Notable Defence Results

Domestic Violence

R v JH, 2025, Chelmsford Crown Court – accusation by the wife that the husband engaged in coercive or controlling behaviour. Drafted the defence statement, and within 3 days of it being served the Crown discontinued the case.

Sexual

R v MR, 2024, Isleworth Crown Court – accusation of sexual assault in the workplace in which there was CCTV of the alleged assault. Five-day trial. Unanimous acquittal.

Chief Constable of Cumbria v Y, 2023, Carlisle Magistrates’ Court – resisted an application by the Chief Constable for a Sexual Risk Order in circumstances in which the client admitted having engaged in depraved online conversations with a UCO, and at least two real children, as to the sexual abuse of children. Successful: the Chief Constable’s application was refused.

R v AF, 2023, Isleworth Crown Court – accusation of historical double rape of a child by a child. Six-day trial with admitted lies in the interview, and a “no comment” second interview after DNA results exposed the earlier lies. Unanimous acquittals on both counts in under an hour.

R v CF, 2023, Kingston Crown Court – arising from the client’s online conversation with an undercover police officer, defended in an accusation of intentionally arranging an act with the intention of committing a child sex offence. Despite the very depraved nature of the conversation, the jury took fully two days to convict.

R v SW, 2023, Aylesbury Crown Court – accusation of sexual assault; successful half-time submission. Client acquitted. Successful application for wasted costs against the CPS for having wrongfully brought the prosecution. The prosecuting body was ordered to pay the defendant almost £18k in wasted costs.

R v EAF, 2023, Manchester Crown Court – successfully applied to dismiss 5 counts from a 10-count indictment. The dismissed counts were 3 x voyeurism, 1 x disclosing private sexual film, and 1 x dangerous driving. Other counsel defended at trial.

R v RM, 2023, Doncaster Magistrates’ Court – successfully applied for the removal of police bail conditions that prohibited a person under investigation for IIOC offences from living at home with his family and children.

R v MK, 2022, Salisbury Crown Court – accusation of making IIOC. Client convicted. SSO imposed. Successfully resisted SHPO non-contact prohibitions and travel restrictions asked for by police, and persuaded the judge down from his intended 10-year SHPO duration to the statutory minimum of 5 years.

R v CS, 2022, Luton Crown Court – defended sexual assault; successful resistance of Crown application for live link for the complainant on the basis that the the jury seeing the height difference between her and the defendant was essential to the defence. 4-day trial; D acquitted.

R v RP, 2022, Cardiff Magistrates’ Court – defended G plea on multiple IIOC; first hearing: persuaded District Judge to lift police bail conditions as being unlawful; at the later sentencing persuaded the District Judge that no SHPO was necessary.

R v MA, 2022, Central Criminal Court – accusation of two sexual assaults; five-day trial; made a successful bad character application against the complainant (previous false allegation). Unanimous acquittals in under 90 minutes.

R v MS, 2022, Nottingham Crown Court – defended in a G plea to multiple counts of IIOC and extreme pornography. Successfully resisted SHPO no-contact prohibitions asked for by police.

R v R, 2021, Luton Crown Court – defended on a G plea to three counts of hundreds of Cat. A-C moving and still IIOC. 9-month SSO and no SHPO.

Weapons, Violence, Drugs, Etc.

R v H, 2023, Inner London Crown Court – having not acted in the lower court, defended in an appeal against conviction for an offence of intentional strangulation. Succeeded in a half-time submission that the admitted neck-hold, caught on CCTV, was not in law a strangulation. Costs Order obtained. Wrote up a discussion of the law from this case, anonymising the client, and published in the Criminal Law Review (2024, issue 6).

R v McCue, 2023, Northampton Crown Court – defended an allegation of controlling/coercive behaviour. An 8-day trial resulted in a hung jury. After the complainant retracted by saying he did not want to be cross examined again, the CPS abandoned the retrial. Defendant acquitted. Costs Order obtained. Returning under the slip rule, the Crown applied for a restraining order; application defeated and a further costs order obtained.

R v Adams, 2023, Ipswich Crown Court – defended allegation of assault emergency worker in which all violence against a police officer was accepted. Following service of the defence statement that advanced self-defence, the CPS offered no evidence. Defendant acquitted.

R v Braithwaite, 2022, Woolwich Crown Court – defended on a G plea to six counts of supplying heroin and cocaine.

R v McGearty, 2022, Woolwich Crown Court – defended against racially aggravated assault, simple assault, and criminal damage. Three day trial; unanimous acquittals on all counts in just 35 minutes.

R v Phillips (L), 2022, Ipswich Crown Court – defended in a G plea to possession of an offensive weapon; successfully showed it not to be an offensive weapon per se, as the Crown had alleged, thereby steering the court down the Sentencing Guideline and to an eventual SSO.

R v Koncius, 2021, Luton Crown Court – defended on an indictment that put kidnap, robbery, and s.18 GBH. Via the DCS and a basis of plea, reduced this to a sole count of s.47 ABH, and to an eventual SSO.

R v South, 2021, Luton Crown Court – persuaded the judge to give full credit for G plea at the PTPH. Later, successfully resisted the Crown’s application to have time remanded disqualified as the defendant had been liable for recall. Remand time preserved as counting.

Public Order

R v Brown, 2021, Luton Crown Court – successful in a Newton hearing on public order and bladed article matters. Cross examination of the prosecution witnesses over CVP during Covid restrictions.

Road Traffic

As a former Constable, Damian has first-hand experience of the policing of motoring offences, and has both prosecuted and defended a wide range of motoring matters both before magistrates and on appeal at the Crown Court.

All of the below were defence cases, and all acquittals - 

R v Raffique, 2024, Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court – allegation of driving uninsured. Despite the defendant having earlier produced one insurance certificate that the prosecution showed to certainly be a forgery, and upon the Crown seeking an adjournment of trial in order to investigate the legitimacy of a second certificate there produced, opposition to that application succeeded. Defendant acquitted after trial.

R v Goreeba, 2023, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court – excess alcohol allegation. Following submissions on flaws in the prosecution case, the CPS offered no evidence; Defendant acquitted.

R v Calut, 2023, Luton Magistrates’ Court – fail to provide sample of breath. Client accepted he had failed to provide. Following submissions on flaws in the police procedure, the CPS offered no evidence; Defendant acquitted.

R v Ghandi, 2022, Bexley Magistrates’ Court – excess alcohol allegation. Following submissions on flaws in the prosecution case, the CPS offered no evidence; Defendant acquitted.

R v Thompson, 2022, Derby Crown Court – having not appeared in the lower court, instructed to appeal a dangerous driving conviction. The Crown’s evidence came from two police officers who, coincidentally, had been driving in opposite directions when the client made an overtake alleged to have been dangerous. Court persuaded this was careless, not dangerous; to that extent appeal allowed, with defence costs. Disqualification and extended test quashed; 3 penalty points substituted.

R v Marinov, 2022, Stevenage Magistrates’ Court – acquittal after trial on an excess alcohol allegation.

R v Walker, 2022, Birmingham Crown Court – having not appeared in the lower court, instructed to appeal a conviction (s.172). Defendant acquitted.

R v Cooper, 2022, Guildford Crown Court – instructed to defend in a dangerous driving in which, had the client been convicted, significant custody would have been inevitable. Drafted an Opinion, and from that an application for a Stay for abuse of process. Following service of that the CPS offered no evidence. Defendant acquitted.

R v Marcu, 2022, Horsham Magistrates’ Court – drunk in charge in which the defendant had been found asleep in the driving seat; acquittal after trial.

R v Wells, 2021, Winchester Crown Court – in a re-sentencing on a breach only 5 weeks into a 2-year SSO, persuaded the judge away from his initially intended activation.

R v Agaram Venkateswaran, 2021, Aylesbury Crown Court – appealing a 6-month totting disqualification after a second no insurance offence, successfully argued exceptional hardship (including to the public interest). Defendant permitted to keep his driving licence with 14 active penalty points.

R v Cummins, 2021, Staines Magistrates’ Court – young driver convicted of no insurance. Special Reasons application successful. Absolute discharge granted.

R v Szabo, 2021, Oxford Magistrates’ Court – for an HGV driver facing a six-month totting disqualification, but with no evidence of exceptional hardship, persuaded the court to reduce the disqualification to 3 months for public interest reasons.

R v Ullathorne, 2021, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court – drug drive; dismissal of the charge on the day of trial for reason of prosecution disclosure failures.

R v Wolmor, 2021, Stratford Magistrates’ Court – no insurance. Acquittal on day of trial.

R v Hopkins, 2021, Luton Magistrates’ Court – for a client 24 months into a 40-month disqualification on a second drink-drive offence, persuaded the court to lift the disqualification early, allowing the client the return of his driving licence.

R v Cole, 2021, Stratford Magistrates’ Court – following submission of the Defence Case Statement in a s.172, the prosecution offered no evidence.