OUR HEARING HAS STARTED at the Court of Appeal has started, with extremely interesting opening remarks by the judge - raising possibility of unusual further consideration of our case! #RapeJusticeNow 1/
Judge is raising questions with CPS' advocate as to - what is it to change policy/practice related to charging; the policy isn't only what the DPP believes it to be, it is also how he communicates it... 2/
Here you can read lots of the legal evidence we assembled with @centreWJ for our attempt here to being a judicial review of CPS rape charging policy and practice: endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/campaign/rape-… 3/
It sounds as though the Court is possibly sceptical about the @hmcpsi report which the CPS routinely relies on to say its rape decision-making is satisfactory... 4/
Judge has also pressed CPS advocate on the "touch on the tiller", and the question of cause and effect in changing guidance to prosecutors and an observable fall in rape charging numbers... 5/
Our barrister now faces the judge... 6/
Complex discussion of arguability of different Grounds on CPS and our side... and then whether these could be considered in an unusual kind of Court of Appeal hearing... 7/
Court has risen for lunch and back at 2pm with a decision. More to follow at 2pm. 8/. #RapeJusticeNow
About to resume... we're all on tenterhooks... 9/
Court has resumed; the judge is again mooting a further hearing in the Court of Appeal (unusual)... now discussing cost-capping (remember - we're a small charity and our costs so far largely met by small donations from supporters including many rape survivors)... 10/
Court out again and back after 2.45pm...
Resumed...
Permission to apply for judicial review GRANTED!!!!!! To be retained here in Court of Appeal (unusual we understand), hearing of couple of days, soon....
