 10,000 lawyers. YOU ARE SCUM.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-24936737769059735792009-06-23T22:07:50.516+01:002009-06-23T22:07:50.516+01:00I read about this on the Shirley McKie forum and a...I read about this on the Shirley McKie forum and agree its a good idea.<br /><br />All the best to you all and I will write into Mr MacAskill on the subject and paste his reply here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-4159700702780736622009-06-23T21:34:28.040+01:002009-06-23T21:34:28.040+01:00Young lawyers shown the door as downturn hits top ...Young lawyers shown the door as downturn hits top Scottish Firms.<br /><br />Published Date: 22 June 2009<br />By CHRISTOPHER MACKIE<br /><br />DOZENS of young lawyers are being cast adrift at the end of their training contracts, The Scotsman can reveal.<br />As the recession bites into some of Scotland's biggest law firms, one legal recruitment agency has reported a threefold rise in the number of newly qualified solicitors on its books.<br />-----------------------------------<br />This is wonderful fewer criminals to rob clients, lot of bastards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-18303424867781100842009-06-23T20:42:06.917+01:002009-06-23T20:42:06.917+01:00I have also emailed MacAskill and will let you kno...I have also emailed MacAskill and will let you know what I get back (if anything)<br /><br />Forward for FOI compliance for crooked lawyers !http://sacl.info/http://sacl.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-40107604263843502742009-06-23T20:02:37.507+01:002009-06-23T20:02:37.507+01:00BBC News The Speaker.
The Speaker controls the pr...BBC News The Speaker.<br /><br />The Speaker controls the proceedings of the House of Commons, chairing debates, keeping order and calling on MPs to speak.<br /><br />The Speaker is also responsible for the running of much of Parliament - including the Fees Office. Michael Martin looked after MP's expenses.<br /><br />The Speaker represents the House of Commons' independence in dealing with the monarchy.<br /><br />Speakers are elected by MPs in a Commons vote, traditionally remaining in the role until retirement or death and re-elected automatically after general elections. A job for life. This is wrong, no one has a job for life nowadays.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-87806153608506240442009-06-23T19:58:14.448+01:002009-06-23T19:58:14.448+01:00Gordon Brown and opposition leaders welcomed the a...Gordon Brown and opposition leaders welcomed the appointment of Mr Bercow, who stood on a platform of reform and pledged to heal public "anger". <br /><br />(Well Mr Bercow I did not know you knew Paul Daniels, because you will need some magic to accomplish this).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20722989.post-46728312589216942752009-06-23T19:57:27.340+01:002009-06-23T19:57:27.340+01:00sounds like the lawyer is taking the 30k for himse...sounds like the lawyer is taking the 30k for himself<br /><br />nail his ass into a jail !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com