The Labor government plans a crackdown on “trivial” inmate suits, with Justice minister Jack Straw citing “imaginative” lawyers as a source of problems. Controversial cases have included a £1 million compensation bill to prisoners forced to go cold turkey on narcotics withdrawal instead of being given a heroin substitute, and “one in which a prisoner won a legal battle to have his haircuts paid for by the state while on day release”. [Times Online]
2 Comments
Are prisoner suits in the UK subject to the loser-pays rule?
I believe they would generally fall into one of the modern exceptions that have been carved into English loser-pays, namely the exclusion of legal-aid-supported lawsuits.