February 9th – Welcome to the Justice Beat, CrowdJustice’s weekly roundup of the most important legal stories from around the web. This week we focus on Brexpats, interception, universal credit and challenging convictions – and CrowdJustice invites you to an event.
Brexpats
1. What will happen to the status of the million-plus British nationals who live in EU countries after Brexit? A group of British expats in Europe (Brexpats?) asked Dutch courts – and the issue has now been referred up to the ECJ. The Independent summarises their argument thus: because EU citizenship is defined as “additional to” national citizenship in the Lisbon Treaty, it might survive a country’s withdrawal from the EU, despite having been initially conferred by national citizenship. Watch this space.
The Intercept
2. Hugh Grant has received a six figure settlement from Mirror Group Newspapers for the hacking of his mobile phone, reports the Financial Times (gated), which he is donating to the charity Hacked Off. MGN admitted in a statement read out in court that the "unlawful interception...and procurement of private information... should never have happened."
3. In an indictment of the US prison system, the UK Court of Appeal has ruled that the accused British hacker Lauri Love should not be extradited to the US. Glenn Greenwald writes in the Intercept of the court’s determination that US prisons would be unable to humanely and adequately treat Love’s medical and mental health ailments, and that extradition would create a serious suicide risk.
4. The Royal Statistical Society and others have concluded that robbing a bank won't make you rich. So as dozens of members of a global cybercrime syndicate that engaged in online "carding" – intercepting, stealing and bulk dumping credit card details – were indicted this week in the US, perhaps they will wonder whether it was worth it. A source quoted in CourtHouse News said that in fact such activity is not very lucrative to those engaging in it because of the complex supply chain of "drops".
Universal credit
5. A terminally ill man has been granted permission to judicially review the government's introduction of universal credit – a new benefits system that abolished benefits like the severe disability premium. The Guardian writes that the outcome could have consequences for thousands of other disabled people who claim that they are as a consequence experiencing financial hardship.
6. Meanwhile the Mirror reports that changes to universal credit mean that hundreds of thousands of low income children will miss out on free school meals.
Challenging convictions
6. Following a CrowdJustice campaign, two victims of John Worboys have been given permission to challenge the Parole Board’s decision to release him, reports the Guardian. After some technical problems with the court's video-link, Worboys appeared in person at the court along with one of the victims, the first time he has been seen in public for nine years.
7. Tuesday marked the hundredth anniversary of some women being given the right to vote in the UK, and to mark the occasion the Fawcett Society called on the government to overturn the convictions of women who were imprisoned while fighting for the vote. Amber Rudd said she would consider the issue, but that it was "complicated", writes the BBC.
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CrowdJustice invites you to an event, From the Emergency Room to the Courtroom: The Legal Battles for a Better NHS on Feburary 20th, to hear from doctors Chris Day and Ben White on their respective legal challenges for better doctor and patient safety, and what they think the future holds for the NHS.
This week on CrowdJustice anti-Trident campaigners fight to prosecute members of the government for conspiring to commit a war crime, three children raise money to make applications for indefinite leave to remain in the UK, a community group in Ealing fight to save Southall Town Hall, and a student fights against discrimination within the University of South Wales Students’ Union.