Prison Law
If you are a prisoner, or if you know someone that is in one of HM Prisons, then you may find that it is all a bit daunting. There is a whole new way of life to come to terms with. This is where you may need the advice of a specialist in the field.
We do not just leave our clients to get on with life in prison once the Judge has passed sentence. Although there are people to help within the prison, they may only be able to provide limited help with day to day problems that do not need the intervention of a lawyer. We believe strongly that prisoners should have access to expert legal advice to help them through their time in custody.
The obvious and main aim is to be released from a sentence as soon as possible, and we can help with parole hearings, Home Detention Curfew applications and temporary release on licence. It may be that a prisoner has been recalled and wants to appeal that decision. We can make representations to the prisons on behalf of our clients in any of these cases and if a hearing is necessary we have experienced, expert lawyers ready to provide representation whenever and wherever that is needed.
Inmates may need help accessing courses that will move them through the prison system and allow them to be one step nearer to completion of their sentence plan. Or they may want to be recategorised so they can move to a prison that is nearer to home or has a more relaxed and comfortable regime. Again, we are able to provide advice and assistance to help clients achieve those goals.
Things do not always go according to plan in prison and inmates can find themselves appearing in front of a governor or adjudicator over disciplinary issues. In some circumstances the police may even visit an inmate to interview them over something that happened before they came into prison. Our prison law team is able to provide advice and representation at disciplinary hearings and police interviews to ensure that they are conducted in a fair and proper manner, and to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients.
Our dedicated Prison law team is headed by Matt Aldwinckle who specialises in this area of work. He has qualified for supervisor status under the new Criminal Defence Service contract and has the Institute of Prison Law Accreditation in Prison Law work.
Call us for help with any problem that you may have including, but not limited to any of the following:
- IPP and lifer Parole
- Licence recall
- Adjudications
- Re-categorisation
- Transfer issues
- Criminal investigations
- Lifer panels
- Sentence calculation
- Sentence planning, risk assessments and access to courses
- Home detention curfew (HDC), Release on temporary licence (ROTL) and early release
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