Boyce & Co Criminal and Motoring Solicitors Taunton

16/07/2023

Fantastic performances by Somerset CCC at T20 finals day. Well done.

10/10/2022

From The Law Society

The dispute over criminal legal aid funding is far from over, the Law Society of England and Wales has warned, as barristers accept a pay deal after another government U-turn.

Striking barristers have accepted a deal from government of an extra £30 million in sweeteners on top of the 15% increase in criminal legal aid fees recommended in the Lord Bellamy-led independent review.

Meanwhile, solicitors’ fees will increase by just 9% despite the same review stating solicitors are in a worse situation and that a bare minimum 15% increase is required to make their businesses viable.

“The justice minister may think he has got one problem off his table but there are bigger problems coming his way as this dispute continues. This is another example of a government U-turn making a bad situation worse,” said Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce.

“Solicitors are the backbone of the crisis-hit criminal justice system. They will see that the government has found a magic money tree to stop the disruptive action of barristers – money that was not available to pay solicitors fairly.

“Our members will see that disruptive action achieves results that hard evidence and constructive engagement do not.”

“You cannot fix the problems plaguing the criminal justice system unless you fund all parts of it effectively. The money must be found to give solicitors parity on the 15% fee increase.

“Duty solicitor schemes in Barnstaple, Skegness and Ceredigion, among others, have already collapsed, and more will surely follow without immediate support for firms.

“If this money can be found to bring a strike to an end, surely it can be found to give a fair deal to solicitors, who have kept the wheels of justice turning despite 25 years without a pay rise.

“If the gap isn’t bridged by the time the government publishes their full response to the independent review in November, we have made it clear we will advise our members that there is no viable future in criminal legal aid work.

“This mounting permanent exodus of solicitors from the criminal defence profession won’t cause temporary problems for the criminal justice system, it will bring it to its knees altogether.

“Unless the government sees sense on its short-sighted approach to criminal justice, victims and defendants will continue to suffer, the backlog will continue to build and trust in the system will erode further.”

27/08/2022

Absurd suggestion by Legal Aid Agency. That’s a no from us!

Legal Aid Agency seeks to bolster numbers covering Barnstaple but acknowledges travel will be an issue.

22/08/2022

Why are the barristers going on strike - read here

Today, hundreds of criminal barristers across the country will not be going into court. Images of us dressed in our traditional absurd courtroom dress and standing outside the country’s most …

15/06/2022

“The Bar Council and Law Society of England and Wales together call on the Prime Minister to stop attacks on legal professionals who are simply doing their jobs.”

09/01/2022

COLSTON

Here are the legal directions given to the Jury by the Judge.

Ed's views on the issue are these: -

1. The police failed to identify the statue was a likely target - as a non Bristolian but someone who has watched BBC Points West over the years - it was obvious.
2. The police were right not to instigate disorder (or more disorder) to stop the crowd once they had set about the statue.
3. The council should have identified that a jury might acquit and carefully considered whether to support a prosecution with the risk that an acquittal might (wrongly) be seen by some to set a precedent and grant a licence to damage other statues.
4. The jury were entitled to acquit.
5. I predicted the outcome!

Below is the full text of the legal directions given to the Colston 4 jury by the Recorder of Bristol, HHJ Peter Blair QC. Unfortunately some of the formatting has been unavoidably altered, but not the text itself. R v MILO PONSFORD, SAGE WILLOUGHBY, RHIAN GRAHAM & JAKE SKUSE LEGAL DIRECTIONS – JU...

03/01/2022

The former resident Judge at Taunton Crown Court in The Times today

31/12/2021

Change again at Boyce & Co - Jack is off to pastures new with our best wishes.

Happy new year to all.

Try to celebrate without getting nicked but if you fail in that please ask for us - here 24/7/365!

25/12/2021

Happy Christmas 🎄

14/10/2021

Interesting ....

www.gov.uk/government/news/over-10-000-attempts-to-smuggle-contraband-thwarted-by-x-ray-body-scanners

X-ray body scanners have stopped 10,000 attempts to smuggle contraband including drugs, weapons and phones into prisons in just over a year.

02/10/2021

Perhaps this week the party which been running the country for 11 years will actually commit to more investment in the police, courts, prosecution, legal aid and prisons? Don’t hold your breath. Expect more of the usual platitudes. Tough on crime blah blah

17/09/2021

Pro Am day at Enmore Park