By Celia Kitzinger, 18th December 2024 The hearing I observed on 5th December 2024 (COP 14045574) before HHJ Tucker sitting in Coventry was an application to send someone to prison. The hearing lasted for about 35 minutes and I was able to observe about 20 minutes of it, missing the beginning due to not having been sent theContinue reading “Capacity and Contempt of Court: The case of LB”
Tag Archives: Transparency
Anorexic teenager in 10-day induced coma for re-feeding: What next?
Doctors gave her a general anaesthetic, ventilated and sedated her, and fitted her with an NG tube, believing this to be in her best interests. She did not consent to any of this – there was a view that she lacked capacity, but no formal capacity assessment was mentioned. And it’s not clear (said the Official Solicitor) “how aware [she] was of the proposed treatment plan before it was put into effect”.
A mother now free to tell her Court of Protection story
By Amanda Hill, with Heather Walton and Celia Kitzinger, 10th December 2024 Something significant happened in the Court of Protection on Wednesday 30th October 2024. Not within the grandeur of the Royal Courts of Justice with a blaze of media attention, but in a regional court: Bournemouth and Poole. The case (COP14106873) was listed the evening beforeContinue reading “A mother now free to tell her Court of Protection story”
Where shall P live? And the impact of a hearing on first time observers
I noticed how distressing it was for P as she was getting up and down and throwing her arms open, throughout the hearing, when arguments were being made for different places to those she might have wanted for herself. At the times I noticed this, it was at points where I also felt very confused with what was being said. I also questioned if more had been considered around her physical health conditions rather than the focus being on mental health.
Application to appeal against judgment authorising withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment: Re XY
By Jenny Kitzinger, 4th December 2024 The Court of Appeal hearing I observed on the 26th November 2024 concerned an application for permission to appeal a Court of Protection judgment. I’d watched the original Court of Protection hearing (COP 20002405) in early November and blogged about it (“Withdrawing life-sustaining treatment: Faith and Science”). The judgment, handed down on 11th November –Continue reading “Application to appeal against judgment authorising withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment: Re XY”
“Bureaucracy blots out the sun”: Telling Ella Lung’s story
Ella Lung, suffering from dementia, was deprived of her freedom in a care home for over two years. Her son, Richard, documented her distress and their experiences through fourteen journals. Despite bureaucratic delays and emotional turmoil, they spent precious time together before Ella’s death, raising awareness about the emotional costs of such state interventions.
Withdrawing life-sustaining treatment: Faith and Science
By Jenny Kitzinger, 25th November 2024 Update: Judgment was handed down to the parties on 11th November 2024 and is available here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewcop/2024/68. It authorises the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment on the basis that, due to severe and extensive brain damage. continuing treatment is not in the patient’s best interests. The daughter sought permission toContinue reading “Withdrawing life-sustaining treatment: Faith and Science”
“It is a process that isn’t fair”: Structural injustice in the Court of Protection
By Daniel Clark, 24th November 2024 The words, “it’s a process that isn’t fair”, were uttered towards the end of the hearing on 21st November 2024 by Alison Harvey, counsel for the protected party’s mother in this case. It’s rare to hear barristers explicitly criticise the fairness of court proceedings – and in this case, I think sheContinue reading ““It is a process that isn’t fair”: Structural injustice in the Court of Protection”
An in-person hearing on anorexia (Re CC): Observer’s rollercoaster and the role of “hope”
By Sydney White, 21st November 2024 My experience observing the final hearing of Re CC (previous hearings blogged as: Respecting autonomy in treating anorexia nervosa and Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A brief directions hearing) was tumultuous in more ways than one. I’ll first describe my unusually challenging time as an in-person observer at the Royal Courts of Justice and howContinue reading “An in-person hearing on anorexia (Re CC): Observer’s rollercoaster and the role of “hope””
The patient with no friends or family: A challenge for best interests assessment
Jenny Kitzinger, 15th November 2024 It felt quite lonely and empty in Court 33 in the Royal Courts of Justice when I went (in person) on 14th October 2024. The case (COP 14234849) concerned a man in his early 60s who’d suffered a cardiac arrest in 2017, been resuscitated, and then remained in a prolonged disorderContinue reading “The patient with no friends or family: A challenge for best interests assessment”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 