I refer to dismay, because this is what I felt upon realising that my group of well-educated, largely liberal, tolerant, engaged and generous friends were so ill-informed as to what the acquittal of this footballer really meant with regards to the honesty of the woman involved and the appropriateness his behaviour. In 2016 and 2017, the Secret Barrister was named Independent Blogger of the Year at the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards. A partial defence reduces culpability and the level of charge but a criminal offence has still been committed.

Convicted homeowner, Tony Martin, claimed that he suddenly came face to face with the home intruders, but the truth was far more sinister.

Under English self-defense laws, even killing can be legally permissible as long your actions fulfill two vital criteria.

But just months later, as the UK government prepared to start the withdrawal process, they found an unexpected obstacle in its path, in the form of three High Court judges. If an Englishman’s home is his castle, these days it may seem he no longer has the right to defend it.Crime does get a look in, quite late in the book, and surprisingly (given that TSB is a criminal practitioner) I found that the most pedestrian and weakly argued chapter. This disturbing new phenomenon, akin to fake news, involves the media and politicians seeking to distort the truth about our legal system and how it impacts our freedoms. I am also happy to say that this book plants them firmly on the 'Hated By The Daily Mail' list- a high honour indeed, and one to be thoroughly proud of. We are not responsible for the republishing of the content found on this blog on other Web sites or media without our permission.

So, he wasn’t convicted because the law is biased against homeowners, but because he failed to meet either of the vital criteria for self-defense. The main premise of this book was to dispell myths about law often shared in the news, media, social media and my members of government themselves. The debate scrutinises how fake law can become an emotive subject on child euthanasia and how political and public misbehaviour take advantage of this reaction by challenging unpopular legal judgements which brings into question the validity of our judicial process. Most of the book is clearly and fairly argued, although there are weaknesses in the chapter on the tragic cases of Alfie Evans and Charlie Gard, where the Secret Barrister isn't entirely sympathetic to people with strongly-held convictions that differ from theirs. Let's say you have a high profile case, maybe a serial killer, maybe someone famous is involved, maybe someone who has committed a very interesting crime that the media will want to front-page for as long as it captures attention (on their ads).

This book has been lovingly crafted and is clearly no intended money-spinner; it is a labour of love, written with conviction. Earlier that day, the retrial of a footballer previously convicted of rape had resulted in an acquittal, and conversation inevitably touched on this current hot topic. And however much politicians and tabloids rail against huge amounts of Legal Aid being paid out to wrong'uns (who never actually see a penny of it as it is paid to the lawyers in less-than-generous remuneration for their work), those caught on the wrong foot should not have to sell their home to clear their name. Crucially, it doesn’t matter if you’re correct in this assumption, it only matters that you genuinely thought, at that moment, that your life was in danger. I was thoroughly impressed by the author’s thought-provoking and timely insights on the state of the British legal system.