Penny Cooper – författare

Over the last 25 years there has been a growing recognition that the way in which cases involving the vulnerable are investigated, charged and tried needs to change. Successive judgments of the Court of Appeal have re-enforced the message that advocates and judges have a duty to ensure vulnerable witnesses and defendants are treated fairly and allowed to participate effectively in the process. How do practitioners recognise who is or may be vulnerable? How should that person be interviewed? What account should police and the CPS take of a defendant's vulnerabilities? How should advocates adjust their questioning of vulnerable witnesses and defendants whilst still complying with their duties to their client? How should judges manage a trial to ensure the effective participation of vulnerable witnesses and defendants? Vulnerable People and the Criminal Justice System, written by leading experts in the field, gathers together for the first time answers to these questions and many more. It provides a practical, informative and thought-provoking guide to recognising, assessing and responding to vulnerability in witnesses and defendants at each stage of the criminal process.Backed by authoritative research and first-hand experience and drawing on recent case law, this book enables practitioners to deal with cases involving vulnerable people with calmness, authority, and confidence.

This is the second volume of this kind. The first, 'Addressing Vulnerability in Justice Systems', focussed on identifying vulnerability in international justice systems. This volume presents some of the challenges that exist in achieving sufficient access to justice for vulnerable people, primarily in criminal and family proceedings and provides international comparisons of best practice. This book, following on from The Advocate’s Gateway Conference in 2017, consists of a selection of papers from presentations at the conference. The primary focus is an international comparison of vulnerability in justice systems and issues surrounding access to justice for vulnerable witnesses and parties. The book presents the latest developments in a constantly developing area of law and provides details of the many different challenges which advocates, judges and vulnerable witnesses and victims encounter in justice systems. It also offers international comparisons of best practice.The discussions in 'Access to Justice for Vulnerable People' will provide academics and practitioners across a variety of disciplines an insight in to topics of central importance to the fairness and efficiency of court processes. Expert contributors offer an international perspective and research-informed practical advice for lawyers, researchers, judges and policy makers.

This book provides social workers with the theoretical and practical knowledge they need to effectively deal with courts and legal issues, which includes presenting evidence, supporting vulnerable service users in the legal system and developing good professional relationships.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence Effective participation in court and tribunal hearings is regarded as essential to justice, yet many barriers limit the capacity of defendants, parties and witnesses to participate.Featuring policy analysis, courtroom observations and practitioners’ voices, this significant study reveals how participation is supported in the courts and tribunals of England and Wales. Including reflections on changes to the justice system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it also details the socio-structural, environmental, procedural, cultural and personal factors which constrain participation. This is an invaluable resource that makes a compelling case for a principled, explicit commitment to supporting participation across the justice system of England and Wales and beyond.

With contributions from an international team of experts, this collection provides a much-needed international, comparative approach to mental capacity law. The book focuses particularly on exploring substantive commonalities and divergences in normative orientation and practical application embedded in different legal frameworks. It draws together contributions from eleven different jurisdictions across Europe, Asia and the UK and explores what productive or unproductive values and practices currently exist. By providing a detailed comparison of how legal and ethical commitments to persons with disabilities are framed in capacity law across different national systems, the book highlights the values and practices that could lead to changes that better respect persons with disabilities in mental capacity regimes.