Anonymity | Seminar and launch of Legal Guide

Anonymity | Seminar and launch of Legal Guide

Monday 26 September 2022 | 16:00-17:30

The Children’s Rights Group at Doughty Street Chambers and the Youth Justice Legal Centre at Just for Kids Law invite you to join us in launching our legal guide on Anonymity.

Our legal guide provides an overview of the law on reporting restrictions for children in criminal courts in England and Wales. The guide gives practical tips for practitioners to help prevent children in the Criminal Justice System being named in the press.

Speakers

Adam Straw KC – Kings Counsel, Doughty Street Chambers

Adam is a specialist in public law and human rights. He has experience of a wide range of fields, including discrimination, police, prisons, environmental challenges, social welfare, terrorism, children’s rights, immigration, crime and trafficking. He has acted in important recent public law challenges involving the right to life, abortion, deprivation of citizenship, open justice, inquests, assisted suicide, data protection, pensions and welfare benefits. He has a range of experience in cases involving restrictions on reporting and open justice, for example appearing in the leading case on open justice in the inquest context (R (Dyer) v HM Coroner) and a leading case about lifetime anonymity for child offenders (RXG v Ministry of Justice). He is the author of the textbook Discrimination in Public Law.

Jennifer Twite – Barrister

Jennifer is a public law barrister specialising in Children’s Rights and co-author of Youth Justice Law and Practice. As Head of Strategic Litigation at Just for Kids Law, she represented one of the girls who was convicted of murdering Angela Wrightson at the age of 13 in her case before the High Court, where the court granted lifelong anonymity to both the girls involved. Jennifer practised as a criminal barrister for many years, when she specialised in defending children and dealt with many applications before the Crown Court for reporting restrictions in relation to child defendants. At Just for Kids Law she was involved in campaigning and policy work around this issue, which included work with press regulators, giving advice to local authorities and an intervention in a case in the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland about the failure of the Department of Justice to prevent the press publishing the details of a 15 year old boy arrested but not charged with fraud.

Dr Louise Bowers - Director, The Forensic Psychologist Service

Dr Louise Bowers is (HCPC) registered forensic psychologist and a (BPS) chartered psychologist. She has over 30 years of experience working as a forensic psychologist in a range of settings including, HM Prison Service, the Youth Justice Service, the Parole Board, the NHS, and private providers of secure and non-secure forensic services. She has been a director of The Forensic Psychologist Service since 2005. Louise splits her time between: practice (assessment and treatment); being an expert witness; providing group and individual supervision; and working for her professional body. Louise lectures at a number of universities and holds an academic position at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Louise specialises in the assessment and treatment of young people who have been accused of or have been convicted of serious offences and this is her primary area of research and practice. Louise has special expertise in assessing the psychological impact of publicly identifying children who have been convicted of such offences and she is often asked to give opinions about this at sentencing. Of the eight children given life-long anonymity orders at the age of 18, Louise was appointed as the psychological expert in four of these cases.

Mike Blower - Service Manager, Targeted Youth Support Service , Wigan Council

Mike has worked in Youth Justice since 2006, starting in Surrey where he began as a practitioner before eventually becoming the Head of YOT. After leaving Surrey in 2019, he has worked in youth justice senior leadership roles in Bradford, Bury & Rochdale and now Wigan Council where he is the Service Manager for the Targeted Youth Support Service, an integrated adolescent service incorporating youth justice. He is also the Greater Manchester Youth Justice Lead for Health, Transition & MAPPA. Mike is passionate about delivering a preventative, child first youth justice system in Wigan and across GM, and working with partners to ensure that children known are supported to express their voice, access the support they need and reach their full potential.

Chair

Katya Moran - Co-Head of the Youth Justice Legal Centre

Katya co-runs the Youth Justice Legal Centre at Just for Kids Law. She is a specialist youth justice lawyer with several years’ experience representing children in criminal proceedings and maintains a busy independent practice in the police station and youth court. Katya oversees the development of YJLC’s interactive legal training programme, writes best practice legal guides on youth justice issues and regularly delivers lectures and training on youth justice.