Sean Reilly represented a client at Brent Magistrates’ Court for an offence of having no insurance. Our client was a passenger waiting in a friend’s parked car, and a police officer asked him to move his friend’s vehicle 100 yards down the road. His colleague then promptly arrested our client for driving without insurance. The matter was withdrawn on the facts.

Unan Choudhury represented a client at Snaresbrook Crown Court who was accused of ABH following a dispute with a neighbour. It was alleged she attacked her neighbour and broke the thumb of her neighbour’s daughter who was aged under 16.

We were able to expose the Police’s failure to investigate this offence properly: there was evidence available to the Police at the time that confirmed the victim never suffered a broken thumb, and the victim herself knew what her injuries were at the time she gave her statement, as she had already seen the doctors. Despite this, the CPS still charged our client with ABH based on the victim’s statement.

The police officer investigating this matter was heavily criticised by the judge and did not attend court to give evidence, instead sending another officer in his place. At the conclusion of the trial and following our client’s acquittal, the Judge ordered his Inspector to write to the Court explaining the officer’s failings.

Our client was understandably very happy and she was a financial professional whose career would have been over had she been convicted. Guy Draper of Pump Court Chambers was the advocate in this case.

Unan also represented a client charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs at Croydon Crown Court. The client was stopped by Police in a vehicle containing a large amount of class A drugs and a substantial amount of cash. This was the second time in a year that he had been arrested for possession with intent to supply class A drugs, the first occasion resulting in an acquittal.

On this occasion we were able to put forward a plea on the basis that he was only involved in social supply to his friends to feed his own addiction. The judge was persuaded by our arguments and our client’s mitigation and suspended his custodial sentence.

Our client was very happy indeed as this was the second time in a year he was facing a custodial sentence with a starting point of 3 years in prison and has avoided going to jail!