News & Events: Criminal
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 […]
Defendant denies murdering elderly parents’
Timothy Crook is standing trial for the murder of his elderly parents in 2007 at Bristol Crown Court. The bodies of the couple were found hidden underneath wheelie bins, when a police officer carried out a welfare check at the Lincoln home of their son. Post mortem results revealed that Mr & Mrs Crook had […]
Man accused of killing a woman by forcing a shampoo bottle into her abdomen
A jury at Winchester Crown Court has heard how a 51 year old woman has died from internal injuries two days after being admitted to hospital. Addressing the jury Mr Justice Akenhead said “You will see evidence which some of you, if not all of you will, find shocking and disturbing.” On Friday April 18th […]
Successful discharge of an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order
The applicant, represented by Matthew Scott on a direct access basis, had received a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (‘SOPO’) in late 2009 for offences committed in 2007 and 2008. The order was expressed to last indefinitely. The Recorder of Winchester, HHJ Cutler CBE was invited to discharge the SOPO under s.108 of the Sexual Offences […]
Criminal team private fee scheme
In the past 12 to 18 months Pump Court Chambers have seen a considerable increase in the number of privately funded Criminal Crown Court cases. This is in no small part due to the implementation of Universal Credit legal aid means testing. As a direct consequence of this, the Criminal Practice Group have devised a […]
Can our legal system cope with Social Media?
With Professor Cheryl Thomas, Simon Phillips QC and Carl Gardner, Charles Parry was asked to speak to students of the Inner temple on ‘Can our legal system cope with Social Media?’ The question largely addressed issues surrounding jury management in the context of social media and internet research. Charles had represented Dr Dora Dallas, a […]
