Libertas Chambers

𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 Darren Snow, instructed by Felicity Crockford-Taylor, a senior lawyer at the Royal College of Nursing - Company, secured the acquittal of his client in respect of all charges following lengthy legal argument and a submission of no case to answer at a recent Nursing & Midwifery Fitness to Practice Hearing at Stratford, East London. Darren’s client, a senior nurse, who headed a covid vaccine centre in East London at the time of the allegations going back to 2021, faced multiple charges of racially aggravated conduct. Cross examination of NMC witnesses revealed serious irregularities with the original investigation and significant credibility issues. Notably, the NMC did not produce a single independent witness to support the underlying allegations. The disclosure of secret recordings made by the complainant, produced in support of her allegations, revealed underlying motives of homophobia against Darren’s client and false allegations being made against other nurses. Darren’s client was able to resume his nursing career with an unblemished record. He expressed his sincere thanks to his legal team and for the work done over the last 3 years by the RCN. Darren Snow has been undertaking defence work for nurses and midwives for many years before the NMC. He has defended in serious and complex cases involving patient death, clinical malpractice, sexual offences, serious dishonesty, and numerous health cases. He has been ranked in the leading 500 as a leading professional disciplinary junior. #Barrister #NMC #Nursing #Midwifery #Defence

𝗥 𝘃 𝗔 & 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 – 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 - 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 Darren Snow, leading Alexandra Monaghan of Crucible Chambers for the first defendant secured the acquittal of their client following a 4-week trial at Kingston Crown Court. Darren and Alexandra were instructed by Mark Brown of Brysons Solicitors. The 4 Defendants on trial were all of good character, several admitted sexual activity with the 2 Complainants, when invited back to their flat, but all Defendants maintained it was consensual following meeting up in a night club. The Crown alleged the Defendants had conspired to rape, spiked drinks and/or got the girls involved so drunk they could not consent. The Complainants claimed to have no memory, denied any consensual sexual activity and gave evidence that they must have been spiked. Extensive work by the defence teams working together, reviewing CCTV, phone records and forensics, established significant issues with the prosecution case including the credibility of the complainants. All the Defendants were unanimously acquitted. #Defence #Crime #Barristers #UKLaw #Libertas

𝗥 𝘃 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 – 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 – 𝗦.𝟰𝟲(𝟯) 𝗖𝗝𝗔 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟯 – 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗷𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. [𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰] 𝗘𝗪𝗖𝗔 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝟳𝟲𝟰 Darren Snow, instructed by CLP Solicitors, appeared for the Appellant before the Lady Chief Justice in this recent appeal. The appeal focused upon the unfairness to a defendant where the actions of a third party led to a finding of jury tampering and the trial judge ruled under s.43(3) CJA 2003 that they would continue the trial sitting alone having discharged the jury. The trial concerned alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle over £50 million of MDMA to Australia hidden in a Doosan Digger that was shipped to Australia under the cover of a legitimate sale of the digger in late 2020. The prosecution case relied heavily on Encrochat communications. In this case the tampering occurred, following a 4-week trial, whilst the jury were in retirement and on a majority direction. There was no suggestion that the Appellant had played any part in the tampering that took place. The underlying facts were such that all sides had agreed that a jury discharge was necessary. A key point raised in this appeal was the fact that the trial judge had sat on an earlier trial where co-defendants were tried and convicted - thus arguably rendering it unfair for him to now sit alone to conclude this case. The Appellant had been severed from that first trial due to serious health issues at the time rendering him unfit to stand trial. The appeal was dismissed. The Court rejected submissions in respect of unfairness and potential bias. The Court upheld the general principles set out in their decision of R v Mohammad (Shahid) [2024] EWCA Crim 34; [2024] 1 Cr App R 25 from earlier this year. It remains the position that a defendant can lose their right to a jury trial where tampering is found to have occurred regardless of any culpability on a defendant for the actions of others. #Appelate #Barrister #UKLaw #CourtOfAppeal

Darren Snow, instructed by Ziyad Lunat of Z & Z Solicitors, secured a suspended sentence for their client at a recent sentencing hearing. Originally facing Arson with Intent to Endanger Life and the prospect of a contested trial, the Defendant faced a significant prison sentence if convicted. Darren and Ziyad sought expert evidence on the Defendant’s underlying mental health to show that the Defendant was suffering a serious mental health breakdown at the time. He had initially set fire to himself in a suicide attempt inside the family home with the fire then spreading to the property causing significant damage. The Crown accepted the medical evidence, and the case was resolved on a guilty plea to reckless arson. Listing backlogs and lack of capacity at Court meant that the sentence hearing had to be adjourned several times. During time on remand the Defendant was an exemplary prisoner, undergoing successful treatment to manage his mental health and was treated for significant burn injuries to his legs that left him with limited mobility. With the extensive mitigation and full credit for the guilty plea obtained, the Judge was persuaded to step back from immediate custody. The Defendant and his family expressed their sincere thanks for the hard work of Darren and Ziyad over the last 6 months and with the result achieved. #Barrister #Defence #Crime #UKLaw #Chambers

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: Kieran Galvin, instructed by Luke Bromham-Evans of Gomer Williams & Co solicitors successfully defended his client, securing an acquittal at Cardiff Crown Court in respect of an allegation of perverting the course of justice. The principal offender was convicted of murder. Following two trials the client was convicted of assisting an offender but cleared of the much more serious offence of perverting the course of justice. Following the murder it was alleged that the client hid the co-defendant at his home address, treated an injury sustained in the murder and arranged transport for him. The client did not give evidence. In his closing speech, Kieran Galvin relied entirely on the client’s interviews with the police. #cardiff #law #barrister #chambers #crowncourt #defence #allegation #justice

𝗚𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 £𝟯.𝟮𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱.   The investigation and charges came out of the Panama papers scandal where over 10 million documents had been leaked. The case dated back to the sale of land in 2007 in Wakefield for over £10m. The case against the defendant and his brother was to avoid tax of £3.2m, they have sold part of the land to a company they controlled in Gibraltar, and then moved the money to a company based in the British Virgin Islands. The defendants were charged following unsuccessful engagement in the COP9 procedure.   Through intense negotiations and successful application to defer sentence, the Court was eventually persuaded to pass a suspend sentence in a case where ordinarily the sentence would have been a lengthy term of custody.   Gulam Ahmed was instructed by Arshad Ali of Ashmans Solicitors' serious crime and fraud team. Read more about the case on the ITV Website - link in the comments. #Fraud #Defence #Crime #Barristers

𝗚𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟭𝟲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟴. Following complaints to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority from several individuals, Gulam Ahmed’s client was charged along with two others. It was alleged that Gulam’s client was the manager of a hotel where people had been forced to work, and a Letting Agency in Stoke-on-Trent where young people were employed on fictious apprenticeships and paid below minimum wage. Through a detailed analysis and careful consideration of the evidence, Gulam applied to dismiss all charges on the basis that evidential threshold had not been met and the minimum wage allegations lacked a key legal component. Following a review of the application, the prosecution conceded and dismissed all charges. Gulam Ahmed was instructed by Nadeem Majid of M&M Solicitors. #Crime #CriminalDefence #Barrister #UKLaw

𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗬𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝟴 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗬𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗖 James Doyle, instructed by Goran Stojsavljevic of Berkeley Square Solicitors, defended Sheraz Majeed in an 8 day trial at Croydon Crown Court in respect of allegation of 8 counts of firearms offences. The defendant ran a dry-cleaners in Thornton Heath, which was the subject of a raid by firearms officers in October 2020 as part of Operation Trident in execution of a search warrant following a shooting in nearby Mitcham. The defendant was unanimously acquitted on the 8 counts he faced on the trial indictment alleging offences of possession of the firearm, the two silencers and the ammunition with intent to endanger life and simple possession of those items. More information on this case can be found at our website - link in the comments. #Barrister #Firearms #CriminalDefence #UKLaw

𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗘𝘂𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀. Alexandra-Maria Eugenicos has a busy practice in the Crown and Magistrates’ Court and brings a solid record of securing a favourable outcome for her clients from bail applications through to jury trials and at sentence. She joins Libertas with recent experience in independent practice against a background of working as in-house counsel at a leading criminal defence firm in London. James Doyle is a leading junior defence barrister who, throughout his career, has appeared in almost every Crown Court in the jurisdiction of England and Wales. His wealth of experience enables him to deliver consistently positive outcomes for his lay clients. To learn more about their individual practices and specialties, there are profile links in the comments. #Barristers #Chambers #Libertas #UKLaw

We're proud to announce that Dr. Felicity Gerry KC has been honoured with a spot on the Pro Bono Recognition List for her exemplary commitment to providing pro bono legal services. This prestigious acknowledgement highlights her dedication to access to justice for all. Congratulations, Felicity Gerry KC! #ProBono #LegalExcellence Learn more about the list and its impact by visiting the website (link below) #AccessToJustice #JusticeForAll #LegalImpact