It would be helpful for the Guidance to consider ways in which the taint of deception could be removed, as far as possible, from cases involving closed hearings and to recognise and seek to minimise the moral injury they can cause.
Tag Archives: Not Secret Court
No ‘exit plan’: Re A (Covert medication: Closed Proceedings) [2022] EWCOP 44
At any point in the last two years of treatment, A might have discovered the medication in her food, or been alerted to the medication by a carer. At any point her grandparents (who visited her in person) could have commented on her pubertal development and raised suspicions. Or she herself could have questioned her breast development, her hair growth or changing body shape. Was there really no contingency plan in place to deal with this?
When wishes and feelings change: A s.21A case but the applicant is now happy with where she lives
By Joanna Booth, 16 November 2022 The case I observed on 10 November 2022 (COP 13966522) was heard before Deputy District Judge Sophy Miles. A woman, SB, is in a care home waiting for dementia and occupational therapy assessment. Her age was not mentioned. She’s been deprived of her liberty since 27 February 2020. When first visitedContinue reading “When wishes and feelings change: A s.21A case but the applicant is now happy with where she lives”
Application to name a protected party in the context of ‘jigsaw identification’
Sometimes it’s impossible to report meaningfully on a case without conveying information that makes it “likely” that the person at the centre of the case can be identified.
Improving P’s quality of life pending a s.21A change in residence
By Celia Kitzinger, 28th October 2022 The person at the centre of the case (I’ll call him “Peter”) is a 71-year-old man who is held against his will in a care home that is not meeting his needs. It’s a Section 21A deprivation of liberty case (COP 13825795) before Her Honour Judge Buckingham, sitting (remotely) onContinue reading “Improving P’s quality of life pending a s.21A change in residence”
When capacity for contact and sex do not align: Pragmatic decisions and judicial work-arounds
To my mind, the need for judges to adopt creative or pragmatic approaches to reach decisions they feel comfortable with indicates that the state of the law is less than satisfactory. Based on this case and the KF case, it sounds as though this is the direction that decisions about capacity to engage in sexual relations may now be headed: a finding of capacity on a general basis, but with the opportunity for reconsideration where specific individual risks arise.
A property and affairs application: Observations about P’s role and who should pay costs
Unfortunately, the timing of his reappearance in his mother’s life had led the care home and the LA to suspect that he had only sought out his mother so that he might benefit from the inheritance himself.
Cancer treatment in the face of unknowns and expert disagreement
By Ruby Reed-Berendt, 18 October 2022 A man (MB) in his 30s has been in hospital (and deprived of his liberty) since May 2022 after his mental health deteriorated. Although there remains uncertainty as to the cause of his poor mental health, there is a working diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma of the nervous system. NewcastleContinue reading “Cancer treatment in the face of unknowns and expert disagreement”
Reflections on open justice and transparency in the light of Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings) [2022] EWCOP 44
What happened in this case strikes at the very heart of the work of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project. It’s very unfortunate that the manner in which this case became public knowledge was via a blog post based on a misapprehension of the facts – necessitating a Statement correcting those facts.
“I have to tell you something which may well come as a shock”, says Court of Protection judge
By Daniel Cloake, 12 October 2022 Editorial Note: The Open Justice Court of Protection Project has issued a formal Statement about the case described here. This is an observer’s account of the first day of that hearing. The judgment is publicly available: Re A [2022] EWCOP 44. We subsequently raised concerns about the court’s decision toContinue reading ““I have to tell you something which may well come as a shock”, says Court of Protection judge”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 