Kids Law

In this episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda talk to David Anderson, QC Baron Anderson of Ipswich KBE, a barrister and life peer, who is a member of the House of Lords.  We discuss the work of the House of Lords and ask: How they improve legislation through committees and debates  How it fits in with House of Commons in making laws How people become members of the House of Lords David tells us a co...

A Hallowe'en Special! In this episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda are talking to Kirsty Brimelow QC, a barrister and expert in international human rights, public and criminal law.  We talk about  the history of laws about witchcraft and why this is still relevant today in the UK the balance of the freedom for people's right to believe what they wish and the need to protect people from ha...

In this episode , Alma-Constance and Lucinda speak to a judge of the Supreme Court, Lord Stephens of Creevyloughgare who worked as a judge in Northern Ireland before joining the Supreme Court in 2020. We discuss the fact that in the UK, we have three different legal systems, one for Scotland, one for Northern Ireland, and one for both England and Wales, and how the Supreme Court sits at the top of...

Welcome to Series 2 of the Kids Law Podcast! In this episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda discuss why we need to have courts and judges and how children are treated if they need to go to court.   We interview the Lord Chief Justice Ian  Burnett, who is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. He tells us about the different types of courts...

In this short round up, we look back on everything we have learnt in Series 1, and all the questions still left to ask our guests in future series! In Series 1 we have discussed issues such as: How laws are made  The difference between criminal and civil law  What the “age of criminal responsibility” really means How the police enforce the law to protect citizens Youth courts, and how they are use...

In our tenth and final episode of Series 1, Alma-Constance and Lucinda speak to Darren Jones , the MP for Bristol North West, about his job as a Member of Parliament.  Darren discussed his move from being a lawyer who puts the laws into practice, and becoming a politician. As a MP, Darren is in a position to discuss, change and introduce new laws, and in order to represent the views of all the peo...

In this episode, Alma-Constance talks to MP Edward Timpson CBE about his experience and knowledge of the foster care system in the UK. Ed is the MP for Eddisbury and was a family law barrister in Cheshire before joining the Conservative Party and serving as the Minister for Children and Families from 2015 to 2017. They discuss the difference between fostering and adoption, legal changes to make su...

In our eighth episode, Alma-Constance tells Lucinda that she was shocked to find out that she has reached the age of criminal responsibility at just 10 years old and wanted to find out why we need a criminal justice system and how does it affect children.  Their guest for this episode is the person who calls themselves the Secret Barrister, who is a junior barrister specialising in criminal law, a...

In our latest episode Alma-Constance and Lucinda tackle another big topic - children and work. Their guest was employment lawyer Kevin Poulter, a partner in solicitors firm Freeths, who advises people about the rights and duties of employment.     As kids grow, it is exciting to think that they can earn their own money and then make decisions about what to do with it. Taking up some work experienc...

When Alma-Constance discussed the age of criminal responsibility starting at 10 years old in England and Wales with DPP director Max Hill QC (in our episode 2 ), Max talked about the police investigating when people commit crimes. Alma-Constance was curious to know more about the work the police do and how it affects children.  Our guest for this episode - to tackle these questions -  was Dame Cre...

In our fifth episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda take a look at the difficult situation of when parents split up. Alma-Constance talks to  Charlotte Bradley, who is a partner and Head of  the Family Law department in a firm of solicitors called Kingsley Napley. Charlotte is also a mediator and has helped  many families sort out their problems and campaigned for the voices of children to be heard ...

Every year there is a justice week - and this year in 2021 it is in the first week of March. The purpose of Justice Week is to help people understand their rights and responsibilities, and how laws are made and changed.  But what does justice actually mean? In this episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda Acland explore this question with Lord Neuberger, a very senior judge who was president of the Sup...

In our third episode, Alma-Constance tells Lucinda that she was shocked to find out that when she turns 10 years old, she reaches the age of criminal responsibility.   Alma talks to Max Hill QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions who is the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the organisation which decides whether to prosecute a person after considering the evidence given to them by the...

In our second episode,  nine year old Alma-Constance quizzes leading human rights barrister, Adam Wagner of Doughty Street Chambers about  the current Covid 19 laws and  how she can celebrate her upcoming birthday; what the laws mean for children whose parents are separated and why some children are still going to school. Since the beginning of the pandemic Adam has been explaining the often compl...

In our first episode, Alma-Constance and Lucinda Acland talk to Lady Brenda Hale about how laws are made and how they are used to help children, when when adults are arguing and children are caught in the middle.  Lady Hale tells her story about how she became interested in the way that  laws can be used to make sure that  people are treated fairly; and how she was involved in creating the Childre...

Welcome to our KidsLaw podcast, where we discuss children and the laws that affect them as they grow up. In each  monthly episode, your hosts, Alma-Constance Denis-Smith and Lucinda Acland talk to people whose job it is to help and protect children and  discuss with them what children should know and understand about the impact of law in their lives, about keeping safe and  how to make good decisi...