By Celia Kitzinger, 16 July 2023 Mr D is in his fifties, and he’s currently in a psychiatric hospital, with a longstanding diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and a suspected mild learning disability. He’s lost a lot of weight recently, and blood tests show a range of inflammatory markers indicative of potential cancer. Doctors say heContinue reading “Cancer investigations – with restraint authorised if required”
Tag Archives: Royal Courts of Justice
‘It’s unclear how urgent this is’: A case concerning covert medication
By Daniel Clark, 31 May 2023 This case (COP 14023716) was heard before Theis J, via MS Teams, on Friday 26th May 2023 at 10am. It was not plain sailing for me to access this hearing but given its subject matter (covert medication) I was glad that, with a lot of help from Celia Kitzinger, I persevered. IssuesContinue reading “‘It’s unclear how urgent this is’: A case concerning covert medication”
On not authorising restraint for bowel surgery
Physically restraining someone against their will to have general anaesthesia for a serious operation is something that most of us instinctively recoil from, and for good reason – namely, that it is the repression of an individual liberty and it is disrespectful to individual autonomy.
Discharge from hospital: Light at the end of a very long tunnel
Daniel Clark, 10th March 2023 – with new update by Celia Kitzinger about the emergency hearing on 16th March 2023 (added at end of blog post) This hearing (COP 14036761, before Mrs Justice Theis) was scheduled to begin at 10:30am on Monday 6th March, 2023. However, the Judge was engaged with an urgent matter and soContinue reading “Discharge from hospital: Light at the end of a very long tunnel”
Forced Marriage Protection Order
By Celia Kitzinger, 16 February 2023 The young man at the centre of this case (M) is 24 years old and has been diagnosed with moderate learning disability and “autistic tendencies”. Back in August 2020, M’s mother told social workers that she had found a ‘suitor’ for her son in Pakistan, and that she plannedContinue reading “Forced Marriage Protection Order”
Uncertainty about capacity for contact – and the inappropriateness of using the inherent jurisdiction
Mrs Justice Lieven remarked that “a vast amount of lawyers and legal expenses” were being used on “a relatively small amount of issues, with very fine distinctions” and that further assessment “does not feel to me, like a proportionate way forward, in a cash-strapped system” where in the case of P “there are already 8 lawyers and 3 detailed assessments”, pertinently adding “What benefit is there to P in all of this?”
Observing my first hearing: Plan to terminate contact if father is abusive to carers
For the next 12 minutes he produced a torrent of ‘colourful’ language directly insulting the judge, alongside allegations of staff abusing P, not washing him, not feeding him properly and denying the father access to his son. The Judge remained calm and did not display much of a reaction (apart from one brief wry smile and raised eyebrows) despite some pretty offensive insults!
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 