Spotlight on the Family Courts following murder

Spotlight on the Family Courts following murder

The recent sentencing of Ben Butler to a minimum of 23 years imprisonment for the murder of his daughter Ellie in circumstances where she had been returned to the care of her parents following a decision by the High Court has again thrown the spotlight on the Family Courts and people will be rightly alarmed.

The Family Court Judges and Magistrates agonise over the very difficult decisions they have to make week in week out, some of which will be finely balanced.

So that the press and public understand how their decisions are reached it is recognised that there is a need for the Family Court to be as open as possible (whilst protecting the privacy of the children at the heart of the process) and for that reason many of the judgments given in these cases are now published on the Internet.