Jury Trial Success in Pervert Course of Justice Case
Nottingham criminal solicitor advocate Andrew Wesley helped ensure a not guilty verdict for his client who faced jury trial because it was alleged he had perverted the course of justice.
Andrew’s client had already been dealt with by another advocate following his guilty plea to his involvement in an insurance fraud where he had pleaded guilty.
Both cases had been prepared by senior Crown Court litigator Caine Ward.
Crown Court jury trial for perverting the course of justice
This case was related to the fraud. It was said that our client had destroyed an iPhone because it had incriminating photos showing fraudulent accidents. The phone had been destroyed after our client had been arrested so the police wouldn’t find it.
The only evidence that the prosecution had that the phone existed in the first place, let alone was destroyed, came from an ex-partner. In her statement the incident was dealt with in two or three lines of type so no detail was given at all.
Disclosure was received from the prosecution that showed that she was unhappy with our client following the break up of their relationship. Further evidence obtained showed that following the break up she had made several unwanted visits to our client’s address. On each occasion the police had to be called, and on more than one occasion she had to be taken away by the police. This, and evidence of her hatred for our client seen on screenshots of Messenger conversations, lent support to our client’s argument that she had made up the story to get him into further trouble with the police.
Expert cross-examination of the prosecution witness
The case proceeded to jury trial. The witness attended so gave her evidence in accordance with her statement. Andrew had planned his cross examination so that he concentrated on relevant issues. It was structured to deal with the following areas:
- their relationship and how it ended
- police involvement at our client’s address
- her feelings for our client as seen on the Messenger chat
- her delay in reporting the allegations to the police
- the detail of the incident bearing in mind the brevity of her statement
The last point was perhaps the most important. When pressed for detail she was unable to provide it or seemed to be making up the detail to provide an answer. This was not lost on the jury.
Andrew’s client gave evidence on his own behalf, and although the experience and some of the questions asked were clearly frustrating, he gave evidence well.
Closing speech directed at the burden of proof
In closing, Andrew’s speech was able to concentrate on the issues that might be troubling the jury most. In particular, there was a lack of supporting evidence that such a phone ever ever existed whereas there was evidence that the witness might be prepared to lie about him.
Our client, of course, had the benefit of the fact that the prosecution had to prove the case so that the jury was sure of his guilt. By a unanimous verdict the jury decided that the prosecution hadn’t done so and he was found ‘not guilty’.
Positive feedback for the service we provide
Although our client remains a serving prisoner and was unable to offer written feedback on the service provided his family did so. His partner felt able to write in these terms
“I couldn’t of asked for a better solicitor – Andrew Wesley and team did a fantastic job representing my partner.”
His mother watched the trial so was able to comment
“couldn’t of asked for better representation thank you so much.”
Crown Court Criminal Legal Aid
Our client benefited from legal aid so in his case it meant that our representation was free of charge. It is only in exceptional cases that legal aid funding will not be available to a defendant. This is because it is unlikely that the income of most defendants be too high for legal aid.
Contact a Nottingham Criminal Defence Solicitor
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