The Law Show

A poker player who used a Victorian conjuring trick to win £7.7 million from a London casino left court empty-handed in 2017 after a court found he “took positive steps to fix the deck”. But now judges have decided that the ruling in Phil Ivey’s case should be the test for dishonesty. Joshua Rozenberg explains how it works, while a gambler tells us that the courts have got it wrong. Also this week...

Can virtual courts deliver justice? We speak to participants of a mock jury trial held by law reform group Justice, with legal teams and jurors replacing the courtroom with the sitting room. Scotland's second most senior judge, Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian, outlines how socially distanced jury trials can resume safely in July. And Joshua Rozenberg asks Director of Service Prosecutions Andrew Ca...

Recent high-profile discrimination claims have cast a media spotlight on the employment tribunals of England, Wales and Scotland. But how good are they are at resolving disputes between employers and staff? How independent are they of the government? And how well have they recovered from fee increases that meant some employment judges had to move jobs? Why an autistic man’s experiments with explos...

Earlier this year, Airbus was ordered to pay nearly €1bn by a criminal court in London. The penalty, for failure to prevent bribery, was more than twice the fines paid by defendants in England and Wales for the whole of 2018. In addition, the global aerospace company was required to pay fines totalling €2.6bn in France and the United States. But Airbus has not been convicted of any crimes and nobo...

Tucked away in the City of London is one of the UK’s most successful invisible exports. But is the Commercial Court threatened by international developments? Joshua Rozenberg investigates. Italy has extended its emergency coronavirus measures and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has ordered people to stay at home. Lawyer Mariella Melandri tells Law In Action how this is affecting her legal practice a...

Imagine what it must be like to be a child with autism. Your school won’t give you the support you need. But challenging that decision involves giving evidence at a tribunal where the lighting seems dazzling and the air-conditioning sounds deafening. Joshua Rozenberg reports from a tribunal in Glasgow designed by children for children. He visits a unique sensory room designed to put children with...

The Parole Board will soon have to decide whether it’s safe to release prisoners convicted of low-level terrorist offences. But how effective is it at predicting whether a criminal will reoffend? Joshua Rozenberg visits the Parole Board for England and Wales to find out. Also new legal powers to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Joshua speaks to David Lawson, Barrister at Serjeants' Inn Chambers...

The secrets of life behind bars, revealed in a new podcast series. Joshua Rozenberg meets the ex-prisoners and others behind the project from The Prison Radio Association and The Prison Reform Trust. The bedroom tax and why the Court of Appeal got it wrong, plus online courts and the future of justice. Photo: Joshua Rozenberg with The Secret Life of Prisons presenters and contributors: Paula Harri...

Should parents with a history of domestic abuse be allowed to see their children? How can the family courts protect children from further abuse? Joshua Rozenberg asks where the law should draw the line. And he discovers some of the innovative programmes being run in Altcourse Prison near Liverpool - including keeping birds of prey. Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Neil Koenig Researcher: Dian...

Joshua Rozenberg visits a busy Crown Court where vulnerable or intimidated witnesses can give pre-recorded evidence and face cross-examination before the defendant stands trial. Researcher: Diane Richardson Producer: Neil Koenig

In holding the government to account over Brexit, our judges have added new pages to the UK's uncodified constitution. Joshua Rozenberg finds the law more active today than at any time since he launched this programme 35 years ago, and in the first episode of the new series he asks what legal lessons we can learn from the tumult caused by Brexit. Researcher: Diane Richardson Producer: Neil Koenig

Do jurors believe in rape myths? A coalition campaigning to end violence against women said a third of people questioned in an opinion poll thought that sex without consent was not rape if there was no physical violence involved. Professor Cheryl Thomas at University College London has interviewed more than 50 real juries about their views. Ahead of publication, she outlines her findings to Joshua...

Prosecutors in the United States want Julian Assange extradited to face charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified defence documents. What chance does he have of defeating the US extradition request at a hearing planned for next February? Also on Law in Action: if you’ve been turned down for social security payments, how easy is it to take the government to a tribunal? And the Austral...

Should a non-traditional background be a bar to joining the Bar? Barristers want the best recruits. But many law students waste time and money training for a profession they will never succeed in joining. Leading lawyers tell Joshua Rozenberg how they plan to reduce training fees and increase diversity. Also this week: threats and transparency in the Court of Protection. And the law behind the fai...

What will happen to the European Union judiciary after Brexit? Eleanor Sharpston QC is a British member of the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg. She argues it’s in the interests of both the UK and the EU for British judges to remain at the EU Court after Brexit - at least during a transitional period - because the UK will still be affected by its rulings. Also this week: transparency in the court...

Joshua Rozenberg reports from a prison where inmates study legal issues alongside law students from Cambridge University. The academics who launched this ground-breaking project have found that both groups of students benefit by learning together. Plus, why four doctors have launched a Judicial Review of the Royal College of Physician’s assisted dying poll. Producers: Neil Koenig and Diane Richard...

Joshua Rozenberg asks whether new laws are needed to protect online and social media users from abuse? Plus, in our latest look behind the scenes of courts large and small, we visit an immigration tribunal in central London. Joshua Rozenberg meets applicants who want to stay in Britain and judges who need an encyclopaedic knowledge of world affairs to decide whether they can remain.

We visit a problem-solving court in Coventry. Joshua Rozenberg speaks to judges, social workers and a mother whose drug addiction put her at risk of losing her children. Producer: Neil Koenig

Behind the scenes at the UK's top court: Joshua Rozenberg talks to staff, officials and the court’s most senior justices. Why do they allow some appeals and refuse even to hear others? How activist are they? And what effect did the Brexit challenge of 2016 have on the reputation of the judiciary? Producer: Neil Koenig

Judge Alex Calabrese can wield the big stick if he needs to. But peacemakers at the Red Hook Community Justice Centre in Brooklyn often find it more effective to pass round what they call a talking stick. Joshua Rozenberg finds out whether a Native American form of dispute resolution can be transplanted to a deprived corner of New York. Also, what the new director of public prosecutions for Englan...

Joshua Rozenberg hears the story of the extraordinary case that rewrote the way America is governed - giving the Supreme Court the power to overrule Congress. He discovers what American prosecutors get up to behind the closed doors of the grand jury room. And he asks whether we should be screening jurors in England and Wales for bias before they are allowed to serve on rape trials. Producer: Neil...

There is a possibility of a new legal challenge to the tech giants. Early last year, an unknown American law student published a scholarly article in a distinguished journal. Lina Khan argued that competition law – known in the United States as anti-trust law – could be used to rein in the activities of huge enterprises like Amazon. Other lawyers disagree with her reasoning - but the Federal Trade...

Dennis Hutchings, a former soldier charged with attempted murder in Northern Ireland in 1974, says the UK Supreme Court should let him face trial by jury, rather than a hearing at a special court where a judge sits alone. Joshua Rozenberg speaks to Mr Hutchings and his lawyer. And in the first of a series of reports from the US, we investigate whether female lawyers face prejudice in the courtroom...

Some police forces are using automated facial recognition technology to pick suspects out of a crowd. But is face mapping a valuable tool in the fight against serious crime or a new threat to our civil liberties? And does it work? Joshua Rozenberg investigates. Also in this week's programme... Do body-worn video cameras help police to deal more effectively with domestic violence incidents - or do...

Does social media pose a threat to criminal justice - and can fair trials be ensured? In this week's programme, Sir Brian Leveson, head of criminal justice in the courts of England and Wales, tells Joshua Rozenberg that the law needs updating to cope with the growth in social media. And a retired senior judge from Northern Ireland considers whether more needs to be done to protect complainants - a...