Nigel Booth, Barrister

'Sexual harassment at the bar is not being reported because pupils and young lawyers fear their careers will be damaged if they complain, according to a senior barrister, Prof Jo Delahunty QC suggested there was widespread complacency about the prevalence of inappropriate behaviour in chambers and even by judges in courts.' Read the story here. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/fear-sto ps-reporting-of-sex…/

Subscribe to the service here. I'm doing it. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/enterpri sing-from-pupil-bar…/

Ann Coffey MP drew attention to the research findings on prejudices, juries and rape cases in a debate in Parliament on 21st November 2018. Watch Ann Coffey MP here. I have previously blogged about the research here. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/rape-jur y-research-raised-i…/

"Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, QC, told the annual Bar conference in London that courts needed to be more aware of women’s rights and the #MeToo movement ... A government survey three years ago found that a third of the public generally had the view that sex attack victims bore partial responsibility for an assault if they had been “flirting heavily” with their attacker." Read the full story in The Times. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/judges-a nd-juries-often-wro…/

'What are the biggest obstacles when it comes to rape convictions? Vachss is unequivocal. Prejudices held by jurors, and the reluctance, both here and in the US, to bring "difficult" cases to court, such as those involving prostitutes, drug and alcohol users, and teenage girls (all of whom are often seen as unreliable witnesses).' Excellent article from 2007 by journalist and founder of Justice for Women, Julie Bindel. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/bindelj- what-are-the-bigges…/

Sounds alarming? Not if you've been keeping up with the news. Ann Coffey MP will be raising this issue in an adjournment debate this morning from 11am in the House of Commons. In today's Times, referring to the 'shockingly low charging and conviction rates', the MP raises the issue in this way: 'Rape myths about how victims are expected to behave continue to pollute our society and jurors take these attitude into the court room.' [ 85 more words ] http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/abolitio n-of-rape-juries-wi…/

What on earth has gone wrong with us?

I guess the choice is: Either: A: "The parking restriction here applies to motor caravans only, and they may not be parked here between the hours of 11pm and 7am." Or: B: "The parking restriction here applies to all motor vehicles including motor caravans, and they may not be parked here between the hours of 11pm and 7am." Booth would go for Choice A. Am I wrong? http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/please-r etweet-and-repost-w…/

Defence closing speech (dealing with absence of defendant from dock): "Let's be honest. There is an elephant in the room, and that elephant is that there isn't an elephant in the room." http://boothybarrister.co.uk/2018/11/14/o verheard-in-court/

I have updated Chapter 9 which is the chapter dealing with disclosure of unused material. The updates are pretty substantial, so I've simply decided to reproduce Chapter 9 in its entirety on the Updates page. Access it here directly. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/howdoide fendmyself-com-upda…/

A teenager’s underwear has been used against her in an alleged rape case in Cork, sparking outrage among campaigners. The barrister representing a man acquitted of raping a teenager in the city in southwest Ireland suggested the jury in the case should reflect on the underwear worn by the 17-year-old girl. The 27-year-old man – who had denied raping the woman in a lane in Cork – was found not guilty by the jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court. — Read on www.independent.co.uk/…/teenage-girl-un derwear-rape-trial-c… http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/we-accom pany-people-to-cour…/

CPS are looking to recruit a bunch of crown prosecutors and senior crown prosecutors. Click through for details on the Civil Service website. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/cps-nati onal-lawyer-recruit…/

I have just issued an update Chapter 7 ("What Will Happen At My Very First Court Appearance?") To help you assess whether the offence that you are charged with is an 'either-way' offence, you can see my list of the most commonly encountered either-way offences. Also I've included a note about the special procedure that applies to criminal damage offences and the really quite bizarre procedure that applies to low-value shoplifting offences. Click here to go straight to the update. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/howdoide fendmyself-com-chap…/

Reblogging this - so important and it never loses its validity http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/consent- and-a-cup-of-tea-th…/

' North Korean officials commit sexual violence with little concern for the consequences, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government fails to investigate and prosecute complaints, or to provide protection and services to victims, and even asserts that the country is implausibly free of sexism or sexual violence. ' ' The North Koreans we spoke with told us that unwanted sexual contact and violence is so common that it has come to be accepted as part of ordinary life: sexual abuse by officials, and the impunity they enjoy, is linked to larger patterns of sexual abuse and impunity in the country. [ 50 more words ] http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/human-ri ghts-watch-on-north…/

A joint venture between The Times and Kingsley Napley Solicitors: ' The Legal Apprentice is Kingsley Napley’s legal competition, in partnership with The Times, for students in school or college in years 12 or equivalent. We invite students to work as part of a team to complete a series of tasks, designed to encourage them to tap into their “inner solicitor” – using skills and logic to provide legal advice for virtual clients. [ 34 more words ] http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/please-r etweet-and-re-post-…/

' Google employees in London and around the world are staging a mass walkout to protest against alleged “sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency” and a toxic working culture. The “women’s walk” comes after it emerged that Google gave the former executive Andy Rubin a $90 million payout after he left the company, despite finding allegations of sexual misconduct against him “credible”. ' and in the Washington Post here. Read more in The Times here and in the Washington Post here. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/google-w alkout-in-protest-a…/

If you haven't seen the new BBC2 documentary Last Chance Lawyer NYC, then I encourage you to give it a watch on the iPlayer. Law documentaries are strictly to be avoided in my house, but Howard Greenberg, Brooklyn Attorney ("You can't lose with the stuff I use") is compelling viewing. What a guy! Try the first five minutes, and I promise you'll be hooked. http://boothybarrister.co.uk/…/i-hate-l egal-documentaries-…/