Is the law an ass?

WiresDreamDisasters

Shmoo said:

Fretwired said:

Shmoo said:

Fretwired said:

Shmoo said:

To do this, I would need to know the identity of my attackers. I filed a Freedom of Information Act request so I could find out who to take to court and issue proceedings against.

I was denied this information.  The reasoning in withholding the information was that it was to protect these men from me!

Your solicitor needs to do it.

Why pay a solicitor to fill out a form any member of the public can submit for free?

Because the legal system owes your attackers a duty of care. What if all you wanted to do is get their names and go round with some mates and kick the shit of them. If you want to take them to court then go through the due process.

I have been following due process to the letter. I was told I needed to make a Freedom of Information Act request and I did. My comment was simply about fees. Making the request is simple and I saw no reason to pay a solicitor to fill in the blanks to obtain information for me in exactly the same way I was asked to in the first instance. I would also be concerned that paying a solicitor to obtain the exact same information for me (which I would be privy to anyway) may not only cost me dearly, but also be responded to with the same answer, which is, of course, quite possible. 

I'm afraid you need to decide which is more important to you - justice, or your money. It sucks from a victim's perspective, but it's the way it is.

A freedom of information request can be denied for numerous reasons. Here is a write up:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/refusing-a-request/

ourmaninthenorth

The law is often an expensive ass.

One is entitled to ones day in court, as one is entitled to the bill for it. 

The initial good hiding that you've regretfully had, may be followed by another hiding of a different sort.  You have done nothing wrong. 

These things can take on a life of their own, you however can take complete control by notching it up and moving on with your own life. 

I wish you well whatever happens.

fretmeister

1: Go and see a no-win no fee solicitor who specialises in assault claims

1A: The best place to look for such a solicitor is via your various financial products. Home insurance often includes legal fee cover. Some policies even pay out if the attacker is found liable but has no assets.

2: Tell them you want to make a claim against the attackers

3: If you have sufficient evidence already they will offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win-no fee)

4: As part of the process they will seek the information from the police FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING A CIVIL CLAIM FOR DAMAGES (ignore the private prosecution option)

5: If plod tells the solicitor they refuse to release the info and the Solicitor then says your claim does not have high enough prospects to continue then they will cancel the CFA and you won't owe any solicitor fees

6: If plod does give the info then carry on and make the claim if the solicitor thinks the claim has sufficient prospects and is worth enough money to be able to recover costs from the attacker. 

7: Warning: If the claim DOES have sufficient prospects and you cancel it anyway because you only wanted the information then you will owe the solicitors fees because you cancelled the instructions.


So have a look at your Home insurance policy / credit cards / life policies etc etc. You might find they will already cover you for instructing a solicitor as long as you are going to make a claim for injury damages.

boogieman

It's the CPS that's an ass. They wont prosecute anything that doesn't have cast iron evidence, but it seems they want the cast iron to be 24k gold plated and hand polished by Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha too.

Phil_aka_Pip

No, IIRC the correct quote is "The law is a ass" (sic)

fretmeister

Everytime the Legal Aid budget is reduced the Govt of the day get a big cheer from the DM readers and those who have never been falsely accused of anything.

What the govt of the day never tell the public is that the LA budget is part of the entire Criminal Justice System budget. So when a supposedly undeserving toerag (*) gets his legal aid cut, the CPS budget gets lowered too thus reducing the number of prosecutions. Or as has been seen in the papers lately - a reduction in the quality of the prosecutors work due to intolerable pressures leading to the CPS breaching the regulations on evidence disclosure leading to mistrials or convictions when charges should never have been bought in the first place.

So overall it's the fault of twats who praise any government who cuts the budget, and it's the fault of the endless line of MOJ Ministers who decide t go for a quick cheer rather than educate.

* = everybody deserves legal representation. Equality of arms in the system ensures that when someone is convicted the right person was convicted after the evidence was properly tested, and that the sentence was proportionate and based on the guidelines. Ensuring that the accused (not convicted at that point) is properly advised means that the rest of us can have some confidence in the verdict. 

Shmoo

fretmeister said:

1: Go and see a no-win no fee solicitor who specialises in assault claims

1A: The best place to look for such a solicitor is via your various financial products. Home insurance often includes legal fee cover. Some policies even pay out if the attacker is found liable but has no assets.

2: Tell them you want to make a claim against the attackers

3: If you have sufficient evidence already they will offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win-no fee)

4: As part of the process they will seek the information from the police FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING A CIVIL CLAIM FOR DAMAGES (ignore the private prosecution option)

5: If plod tells the solicitor they refuse to release the info and the Solicitor then says your claim does not have high enough prospects to continue then they will cancel the CFA and you won't owe any solicitor fees

6: If plod does give the info then carry on and make the claim if the solicitor thinks the claim has sufficient prospects and is worth enough money to be able to recover costs from the attacker. 

7: Warning: If the claim DOES have sufficient prospects and you cancel it anyway because you only wanted the information then you will owe the solicitors fees because you cancelled the instructions.


So have a look at your Home insurance policy / credit cards / life policies etc etc. You might find they will already cover you for instructing a solicitor as long as you are going to make a claim for injury damages.

Wow, many thanks indeed for taking the time to draft such comprehensive and well laid out advice. I greatly appreciate it !