10/7/10 (UK): Cuts Threaten Local Justice A draconian plan for widespread closures of courts across England and Wales is the first hard evidence of how the Government's proposed cuts will bite. At least 25 per cent will be sliced from the £9.6 billion Ministry of Justice budget, but some analysts predict that the figure could be as much as 34 per cent - or the entire prisons' budget.

5/7/10 (UK): Expert Withdraws From GMC Case The case against a Devon-based heart specialist facing allegations of misconduct has been halted after an expert witness pulled out. After 90 minutes of cross examination at the General Medical Council (GMC) hearing in London, Dr John Swan left the hearing room. He left a note claiming his opinions were "questionable".

3/7/10 (USA): Expert Appraisers Likely To Be Involved in BP Claims The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has affected countless small and large businesses operating in the coastal Gulf State regions. If you own a business that has suffered a loss due to the rupture and release of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, then you may have a claim to present to British Petroleum as well as other insurance and emergency loan organizations. The greater your company's financial loss, the more important it is to provide legal, court-approved documentation outlining the value of your business.

1/7/2010 (UK) Virtual Courts Not Without Problems A practising solicitor has recently written of his experiences using a 'Virtual Court' at Camberwell Green. The scheme was introduced just over a year ago, and a defendant is presented to the court for his or her first appearance via a video-link from a police station within a few hours of arrest.

15/6/10 (USA): Prosecution Should Have Disclosed Experts' Misconduct Prosecutors in San Francisco are inviting defence attorneys to challenge more than 500 convictions that were based in part on the work of two expert witnesses - the former technician at the heart of a police drug lab scandal and a toxicology supervisor who vouched for tests in her previous job that she hadn't performed.

10/6/10 (GER): Demjanjuk Expert: ID Card Photo Was Removed A former U.S. Secret Service forensics expert has testified that the photo on a Nazi-issued identity card being used by prosecutors against John Demjanjuk, which the defence argues is a fake, appears to have been removed and later reattached.