- Forums 29 April 2009: Simon Anderton Fathers day protest trial - update
- By Toon At RFFJ England
- info@realfathersforjustice.org
- 29/04/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: Daveyone ( 29 articles in 2009 )
Forums 29 April 2009: Simon Anderton Fathers day protest trial - update
Category: News Posted by: Toon
After a morning of legal arguments the judge decided he didn't have enough time to try the case as he had another trial this Friday and he expected Simon's case to last 3-4 days.
No one could explain why the case had been moved from Monday to Tuesday which would have given the judge enough time for the case to go ahead, he dismissed an application for one of the charges to be dropped on the grounds of misuse of the court process then adjourned proceedings until 10.30am Monday 18th May when he assured Simon the trial by jury would go ahead.
Many thanks to those who turned up and supported Simon despite the weather.
28 April 2009: Family courts will stay secret despite Jack Straw's promise to open them up
Category: News Posted by: Toon
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:31 AM on 28th April 2009
Jack Straw's promise to open up the family courts was called into question yesterday after judges refused to break their culture of secrecy.
Rules brought in by the Justice Secretary allowed journalists to observe the workings of the courts which rule on divorce, child custody and protection of children at risk.
But they will not be allowed to report details of cases involving children, despite Mr Straw's promise.
The Royal Courts of Justice
Restrictions: Although the media will be allowed to attend many more family court hearings, the new rules will still contain a number of protective provisions
His plan, originally announced last year, was to shed light on the system to tackle suspicions of bias, injustice and cronyism in the family courts.
Under the reforms, journalists will be able to attend hearings in county courts and cases in the Family Division of the High Court.
» Read More
27 April 2009: Questions remain as family courts open to press
Category: News Posted by: Toon
The Times
April 27, 2009
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Thousands of family courts are opened to the media for the first time today, amid fears that stringent reporting restrictions will make a mockery of the reform.
Britain’s most senior family judge, Sir Mark Potter, has warned that courts will face a deluge of media applications to report cases and see documents, which could lead to a “damaging” inconsistency of approach by courts.
Ministers had failed to issue guidance on how judges should deal with media requests, despite being urged to do so by High Court judges, Sir Mark, President of the Family Division, said. He issued his own briefing to courts to avoid inconsistent decisions up and down the country.
Where issues cannot be resolved, they will have to be referred urgently to the High Court for a test ruling, he said.
He predicted that courts would face detailed legal argument on human rights, public and private interests, the welfare of children and the meaning and application of the law.
There are increasing concerns that the landmark opening of the courts may prove a damp squib pending legislation to remove reporting restrictions. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has indicated that he intends to legislate to deal with reporting restrictions, but there is no imminent slot in the timetable.
Under the changes, judges will have wide discretion to exclude the media or to restrict reporting. There is also no media right to see documents relied on in court.
The Society of Editors, the Newspaper Society and individual media organistions have protested to Mr Straw, saying that if reporting restrictions are not lifted the effect will be to nullify the entire purpose of the change and the Government’s stated aim of openness and accountability.
» Read More
27 April 2009: Family courts: now we can judge parents' stories for ourselves
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Times
April 23, 2009
Comment
The opening up of family courts to the media is a step in the right direction, argues a senior family lawyer
Sarah Harman
The reforms to allow the media access to most family court hearings from next Monday will bring to an end a secret jurisdiction in which not only did outsiders have no right to know anything of the proceedings — even the parties themselves could not discuss the detail or even outline of their cases without being at risk of contempt.
But the new rules allowing media access represent only a limited opening of the family court doors. There is still some way to go before complete transparency can be claimed because the dissemination of information by media to the public at large will require the permission of the court. The presumption has shifted from proceedings being behind closed doors — unless either the media or the parties went through the tortuous process of persuading the court to allow some detail into the public domain — to one where the court will be expected to allow dissemination unless there is a good reason not to.
Open justice is a cornerstone of democracy and the media represent the eyes and ears of the public in their role in reporting the detail of court proceedings. It may seem strange that the family courts in England and Wales have interpreted the law so strictly that even the passing on of general information about a family case by aggrieved parents to their MP was contempt.
As the welfare of the children is the basis of family law, the rationale for such a degree of secrecy is their need for confidentiality. The new rules have been strongly opposed by most family lawyers who fear the impact of the media spotlight on the vulnerable sections of the community who use the family courts at a time of trauma in their lives. Yet the rules represent a reasonable attempt to balance the competing needs of the public’s right to know how such an important institution is functioning and the protection of children’s privacy.
» Read More
20 April 2009: Another change of court date for Tyne bridge protestor
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Tyne Bridge protester Simon Anderton full trial date will take place on 9.30am Tuesday 28th April 2009 at Newcastle Quayside Crown Court
Link to Map
The trial is now expected to last 2 - 3 days.
Simon spent 63 hours on the Tyne Bridge with little shelter, this fathers day protest in June was to highlight the suicides caused by broken contact orders and for every child denied access to a parent.
Please turn up and support Simon at the trial - supporter accommodation requests to info@realfathersforjustice.org
If you can't turn up to support Simon but still wish to show solidarity, please email the press locally or nationally, some links and letter strategies on Simon's Facebook event page also copied below
» Read More
20 April 2009: Little change for media in family courts
Category: News Posted by: Toon
The Guardian, Monday 20 April 2009
Marcel Berlins
Comments
It all seemed so promising when Jack Straw announced in December that the government was going to open up the family courts to greater media - and therefore public - scrutiny. It was critical that the public had trust in the system, he said, and that required an understanding of how it worked.
"At the same time, we must protect the privacy of children and families involved in family court cases so they are not identified, or stigmatised, by their community or friends. These plans strike the right balance in providing a more open, transparent and accountable system, while protecting children and families during a difficult and traumatic time in their lives."
Next Monday the detailed rules come into being. They clearly fail to meet the media's hopes and expectations. Indeed, on one view, very little of significance will change. Some openness is there, at least cosmetically, but the end result looks a lot like the status quo.
» Read More
18 April 2009: Manchester Meeting
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Members of Rffj and former members of F4j North west are very welcome to attend a reunion meeting this coming Monday, April 20th at Wetherspoons pub 68-74 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2FN
Google Street Map
This meeting is being organised by past members of the 'old' F4j Manchester branch, everyone welcome from 7pm onwards Monday 20th April. We will have an (A4 size) F4J/Rffj banner of some sort on the table to help anyone find us if they may not recognise anyone.
Any problems finding it please phone Mike 0795 080 9787 or Keith 0771 151 7325.
10 April 2009: Openness of family courts is a ‘con trick’
Category: News Posted by: Toon
From The Times
April 10, 2009
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Jack Straw has been accused of a confidence trick over plans to open the family courts to the media.
John Hemming, a Liberal Democrat MP, has warned that although the Justice Secretary’s new rules will allow the media to attend family court proceedings for the first time, reports cannot be published without the judge’s permission.
The media, groups campaigning for justice for families and the English public had each been taken in, he said. “Whether it is by Jack Straw or by forces of reaction in the judiciary – we have all been hoodwinked.”
The reforms will take effect from April 27 under rules that have just been published. Mr Hemming, who, with The Times, has been in the forefront of the campaign to open the family courts, said that the reforms brought some benefits, in that parents or children could tell journalists or their MP about court proceedings, but he added: “It remains that publication can only happen with the permission of the judge.”
» Read More
08 April 2009: Belfast Batman Returns
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Batman was seen on a ledge over the entrance of Belfast Opera House yesterday afternoon, this marks an escalation of direct action in Northern Ireland following the St Patrick's Day march last month.
Rffj Spokesman Pete Morris said "The problems with family law are still very real for many parents in Northern Ireland, the courts are still failing fathers, failing families and most importantly failing our children"
"Batman has returned to Belfast, the Joker is Gordon Brown and his Labour cronies for the steadfast refusal to reform family law and restore fathers back in their children's lives"
"As long as the politicians refuse to act on the causes of family breakdown the protests will continue"
"Expect more direct action from us over the coming months"
Belfast Telegraph scan below
» Read More
06 April 2009: The benefit that became an incentive to divorce
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Labour's tax policies have directly led to a 160 per cent increase in single mothers, with all the attendant social problems, writes Alasdair Palmer.
By Alasdair Palmer
04 Apr 2009
Telegraph
'I think governments can make a difference," insisted Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, on Friday. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be doing this job". Governments can indeed make a difference – but it is not always a difference for the better. Probably everyone has their own example of cases where action by central government, intended to make something better, has actually ended up making it much worse. Mine relates to one of Gordon Brown's pet projects: the Working Families Tax Credit.
The idea behind this initiative, introduced in 1999, was a good one: to get single parents off benefits and into work. It was not to create more single-parent families, for the simple reason that the evidence on the effects of raising children within a single-parent family is now overwhelming and extremely depressing. Children raised in such an environment do worse on almost every measure than those raised by two parents. They are more likely to leave school without qualifications, more likely to be unemployed, more likely to commit crime, more likely to be addicted to drugs, and more likely to get pregnant as teenagers and to end up raising children on their own.
» Read More
Category: News Posted by: Toon
After a morning of legal arguments the judge decided he didn't have enough time to try the case as he had another trial this Friday and he expected Simon's case to last 3-4 days.
No one could explain why the case had been moved from Monday to Tuesday which would have given the judge enough time for the case to go ahead, he dismissed an application for one of the charges to be dropped on the grounds of misuse of the court process then adjourned proceedings until 10.30am Monday 18th May when he assured Simon the trial by jury would go ahead.
Many thanks to those who turned up and supported Simon despite the weather.
28 April 2009: Family courts will stay secret despite Jack Straw's promise to open them up
Category: News Posted by: Toon
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:31 AM on 28th April 2009
Jack Straw's promise to open up the family courts was called into question yesterday after judges refused to break their culture of secrecy.
Rules brought in by the Justice Secretary allowed journalists to observe the workings of the courts which rule on divorce, child custody and protection of children at risk.
But they will not be allowed to report details of cases involving children, despite Mr Straw's promise.
The Royal Courts of Justice
Restrictions: Although the media will be allowed to attend many more family court hearings, the new rules will still contain a number of protective provisions
His plan, originally announced last year, was to shed light on the system to tackle suspicions of bias, injustice and cronyism in the family courts.
Under the reforms, journalists will be able to attend hearings in county courts and cases in the Family Division of the High Court.
» Read More
27 April 2009: Questions remain as family courts open to press
Category: News Posted by: Toon
The Times
April 27, 2009
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Thousands of family courts are opened to the media for the first time today, amid fears that stringent reporting restrictions will make a mockery of the reform.
Britain’s most senior family judge, Sir Mark Potter, has warned that courts will face a deluge of media applications to report cases and see documents, which could lead to a “damaging” inconsistency of approach by courts.
Ministers had failed to issue guidance on how judges should deal with media requests, despite being urged to do so by High Court judges, Sir Mark, President of the Family Division, said. He issued his own briefing to courts to avoid inconsistent decisions up and down the country.
Where issues cannot be resolved, they will have to be referred urgently to the High Court for a test ruling, he said.
He predicted that courts would face detailed legal argument on human rights, public and private interests, the welfare of children and the meaning and application of the law.
There are increasing concerns that the landmark opening of the courts may prove a damp squib pending legislation to remove reporting restrictions. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has indicated that he intends to legislate to deal with reporting restrictions, but there is no imminent slot in the timetable.
Under the changes, judges will have wide discretion to exclude the media or to restrict reporting. There is also no media right to see documents relied on in court.
The Society of Editors, the Newspaper Society and individual media organistions have protested to Mr Straw, saying that if reporting restrictions are not lifted the effect will be to nullify the entire purpose of the change and the Government’s stated aim of openness and accountability.
» Read More
27 April 2009: Family courts: now we can judge parents' stories for ourselves
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Times
April 23, 2009
Comment
The opening up of family courts to the media is a step in the right direction, argues a senior family lawyer
Sarah Harman
The reforms to allow the media access to most family court hearings from next Monday will bring to an end a secret jurisdiction in which not only did outsiders have no right to know anything of the proceedings — even the parties themselves could not discuss the detail or even outline of their cases without being at risk of contempt.
But the new rules allowing media access represent only a limited opening of the family court doors. There is still some way to go before complete transparency can be claimed because the dissemination of information by media to the public at large will require the permission of the court. The presumption has shifted from proceedings being behind closed doors — unless either the media or the parties went through the tortuous process of persuading the court to allow some detail into the public domain — to one where the court will be expected to allow dissemination unless there is a good reason not to.
Open justice is a cornerstone of democracy and the media represent the eyes and ears of the public in their role in reporting the detail of court proceedings. It may seem strange that the family courts in England and Wales have interpreted the law so strictly that even the passing on of general information about a family case by aggrieved parents to their MP was contempt.
As the welfare of the children is the basis of family law, the rationale for such a degree of secrecy is their need for confidentiality. The new rules have been strongly opposed by most family lawyers who fear the impact of the media spotlight on the vulnerable sections of the community who use the family courts at a time of trauma in their lives. Yet the rules represent a reasonable attempt to balance the competing needs of the public’s right to know how such an important institution is functioning and the protection of children’s privacy.
» Read More
20 April 2009: Another change of court date for Tyne bridge protestor
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Tyne Bridge protester Simon Anderton full trial date will take place on 9.30am Tuesday 28th April 2009 at Newcastle Quayside Crown Court
Link to Map
The trial is now expected to last 2 - 3 days.
Simon spent 63 hours on the Tyne Bridge with little shelter, this fathers day protest in June was to highlight the suicides caused by broken contact orders and for every child denied access to a parent.
Please turn up and support Simon at the trial - supporter accommodation requests to info@realfathersforjustice.org
If you can't turn up to support Simon but still wish to show solidarity, please email the press locally or nationally, some links and letter strategies on Simon's Facebook event page also copied below
» Read More
20 April 2009: Little change for media in family courts
Category: News Posted by: Toon
The Guardian, Monday 20 April 2009
Marcel Berlins
Comments
It all seemed so promising when Jack Straw announced in December that the government was going to open up the family courts to greater media - and therefore public - scrutiny. It was critical that the public had trust in the system, he said, and that required an understanding of how it worked.
"At the same time, we must protect the privacy of children and families involved in family court cases so they are not identified, or stigmatised, by their community or friends. These plans strike the right balance in providing a more open, transparent and accountable system, while protecting children and families during a difficult and traumatic time in their lives."
Next Monday the detailed rules come into being. They clearly fail to meet the media's hopes and expectations. Indeed, on one view, very little of significance will change. Some openness is there, at least cosmetically, but the end result looks a lot like the status quo.
» Read More
18 April 2009: Manchester Meeting
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Members of Rffj and former members of F4j North west are very welcome to attend a reunion meeting this coming Monday, April 20th at Wetherspoons pub 68-74 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2FN
Google Street Map
This meeting is being organised by past members of the 'old' F4j Manchester branch, everyone welcome from 7pm onwards Monday 20th April. We will have an (A4 size) F4J/Rffj banner of some sort on the table to help anyone find us if they may not recognise anyone.
Any problems finding it please phone Mike 0795 080 9787 or Keith 0771 151 7325.
10 April 2009: Openness of family courts is a ‘con trick’
Category: News Posted by: Toon
From The Times
April 10, 2009
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Jack Straw has been accused of a confidence trick over plans to open the family courts to the media.
John Hemming, a Liberal Democrat MP, has warned that although the Justice Secretary’s new rules will allow the media to attend family court proceedings for the first time, reports cannot be published without the judge’s permission.
The media, groups campaigning for justice for families and the English public had each been taken in, he said. “Whether it is by Jack Straw or by forces of reaction in the judiciary – we have all been hoodwinked.”
The reforms will take effect from April 27 under rules that have just been published. Mr Hemming, who, with The Times, has been in the forefront of the campaign to open the family courts, said that the reforms brought some benefits, in that parents or children could tell journalists or their MP about court proceedings, but he added: “It remains that publication can only happen with the permission of the judge.”
» Read More
08 April 2009: Belfast Batman Returns
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Batman was seen on a ledge over the entrance of Belfast Opera House yesterday afternoon, this marks an escalation of direct action in Northern Ireland following the St Patrick's Day march last month.
Rffj Spokesman Pete Morris said "The problems with family law are still very real for many parents in Northern Ireland, the courts are still failing fathers, failing families and most importantly failing our children"
"Batman has returned to Belfast, the Joker is Gordon Brown and his Labour cronies for the steadfast refusal to reform family law and restore fathers back in their children's lives"
"As long as the politicians refuse to act on the causes of family breakdown the protests will continue"
"Expect more direct action from us over the coming months"
Belfast Telegraph scan below
» Read More
06 April 2009: The benefit that became an incentive to divorce
Category: News Posted by: Toon
Labour's tax policies have directly led to a 160 per cent increase in single mothers, with all the attendant social problems, writes Alasdair Palmer.
By Alasdair Palmer
04 Apr 2009
Telegraph
'I think governments can make a difference," insisted Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, on Friday. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be doing this job". Governments can indeed make a difference – but it is not always a difference for the better. Probably everyone has their own example of cases where action by central government, intended to make something better, has actually ended up making it much worse. Mine relates to one of Gordon Brown's pet projects: the Working Families Tax Credit.
The idea behind this initiative, introduced in 1999, was a good one: to get single parents off benefits and into work. It was not to create more single-parent families, for the simple reason that the evidence on the effects of raising children within a single-parent family is now overwhelming and extremely depressing. Children raised in such an environment do worse on almost every measure than those raised by two parents. They are more likely to leave school without qualifications, more likely to be unemployed, more likely to commit crime, more likely to be addicted to drugs, and more likely to get pregnant as teenagers and to end up raising children on their own.
» Read More
Source: https://news.realfathersforjustice.org/
1Will not be visible to public.
2Receive notification of other comments posted for this article. To cease notification after having posted click here.
3To make a link clickable in the comments box enclose in link tags - ie.<link>Link</link>.
4To show an image enclose the image URL in tags - ie.<image>https://fredspage.com/box.jpg</image>. Note: image may be resized if too large
To further have your say, head to our forum Click Here
To contribute a news article Click Here
To view or contribute a Quote Click Here