About
Provided by Deighton Pierce Glynn
The department includes one of the founding lawyers of this area of law, Jane Deighton, and has an outstanding reputation for its tenacious representation of clients subjected to police abuses of civil rights and civil liberties. It is also known for its pioneering use of discrimination law to challenge police wrongdoing. This includes cases involving black victims of discriminatory treatment at the hands of the police and cases involving women failed by the police in relation to domestic and sexual violence, for which Sarah Ricca is particularly well known.
The department has been involved in some of the key cases concerning the nature and extent of the police’s protective and investigative duties under the Human Rights Act, including DSD v Commissioner of the Police, Sarjantson v Humberside police , R (AP) v Worcestershire Coroner and more recently Joseph v Metropolitan Police and Seddon v Thames Valley Police.
It is further known for challenging police civil rights abuses in relation to protestors, football fans, and migrants, including victims of trafficking. Key referrers include women’s organisations, migrant support groups, campaigning organisations and protest groups.