New CBA secretary prepares to do battle

Richard Carey-Hughes has been elected as the new secretary of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), replacing Stephen Kay.

Carey-Hughes, who practices at 4 Brick Court, headed by Anne Rafferty QC, is a CBA committee member and edited the association's news-letter from 1992 to 1995.

"This is an interesting time with changes in the law, particularly legal aid, coming in and I will enjoy the chance to be in the thick of things," Carey-Hughes said.

Other issues he said he and the association would be fighting are Home Secretary Michael Howard's proposals on sentencing and disclosure, which he said represented a step back "to the bad old days of miscarriages of justice". He commented: "The prosecution is not in a position to judge on disclosure."

Carey-Hughes is also preparing to present the association's proposals for an international criminal court to handle smuggling and money laundering.