Recent years have seen increased attention to both neurodiversity as a general concept and social concern, and specifically to the way in which the CJS engages with individuals who are neurodivergent. Interest (and, to some extent, action) in this ar... Read More about Submission to the independent review of the criminal courts – Written evidence on neurodivergence, vulnerability and the criminal courts.
Tom Smith's Outputs (40)
Neurodivergence, autism and the appropriate adult safeguard in police custody (2024)
Journal Article
Neurodivergent suspects and defendants may be disadvantaged by the processes and procedures within the criminal process. Whilst these disadvantages may emerge at any point of the process, they are particularly pertinent during detention in police cus... Read More about Neurodivergence, autism and the appropriate adult safeguard in police custody.
Autistic and accused: A critical discussion of contemporary challenges to fair and effective criminal proceedings for autistic suspects and defendants (2023)
Journal Article
Examines the challenges facing autistic people suspected, accused or convicted of crime from a socio-legal perspective. Discusses problematic legal procedures from initial contact with the police, pre-trial custodial interaction to trials and sentenc... Read More about Autistic and accused: A critical discussion of contemporary challenges to fair and effective criminal proceedings for autistic suspects and defendants.
Lights, camera, justice: An evaluation of the first 12 months of video broadcasting sentencing in the Crown Courts of England & Wales (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
On 28 July 2022, the case of R v Ben Oliver made history when the sentencing remarks of Munro J were filmed and broadcast from the Old Bailey, marking the first time cameras were allowed into the Crown Court. This unarguably represented a significant... Read More about Lights, camera, justice: An evaluation of the first 12 months of video broadcasting sentencing in the Crown Courts of England & Wales .
Suspects still left in limbo? The continuing challenge of pre-charge bail (2023)
Journal Article
Pre-charge bail has undergone significant reform in recent years. In 2017, changes introduced by the Policing and Crime Act 2017 placed time limits on pre-charge bail. Notwithstanding this attempt to regulate the use of bail more effectively, police... Read More about Suspects still left in limbo? The continuing challenge of pre-charge bail.
Autism and Criminal Justice The Experience of Suspects, Defendants and Offenders in England and Wales (2023)
Book
This collection presents a summary of current knowledge regarding autistic suspects, defendants and offenders in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The volume examines the interaction between each stage of the criminal justice process... Read More about Autism and Criminal Justice The Experience of Suspects, Defendants and Offenders in England and Wales.
‘Through the back door' Defence perspectives on the rise of managerialism at the expense of adversarial justice (2023)
Book Chapter
This chapter charts the evolution of managerialism in England and Wales through the lens of defence lawyers. Drawn from two PhD studies, the chapter advances empirical evidence of the implicit rise of managerialism in England and Wales. The chapter a... Read More about ‘Through the back door' Defence perspectives on the rise of managerialism at the expense of adversarial justice.
Broadcasting crown court sentencing - A tentative step forward for open justice? (2023)
Journal Article
Pursuant to the Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020, television cameras have now been permitted to broadcast sentencing remarks made by Judges in Crown Courts. The first such occasion of this was in the case of R v Ben Oliver (2022).... Read More about Broadcasting crown court sentencing - A tentative step forward for open justice?.
Neurodivergence in the CJS and the role of the Bar (Part 1) (2022)
Journal Article
The first of a two-part series of articles examining the experience of neurodivergent individuals (for example, those who are autistic or have ADHD) in the criminal justice system, and how criminal defence barristers can mitigate or aggravate challen... Read More about Neurodivergence in the CJS and the role of the Bar (Part 1).
‘An endlessly strange experience’: Experiences of media reporting on criminal courts during the Covid-19 pandemic (2022)
Report
It is well established that the news media plays a pivotal role ‘in facilitating open justice’ by reporting on the proceedings of the courts. Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the shutting of physical court rooms in England and Wales i... Read More about ‘An endlessly strange experience’: Experiences of media reporting on criminal courts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Neurodivergent defendants & the poor lawyer: How might defence lawyers adapt to their clients’ needs? (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Poor lawyering is arguably, at its core, a failure to be a good lawyer. One method of measuring ‘good’ lawyering is to assess how effectively lawyers discharge their professional duties (for example, acting in the best interests of a client). Whilst... Read More about Neurodivergent defendants & the poor lawyer: How might defence lawyers adapt to their clients’ needs?.
Neurodivergent defendants & the poor lawyer: How might defence lawyers adapt to their clients’ needs? (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
The practice of pre-trial detention in England & Wales - Changing law and changing culture (2022)
Journal Article
Pre-trial detention empowers criminal courts to imprison defendants before they have been convicted of an offence. This is a significant power which should be subject to a rigourous decision-making process. A 2016 study of pre-trial detention practic... Read More about The practice of pre-trial detention in England & Wales - Changing law and changing culture.
Caught in the net: Police powers of investigation and the risks for autistic individuals (2022)
Book Chapter
This chapter examines a specific area of vulnerability in the context of the criminal justice process: the challenges faced by autistic suspects in interactions with police officers, both in public spaces and in custody settings. The needs of neurodi... Read More about Caught in the net: Police powers of investigation and the risks for autistic individuals.
‘‘Side effects may include…’ Protection of suspect and defendants’ rights in England & Wales during Covid-19’ (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Justice in lockdown: Court reporting in a time of Covid (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
In response to the radical changes in the operation of criminal courts in England and Wales (E&W) wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic this paper examines the impact on court reporting and how the much-vaunted principle of open justice is operating in pr... Read More about Justice in lockdown: Court reporting in a time of Covid.
Changing culture? Thinking differently about police and prosecution disclosure (2020)
Book Chapter
‘Rushing remand’? Pre-trial detention and bail decision-making in England and Wales (2020)
Journal Article
Deprivation of liberty as part of the criminal process is always a significant step, and arguably even more so when the person so deprived has not yet been convicted of an offence. Remand decision making – that is, granting bail or requiring detentio... Read More about ‘Rushing remand’? Pre-trial detention and bail decision-making in England and Wales.
Criminal Procedure and Punishment (2020)
Book