Notable Cases
Court of Appeal Criminal Division Cases
R. v Healy (Courtney Morgan), [2023] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 45
R v Tilley & Tilley [2023] EWCA Crim 41
R v Nyal Huskinson [2023] EWCA Crim 1559
R v Padman [2022] EWCA Crim 690
R v CB
Guildford Crown Court
Catherine was chosen to represent a 19 year old charged with the rape of his long term girlfriend. The allegation was made when they were both 17 years old. The defendant sent a message which the prosecution relied on as a confession. The jury acquitted unanimously.
R v BA
Bournemouth Crown Court
Catherine was instructed to represent a young man accused of rape after meeting someone on a night out. The defendant was caught on CCTV running home shortly after the time of the incident. The first jury could not make a decision. Catherine was instructed for the retrial and once again the jury could not reach a decision. Therefore, the prosecution offered no evidence and not guilty verdicts were recorded.
R v SA, AA & WS
Birmingham Crown Court n
Catherine was chosen to act as Junior counsel in this high profile murder. The Crown’s case was that the defendant and his two co-defendants attended the home of the deceased to rob him of money and/or drugs and in the course of the robbery stabbed the deceased causing a fatal injury to the abdomen. The deceased’s wife and three young children were in the next room. There was extensive CCTV of the defendants before and after the attack showing them approaching the house of the deceased wearing face coverings and gloves. There was further CCTV showing the defendants running away from the scene carrying what the Crown said were clearly knives. Both co-defendants were convicted of murder. Catherine’s client was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter after a further day of jury deliberations.
R v T & T
Court of Appeal Criminal Division
(Judgment pending)
Catherine represented a 15 year old who received a 9 year sentence of imprisonment with three years extended for public protection. The appellant and his younger brother were convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial. A third defendant was found guilty of a lesser offence. Catherine argued that the sentencing Judge had failed to correctly apply the Sentencing Guideline for Young people and children and the sentence was manifestly excessive. The appeal was allowed and the custodial part of the sentence reduced from 9 years imprisonment to 6 years imprisonment.
R v CH
Court of Appeal Criminal Division
EWCA Crim 1901
Catherine represented a young girl who was sentenced to three years immediate custody for smuggling 9 grams of cocaine in 18 wraps into Creamfields dance festival. The appellant was a first time offender and NHS worker. Catherine argued that the sentence was excessive and the appeal was allowed. The sentence was reduced to two years suspended for two years and the appellant was released from custody the same day. Mr Justice Pepperall commented on the skill with which Catherine argued her case.
R v SS
Bristol Crown Court
Catherine was instructed to advise on appeal against sentence in a case involving an elderly gentleman who was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for verbal racial abuse of a traffic warden. Catherine noticed that the Judge had miscalculated the sentence and successfully applied to have the sentence corrected and thus significantly reduced.
R v JS
Catherine represented a young man charged with assault against his then partner. An uber driver gave evidence for the prosecution and claimed to have witnessed the assault from 2 metres away. The defence case was that the complainant was suffering from PTSD and having flashbacks of a previous incident of serious domestic violence causing her to behave irrationally and violently towards the defendant. The complainant gave evidence for the defence. The defendant was swiftly acquitted.
R v AT
Hove Crown Court
Catherine was instructed to represent a 14-year-old boy charged alongside his younger brother and another youth for inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent (contrary to s.18 Offences Against the Persons Act 1861). The police initially arrested the boys on suspicion of attempted murder as it was not believed that the victim would survive his injuries. The incident took place in a park in the middle of the day and attracted huge media attention due to the severity of the injuries and the young ages of the defendants. The defence case was that the victim attacked them armed with a piece of wood following an earlier incident involving the victim’s son. The jury deliberated for considerable time before finally convicting all three defendants.
R v PP
Appeal against conviction
Catherine represented a gentleman who had been convicted of assaulting his wife in the Magistrates court. The complainant had multiple photographs of the injuries she alleged the defendant had caused and her 11 year old daughter gave evidence that she had seen the defendant assault her mother. Despite the strength of the evidence at first blush, Catherine was able to persuade the Judge that the photographs could not be relied upon and the complainant’s account could not be trusted. The conviction was quashed and the appeal allowed.
R v MR
Catherine represented a young man facing trial for possession with intent to supply class A and class B drugs, as well as several other related offences. The defendant was stopped by police driving a vehicle containing drugs and money. The defendant’s flat was found to contain large quantities of drugs and cash and was clearly being used as a hub for a sophisticated drugs operation. Catherine ran the defence of duress, stating that the defendant had been threatened, extorted, forced to drive the vehicle and that his flat had been cuckooed. The defendant was acquitted.
R v AG
Appeal against conviction – Snaresbrook Crown Court
Catherine represented a young man charged with assaulting his partner. Catherine successfully had her client bailed pending appeal securing his immediate release from HMP Pentonville.
On appeal, the client was acquitted after 15 minutes of deliberations and the conviction was quashed.
R v SN
Maidstone Crown Court
Catherine defended a young man facing trial for inflicting grievous bodily harm. The complainant was an off duty police officer, as were most of the prosecution witnesses there was CCTV of the incident which showed the defendant striking the complainant to the head and the complainant falling to the ground unconscious. The prosecution submitted it was a clear ‘sucker punch. Catherine secured a swift acquittal. The jury were sent out to deliberate just before lunch and reached a not guilty verdict over the lunch adjournment.
R v KB
Trial -Woolwich Crown Court
Catherine represented a client charged with ABH against his wife. There were 5 prosecution witnesses, 2 of whom claimed to be eye witnesses.
The jury acquitted after less than 30 minutes of deliberation.
R v SW
Liverpool Crown Court
Catherine represented a young man for sentence after he pleaded guilty to possession of class B drugs with intent to supply. The defendant had no previous convictions and had been through terrible trauma in his short life. The Sentencing Guidelines starting point for the quantity involved is a year imprisonment but Catherine persuaded the Judge to take an exceptional course and impose a community order and a fine.
R v JA Southwark Crown Court
Appeal against sentence allowed
Catherine represented a young man who was suffering from a range of mental health problems, some drug related, from his first appearance in the Magistrates Court to the final successful appeal hearing in the Crown Court. Charges included theft, using violence to secure entry and criminal damage. Immediate release from custody.
R v DC
Portsmouth Crown Court
Catherine was chosen to act as Junior Counsel for a young father accused of Grievous Bodily Harm with intent. It was alleged that he had inflicted several unlawful stab wounds causing serious injury. The defence was self-defence. The jury delivered a verdict of not guilty.
R v AE Snaresbrook
Crown Court
Catherine was chosen to act as Junior Counsel in the trial of a defendant accused of multiple historic sexual offences against a family member. The jury acquitted swiftly him after less than an hour of deliberations.
R v GS
Court of Appeal Criminal Division
Appeal against rape conviction
Catherine acted as Junior Counsel for a young man sentenced to 9 years for an alleged rape of girl under 16. The appeal was allowed and the applicant was released from custody immediately.
