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August 2010

IN THE NEWS... KIDNAP AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT

Andrew Shaw has successfully prosecuted two men who were accused of kidnap and false imprisonment. The defendants, Shabazz and Carty, had tracked the victim down to a rented property near Bury St Edmunds and kidnapped him at gunpoint. They then tied and blindfolded him, drove him to London and imprisoned him in a flat in the Lewisham area. He only escaped when two of his captors fell asleep. See press reports for more information :

June 2010

IN THE NEWS... WOMAN DETAINED INDEFINITELY AFTER KILLING HER BABY

John Farmer led Will Carter in a trial at Cambridge Crown Court prosecuting a Mother who killed her six week old child. The case attracted huge press attention and led to a separate enquiry as Julia Lovemore and her husband were both under supervision by social services before the birth of Faith, who was their second child. The case has led to a serious case review by the Local safeguarding childrens board. Julia was detained indefinitely under the mental health act after she admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. See below for press reports and more on the case:

May 2010

IN THE NEWS... POLICEMAN RECEIVES JAIL TERM FOR USE OF MOBILE PHONE WHILST DRIVING

Robert Bryan was instructed to represent a special constable who was involved in a fatal accident whilst driving home from a night shift. The case was extensively reported and as such made for a difficult trial due to the constant press reporting and nature of the offence being committed by a serving police officer. The defendant was jailed for three years after detailed forensic analysis of his mobile phone proved that he had been using the telephone to text in the moments before the crash. See links below for more information:

May 2010

IN THE NEWS... ONE PAPER BARRISTERS INVOLVED IN ‘LARGEST HAUL OF TERRORIST INFORMATION IN THE UK TO DATE’

Karim Khalil QC and Robert Bryan were instructed to represent the defendant Terrance Brown in what described as the ‘terrorists cookbook trial’ that was scheduled to run for five weeks at Winchester Crown Court. On the second day of the trial he pleaded guilty to offences under the Terrorism Act, he will be sentenced at a later date. See link below for more information:

May 2010

JACOB EDWARDS ACCEPTS INVITATION TO JOIN CHAMBERS

One Paper Buildings is pleased to announce that Jacob Edwards has accepted an invitation to join Chambers.

April 2010

IN THE NEWS... TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS DIFFICULTIES FACED BY PROBATION SERVICES

Chris Morgan was led by Timothy Spencer QC of 7 Bedford Row Chambers in a recent murder trial that highlighted the difficulties faced by probation services in monitoring and releasing offenders. They successfully prosecuted Royston Jackson, a double murderer, at Norwich Crown Court. Jackson was convicted of murdering sex offender Gordon Boon, 73 in Norwich in 2008 soon after being released from prison for murdering Stephen Raven in Essex in 1989. Both victims were strangled. Mr Justice Underhill said: "This was a shocking murder” and described Jackson as a very dangerous man. See below for BBC and local press coverage.

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... FANTASIST MEDIC CLAIMED HE WAS QUALIFIED

Robert Bryan recently concluded a case at Portsmouth Crown Court that has been widely reported; it poses serious questions about how stringently qualifications on medical CVs are checked. Although he was already a qualified nurse, Greig Ferguson decided to exaggerate his qualifications when he applied for the post of emergency nurse practitioner. He told health bosses he had worked at the County General Hospital in Chicago, the fictional hospital that launched the career of Hollywood star George Clooney. He also falsely claimed he had seen action as a medic in the Royal Marines.

Ferguson confessed his lies and pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud. In court, Robert Bryan compared him to Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced MP who was jailed in 2001 for perjury and perverting the course of justice. Addressing the judge, Mr Bryan said: "I know not whether your honour is, or was, ever a devotee of a certain Channel 4 drama but the hospital on his CV in Chicago was the hospital starring in ER. There can be few people in this country who at one stage or another have not inflated or said something to increase their standing. Whether that is with a work colleague, whether it's to impress a potential girlfriend or her parents or whether it's perhaps to do what Jeffrey Archer did, to make themselves seem better, that's all this man did."

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... CHAMBERS UK DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATION

For the second year running, we are proud to announce that barristers at One Paper Buildings have been given ‘Top Ranked’ status in the 2010 Chambers & Partners UK directory. They say : “One Paper Buildings offers a wide choice of quality counsel”. Head of Chambers Michael Hubbard QC and Karim Khalil QC have both been awarded ‘leading individual’ status, as testament to the high esteem those instructing hold them as well as the many glowing reports to the directory researchers. They are both in the top tier of recommended silks for Criminal matters in their respective circuits. This ranking is a sought after accolade and is only awarded after extensive research by the directory. To read more, click on the Chambers UK icon below.

February 2010

IN THE NEWS... ADVANCE IN DNA SNARES RAPIST

Stephen Spence recently secured the conviction of a rapist twenty years after the crime had taken place thanks to advances in DNA techniques. Ipswich Crown Court heard how Phil Collins, 50, was identified after advances in DNA techniques pinpointed a link to him via a family member. The trial took four weeks and it is believed that this is one of the first contested trails involving LCN and YSTR DNA. Mr Spence said the science of DNA was in its infancy when the case was originally investigated in 1990, and not as sophisticated as it is today; therefore the initial police inquiry had failed to find the attacker. The investigation into the attack was reviewed by Suffolk Police in 2008 in light of forensic science advances, and they used samples that were kept in storage at forensic laboratories which they tested again after the advances in technology enabled more sensitive analysis.

Stephen Spence told the jury that DNA found on the victim’s bra and knickers “precisely” matched Collins’s DNA. The chances of it coming from someone else were “one in a billion”. He was given two 10-year sentences for the serious sexual offence charges, 10 years for rape and eight years each for indecent assault, to run concurrently. See below for links from the beginning to end of this important trial.

January 2010

IN THE NEWS... TWO JAILED FOR MURDERING TERMINALLY ILL MAN

Karim Khalil QC successfully prosecuted two men charged with beating a terminally ill man so severely that he died the next day from his injuries. Father-of-three John Vry, 55, suffered a "horrific and sustained" attack in an alleyway in Lowestoft in December 2008, Ipswich Crown Court heard. Mr Khalil said Mr Vry, who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for his cancer, was in no condition to defend himself. He had been undergoing various treatments for his illness, but there was no chance of recovery. Mr Vry had only stepped out to purchase some chips when approached in an alleyway and attacked. One eye witness described the defendants as ‘stamping on his head’ and requested an ambulance as well as Police, such was the severity of the prolonged attack. The first defendant, James Killingback, was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years, whilst his younger accomplice Aaron Breffitt, who was just seventeen at the time, was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years.

January 2010

IN THE NEWS... ALASTAIR MALCOLM QC ACCEPTS APPOINTMENT TO SFO QUEEN’S COUNSEL LIST

Chambers congratulate Alastair Malcolm QC upon his appointment to the inaugural Serious Fraud Office Queen’s Counsel list. Alastair is one of a select band of Queen’s Counsel chosen to be included in the list which means, essentially, he will be one of the SFO’s preferred Queen’s Counsel for a period of three years commencing January 2010.

December 2009

IN THE NEWS... MOTHER FOUND GUILTY OF 18 CHARGES OF ABUSE UPON HER OWN CHILDREN

Andrew Shaw successfully prosecuted a mother of six who had subjected her children aged between 6 months and 14 years old to a prolonged period of abuse. She was alleged to have beaten the children with various kitchen utensils and also threatened other children when they witnessed the abuse. The children were noted as being ‘withdrawn’ and ‘petrified’ of their mother. Cambridgeshire County Council admitted monitoring the family since 1999 yet charges were only brought against the mother after two of the children discussed the abuse with a teacher. A spokesman said: "We acted as soon as these allegations came to light and the children were immediately taken into care. The defendant was successfully convicted of 17 of the 24 counts she was prosecuted for. Also acting in the case was fellow One Paper buildings barrister, Georgina Gibbs, who was acting for the defendant. See links below for more reports on this case that generated national interest:

December 2009

IN THE NEWS...GANG OF SEVEN JAILED FOR ‘PROLIFIC’ SPATE OF BURGLARIES

Gregory Perrins led Quinton Newcomb in successfully prosecuting a gang of seven men at Ipswich Crown Court who had been involved in over 170 thefts or burglaries. The total value of goods stolen was thought to be in the region of £300,000. The gang targeted small communities in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and stole from homes and businesses, and in some cases they burgled houses whilst the occupants were asleep. They also stole vehicles and filmed themselves doing so with stolen cameras. Gregory and Quinton were joined in this matter by fellow One Paper barristers Andrew Shaw, Jo Eley and Nicola Devas acting for the defence.

Judge Peter Fenn remarked when sentencing the gang to a combined total of 30 years that these were “extremely serious and prolific” offenders.

December 2009

RECORDERS APPOINTED

Chambers are delighted to congratulate Chris Morgan and Angela Rafferty on their appointments as Recorders of the Crown Court.

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... LORRY DRIVER SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS FOR DEATH BY DANGEROUS DRIVING

After a six day trial, a Cambridgeshire driver was sentenced to three years imprisonment and was banned from driving for four years as a result of being found guilty of dangerous driving. John Farmer successfully appeared on behalf of the prosecution at Cambridge Crown Court in relation to a horrific a road accident in which two scientists were killed. The defendant was driving a HGV which failed to stop in time to avert a multiple crash involving two cars and another HGV. For more information click on the links below:

November 2009

IN THE NEWS... FOSTER CARER ALLEGEDLY GROOMED, ABDUCTED AND RAPED TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY IN CARE

Alastair Malcolm QC is acting for the prosecution on a matter that has attracted press interest both in the UK and beyond. The defendant, Christopher Waite, is charged with rape, sexual activity with a child, child abduction, grooming a child, sexual assault, inciting sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images. Mr Waite was a registered foster carer with Hampshire County Council in 2002 but was not responsible for looking after the alleged victim. The court have heard how the defendant helped the victim abscond from care homes and hid him in his house. For more information on the case, click on one of the links to press reports below:

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