Cases in the news
November 2010:
Paul Chambers' prank on Twitter to his girlfriend threatening to blow up an airport has lost his appeal. Stephen Fry offers to pay the fine Full story
A mother convicited of murdering her son by injecting him with heroin a year after a catastrophic road accident
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Igor Judge's judgement:
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/r-v-inglis-final3.pdf
The Guardian's perspective
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/21/mercy-killer-appeals-son-heroin
October 2010:
A Saudi prince convicted of murdering his manservant
Old Bailey Judge Mr Justice Bean's sentencing remarks
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/saud-sentencing-remarks-20102010.pdf
The BBC's perspective
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11492867
August 2010
Two boys aged 10 and 11 are convicted of rape
Old Bailey judge Mr Justice Saunders observations and sentencing remarks
The Independent's perspective
Cases from our archives
R v JC (2008)
Man charged with a high profile murder in Bristol who subsequently escaped from Springfield Hospital, attracting a national manhunt.
R v S (2008)
We represented a young Polish man accused of murdering his flatmate in a drunken fight. Obtained numerous statements to the deceased's extremely violent past, including stabbing and assaulting two previous flatmates, together with details of his convictions for violence in Poland, in support of a defence of self - defence. Unfortunately this client insisted on pleading guilty at trial, despite our belief that he was guilty of manslaughter at worst ( in that while he acted in self defence, arguably he used excessive force).
R v D (2008)
A man charged with the historical rapes of his daughter and other family members over a substantial period of time.
R v S (2008)
Lady accused of buying a child in Nigeria and Traffiking it to the UK with the sole intention of using the child to obtain council housing for herself.
R v F (2007)
The case of a man with severe learning disabilities accused of raping a woman with psychiatric illness and convictions for violence, having met through the Internet. This client was acquitted at trial.
R v RM (2008)
We acted on behalf of a lady accused of administering methadone to the two year old child of a friend she was looking after, causing permanent brain damage and physical disability. We eventually established that this was a regrettable but genuine accident rather than a deliberate act. During the course of the criminal investigation this lady gave birth to her own child, who was placed into the care of the local authority, and so great care was needed to ensure that nothing within the criminal proceedings compromised her chances of getting her own child back (which she did).
R v CC (2007)
This was a lady who allegedly administered poison to her husband and then immediately called 999 for an ambulance. The husband was already terminally ill, was very abusive and demanding, and relied upon his wife as his sole carer. During the course of the proceedings they remained together and she continued to look after him, until his death from his illness. The Crown insisted on prosecuting this case, even though there was no doubt as to the lady's intent at the time and as to whether the substance administered was actually poisonous (the police threw away the remnants of the drink). Ultimately an application was made to the Attorney General to make a grant of nolle prosequi, in effect to discontinue the proceedings over the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, and this was granted.
Download judgements
September 2008
Conviction quashed for appellant who was the victim of child prostitution trafficking
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/49467d142.pdf
Download guides
The Crown Court Bench Book http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/benchbook_criminal_2010.pdf
The Criminal Procedure Rules http://www.justice.gov.uk/criminal/procrules_fin/rulesmenu.htm
Download videos
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