News & Events: Criminal
Martin Revisited – the meaning of ‘supply’ in the context of ‘being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug
In Martin, the legal interpretation of the word ‘supply’ in the context of ‘being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug to another’ was significantly altered, changing the way that it had been understood for the previous 29 years. In Martin, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd CJ stated that ‘the ‘word “supply” is a broad […]
John Dyer joins Pump Court Chambers
Pump Court Chambers is delighted to announce the arrival of John Dyer as part of our Criminal and Regulatory Team expansion. An expert in all areas of criminal law, recent cases include murder, serious violence, kidnap, serious sexual offences (including rape, historic cases, offences involving children, youths and those with learning difficulties, indecent images), false […]
Tom Wilkins receives glowing reference from Detective Sergeant at Met Police
Tom Wilkins a “competent and professional barrister” with “exemplary patience and attitude”, “a great credit to Pump Court”, these are the words of a Detective Sergeant of the Met Police who has worked with Tom since 2013 and on Tuesday (21st March 2017) successfully convicted Mr Paul Monk who was the head of a £31 […]
Guy Draper secures acquittals in child rape trial
Following a 5-day trial at the Crown Court at Southampton, Guy Draper has successfully defended a 21-year-old man on a 14-count indictment alleging rapes and sexual assaults committed against 8-year-old male family members. It was alleged that, on several occasions respectively, the defendant had raped his younger brother using violence, and sexually assaulted his young […]
The Notional Digital Family Court: Lessons from our Criminal Counterparts
One of the interesting aspects of having a mixed common law practice is the opportunity to observe the differing ways in which the criminal, family, and civil courts deal with the more practical aspect of court life. Over the past few months the Crown Court has ‘gone digital’ with the long awaited, and much discussed, […]
Nigel Pascoe QC successfully defends man accused of attempted murder
A man who admitted punching his former partner while holding a knife has been acquitted of attempted murder and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Michael Kilby entered a guilty plea to the lesser offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm and to a charge of criminal damage during a six day trial at […]
Anne Brown sworn in
Pump Court Chambers is delighted to announce that Anne Brown has been sworn in as a recorder on the Northern Circuit. Ms Brown who has specialised in Criminal law and Courts Martial since being called to the Bar in 2000, was sworn in yesterday at a ceremony at Manchester Crown Court.
Father found guilty of prolonged sexual abuse
Sarah Jones has successfully prosecuted a defendant who has been found guilty of prolonged sexual abuse against his daughter from the age of 9 years’ old for approximately 2 years. The Defendant groomed her by showing her videos from the internet showing sexual activity between adults and young girls before going on to rape her […]
Introducing better case management
The beginning of last year brought publication of Sir Brian Leveson’s Review on Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings. As a result of the Review all efforts are presently focused on Better Case Management (BCM) in the Crown Court. The three key changes to the management of cases will be: Better Case Ownership A new Digital Case […]
The evolution of PPE: remuneration in a digital age
The definition of “pages of prosecution evidence” (“PPE”) in Schedule 2 of the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2007 (“the Funding Order”) has evolved over time. There has, of late, been a proliferation of decisions of cost judges on the subject and it is outside the scope of this article to consider them all in […]
The curse of CCC
The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Criminal Courts Charge) Regulations 2015 continue to drive judicial despair and resignations from the lay bench. Which charge should apply when a Defendant pleads to a summary-only offence in the Crown Court? My client had been initially charged with one either-way offence (affray) and three summary only offences. At […]
Prioritising the Vulnerable within the Criminal Justice System
The extent to which the Criminal Justice system is changing its priorities with regard to witnesses was highlighted notably in a case in Winchester Crown Court. The case involved a complainant who is a vulnerable witness with mental health difficulties and had been assessed as requiring an intermediary. Despite this having been identified long ago […]
