A new law will make shining handheld lasers at pilots, train or bus drivers an offence, regardless of whether the vehicles were put in danger. Offenders face being jailed or fined thousands of pounds.

A new study by the Marriage Foundations suggests children in Britain are more likely to go through a family break up than almost anywhere else in the world. Three in five children born to co-habiting couples will see their parents split up before they reach their teenage years and more than a third of marriages fall apart before the children enter their teens. Marriage Foundation chairman, Sir Paul Coleridge, described the figures as a loud wakeup call that there was a family breakdown epidemic in the UK.

A Magistrate has been given a formal warning for misconduct after she refused to sit on a same sex parenting case in court. The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said the Magistrate had declined to adjudicate on a case because of her personal views on same-sex couple parenting. She has also been ordered to stand down from hearing future family cases.

Divorce Parties Booming

There is a boom in US-Style “divorce parties” in Britain which are proving popular amongst newly single people who want to acknowledge the magnitude of the event and the pain of the split.

Civilian Patrols could fine Motorists

Civilian Road Patrols could be handed powers to fine drivers under a planned shake up of how the UK’s roads are policed. At present, the Highways England staff cannot stop or arrest motorists for speeding, poor driving or any other offences but they can pass their vehicle registration number to police. It is also an offence to ignore their instructions. Ministers are now considering whether the officers could be given limited police powers.

Term time holiday fines under review.

Thirty five councils in England have changed their policy on fining parents for term time holidays in the wake of a successful High Court Appeal by a father on the Isle of Wight in 2016. A further 5 local authorities are reviewing their guidelines, whilst 28 have withdrawn fines issued to parents. The appeal case has recently gone to Supreme Court and judgement is awaited.

Silver Separators on the rise.

Research has found that between 1990 and 2012, the number of over-60’s divorcing increased by more than 85% with the rate continuing to rise. The trend points to older people reflecting on their circumstances and personal happiness (or unhappiness) once they have more time on their hands.

Confiscate Drivers Mobile Phones?

A police leader has proposed that drivers who illegally use a mobile phone at the wheel should have it confiscated. The head of the Police Federation of England and Wales said the measure was needed to tackle the current epidemic.

CPS is failing domestic violence victims

The CPS has been criticised for dropping a case against a man who attacked his partner, leaving her permanently blind in one eye. Police say the case is just one in a string of domestic abuse offences they had to appeal against to get through the courts after the CPS initially declined to press charges.Iin this case the defendant was found guilty of grievous bodily harm in December 2016 at Woolwich Crown Court and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. A police spokesman said we are seeing too many domestic abuse cases being dropped at the slight hint of a problem, but most officers do not have the time or the expertise to lodge an appeal. 28/01/17

Wife “tricked” into signing a pre-nup

A woman has told a court that her millionaire husband tricked her into signing a prenuptial agreement to protect his fortune by telling her it was “just a piece of paper”. She says she is entitled to half of an £11 million fortune but has complained the pre-nup will leave her with around only £500,000.

Insolvency

T he number of people declared insolvent owing to unmanageable debts was 13% higher in 2016 compared with 2015. Over 90,000 people in England and Wales found themselves in that situation according to the insolvency service. An interesting anomaly reported by The Law society Gazette, however, shows that the number of CCJ’s (County Court Judgements obtained has dramatically fallen since the introduction of higher court fees to issue debt recovery claims.

“Position of Trust” loophole must be closed says the NSPCC

A legal loophole that allows sports coaches to illegally have sex with 16 and 17 year olds in their care must be closed by the Government say the NSPCC. The charity says “it was concerned that the role of sports coaches and other youth workers, fell outside the legal definition of a position of trust “.

Husband stopped from hiding assets.

A former banker has been ordered to hand over income from a foreign pension to his ex-wife, in a land mark ruling that could prevent divorcing spouses from concealing assets offshore. The husband was told to hand over two thirds of his annual pension income, about £4,000, to his ex-wife after transferring the funds to an Indian pension provider in a bid to hide his assets from British Courts.

Worst Speeding Drivers to face harsher fines

New sentencing guidelines for Magistrates will see motorists responsible for the most serious offences face harsher penalties. The fines for drivers caught going well above the speed limit will start from 150% of their net weekly income rather than the existing level of 100%. The Sentencing Council said the move aims to ensure that there is a clear increase in penalty as the seriousness of offending increases. The law is likely to change in April 2017.

Tall story fails to convince Judge

A tall man has been convicted of dangerous driving after police claimed that he had been standing up at the wheel. The driver was accused of showing off to other motorists by sticking his head above the roof of a convertible Ford Ka. The 26 year old who was 6 feet 7inches tall, pleaded guilty but denied standing up, telling Newcastle Crown Court he was just “too tall”. The judge said it was “pretty obvious” that he had been showing off as he imposed an interim driving ban.

Reform rules on child contact for violent fathers say Judges

Senior family Judge Mr Justice Cobb has demanded the presumption that a father must have contact with a child where there is evidence of domestic abuse against him, should be scrapped. The change was endorsed by the President of the Family Division Sir James Munby, after campaigning by the charity Women’s Aid identified that 19 children have been killed in the last 10 years by their violent fathers after being allowed contact with them by Judges. Cobb also called for an end to the cross-examination of domestic violence victims by alleged perpetrators in court hearings, a practice already banned in the Criminal Court. The MOJ has indicated it will endorse a change to the law.

Divorce linked to Eating disorders

Experts warn that divorce is contributing to higher than expected numbers of middle-aged women developing eating disorders. Research has found that almost 1 in 25 women in their 40’s and 50’s have had anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or a purging disorder in the past 12 months. A spokesman for University College London said we have never looked at this problem before so probably underestimated it. Eating disorders can be set off by one of a number of traumatic events and divorce is certainly a stressful experience.

Lawyers check Facebook for cheats

Divorce lawyers say they routinely check social networking websites to find incriminating evidence which will secure their clients a bigger pay out. It is obvious, if someone says they don’t have any savings and then post on Facebook about how much money they have, then of course the lawyers will use that as evidence in the financial proceedings.

London’s Most prolific Speed Camera Victims unfairly fined

London’s Most prolific Speed Camera Victims unfairly fined Motorists on the North Circular road who have been caught by London’s most prolific speed camera have now called for their tickets to be refunded after documents emerged indicating that they had been unfairly penalised. About 7,500 drivers were sent fines between April and mid July 2016 and some are now heading to court to challenge them.

Councils to punish littering drivers

EEnglish councils are to be given the legal power to punish car owners in a major shakeup of Britain’s litter laws to be unveiled this year. Drivers who let litter be thrown will face automatic fines even if they are not personally responsible. Failure to pay within a month could see the fine tripled. Councils will be able to set their own fine limits but the likely fine will be £60 rising to £200 if the penalty is not paid within 28 days.