Pupil wins Bar Council Law Reform essay competition

Samuel Linehan, a criminal law pupil, has won £4,000 in the Bar Council’s Law Reform essay competition with his submission, “Putting the wheels back on: a better approach to compensation for miscarriages of justice”.

Linehan’s essay deals with the current compensation landscape for miscarriages of justice and makes various proposals for reform. He said: “I became aware of this issue as a result of recent coverage of some high-profile compensation cases. Victims of miscarriages of justice are, in a sense, indirect victims of crime. Fair compensation would help them to deal with the consequences of their experience, and increase the legitimacy of the criminal justice system.”

Fergus Randolph QC, chairman of the Bar Council's Law Reform Committee, said: “Samuel’s essay is a great example of why law reform is vital to civil society. The [committee] is proud to support those at the beginning of their careers at the Bar in taking an active interest in law reform. Compensation for miscarriages of justice, like many areas of law which do not command the attention of the media, often escape the scrutiny they deserve.”

The competition is aimed at developing and fostering an interest in law reform in pupils, and law, GDL and BPTC students. Details of the 2017 competition will be available soon.