18th January 2019
This week, the Justice Beat covers the latest Brexit-related and US political drama, a new law criminalising upskirting and a controversial voter ID scheme.
Transatlantic turmoil
1. With the Government’s Brexit deal resoundingly rejected and Theresa May having narrowly survived a confidence vote, nearly 200 business leaders are now pressing for a second Brexit referendum, the Independent reports. The Leader of the Opposition wants a general election but won't rule out a second public vote on Brexit. A case funded on CrowdJustice laid a possible path for a people's vote, as the European Court of Justice confirmed that the UK can unilaterally withdraw its Article 50 notification.
2. Pressure is mounting on President Donald Trump, whose administration is now forcing thousands of federal employees to work without pay, the New York Times reports. The longest Government shutdown in history rumbles into its fourth week, with officials compelled to redefine ‘essential’ services to keep parts of the Government up and running. Federal funding for the court system is expected to run out on 25 January, the Hill reports.
Girl power
3. One young woman has succeeded in her campaign to make upskirting a sexual offence in England and Wales, the BBC reports. 27-year-old activist Gina Martin resolved to take action after a man took a photograph up her skirt at a music festival in 2017. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill broadens the legal definition of ‘voyeurism’ in section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, to include taking a photo beneath the clothing of another person without their consent.
Identify yourself
4. Government plans to roll out a controversial voter ID scheme may be in trouble after pensioner Neil Coughlan issued judicial review proceedings in the High Court, the Mirror reports. Neil believes that the new scheme - which would require people to show identification in order to cast a ballot - unfairly discriminates against vulnerable people, who are less likely to have photo ID. He is raising funds on CrowdJustice to take the Government to court.
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This week on CrowdJustice, a London mum is raising funds for a second inquest into her 9-year-old daughter’s death after expert evidence revealed that her death may be linked to unlawful levels of air pollution, campaigners are crowdfunding to help highly skilled migrants threatened by the Home Office with deportation, and local residents are raising funds to challenge a grant of planning permission for a major industrial development in open countryside.
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Image Credit: Flickr / Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916