Sarah has rapidly established a strong criminal practice having been instructed in matters typically above her call including multi-handed robbery and aggravated burglary cases. Her practice encompasses both defence and prosecution work across the whole spectrum of criminal law, including violence, public disorder, weapons, drugs, fraud, sexual offences, child pornography, general dishonesty and driving matters. She regularly appears in the Crown Courts of London and the South East and has enjoyed success in the Court of Appeal.
Sarah prides herself on her thorough preparation, client care, currency of legal knowledge and assertiveness in court.
Notable pending trials
- R v RU: instructed to represent a young defendant accused of robbery and assault of a young complainant with learning difficulties (Snaresbrook Crown Court, June 2010).
- R v Pte A: instructed to defend an infantry soldier charged with fighting a commissioned officer whilst on exercise in Kenya (Bulford Military Court Centre, July 2010)
- R v BM: Instructed to represent a young man in a multi-handed affray case following a fight outside a nightclub (Chelmsford Crown Court, August 2010).
- R v RB: instructed to represent a nursing assistant charged with sexually assaulting a patient (Kingston Crown Court, August 2010).
- R v MP: Instructed to represent a driver charged with driving dangerously following a 4 car pile up that resulted in a 11 year old girl sustaining serious injury (Blackfriars Crown Court, October 2010).
- R v ST: instructed to represent a care worker charged with GBH following an incident in a care home (Woolwich Crown Court, December 2010).
- R v S: instructed to represent PCSO charged with offences contrary to the Data Protection Act alleged to have taken place at work (trial date to be confirmed).
Notable cases
- R v BL, Croydon Crown Court, June 2010: Stay granted having successfully argued abuse of process in a harassment case where it had taken the police almost a year from the initial complaint to interview and charge the defendant.
- R v BF, Cambridge Crown Court, May 2010: Successfully defended a care worker charged with three counts of ill treatment of mentally disabled individuals under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
- R v RI, Guildford Crown Court, March 2010: Successfully defended a care worker charged with sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice.
- R v LF, Inner London Crown Court, February 2010: successfully defended a vulnerable elderly defendant charged with breaching her Anti-Social Behaviour Order. Was granted special measures to allow the defendant to give evidence via video link. Commentary from the first day of the trial was reported.
- R v TL, St. Albans Crown Court, 2009: Successfully defended a man charged with assaulting his neighbour. The case was withdrawn from the jury following my legal submissions on self defence of property.
- R v JM, Norwich Crown Court, 2009: Successfully defended a care worker charged with stealing money from an elderly service user.
- R v NM and Ors, Inner London Crown Court, 2009: Represented first defendant in joint enterprise bomb hoax case in which the Crown offered no evidence against my client.
- R v H, Court of Appeal, 2009: Successfully appealed the imposition of a suspended sentence in full. Incorporated into my submissions a recent change in the law relating to credit for time on remand when subject to a tagged curfew. Argued that similar credit should be given for time spent subject to a curfew requirement made as part of a suspended sentence order.
- Operation S, Woolwich Crown Court, 2008: Led junior on behalf of the RCPO in conspiracy to defraud case involving a Revenue employee charged with obtaining large sums of money by fraudulently using identity information held on the Revenue online system.
Areas of particular interest
Courts Martial
Sarah has represented service personnel in both the UK and Germany. She has experience of dealing with a range of offences including violence and absence without leave (AWOL) and has dealt with cases involving post-traumatic stress disorder issues.
Sarah has first hand military experience having trained as an officer cadet at Sandhurst, as well as spending time at Chicksands with the Intelligence Corps and at Larkhill with the Royal Artillery. She is on the Armed Forces Criminal Legal Aid Authority list for defending in Courts Martial cases.
Coroners’ inquests
Sarah has represented interested persons at a number of jury inquests, including a council employee responsible for commissioning a specialist bath that was not properly installed, leading to a severely disabled teenager being fatally scalded and a deputy manager of a care home facing potential charges of gross negligent manslaughter following the death of a service user who had choked on his lunch and was not given timely first aid.
Sarah is currently instructed to represent a building company employee who had been the operator an overhead travelling crane that had fatally injured another worker during the installation of a festoon beam.
In the context of inquests Sarah has dealt with various points of law including objecting to the admission of an expert report as hearsay and has made representations to the Coroner on issues such as widening the pool of interested parties and the possible verdicts to be put before the jury.
Financial Crime
Sarah has acted for both the defence and the Department of Work and Pensions in cases of benefit fraud and in 2008 was a led junior in a large scale tax credit fraud for the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office.
She has dealt with numerous confiscation hearings that have taken place at the conclusion of criminal proceedings and has been instructed in contested cash forfeiture hearings.
Road Traffic law
Sarah has considerable experience in the field of road traffic law.
Sarah developed her knowledge of the law in this area whilst employed as a legal adviser sitting regularly in the road traffic court. She has successfully defended careless driving and excess alcohol charges, advanced special reasons and exceptional hardship arguments and has appeared in the Crown Court on appeals, applications to suspend disqualification and dangerous driving matters.
Sarah is a regular contributor to Sweet & Maxwell’s Road Traffic Updater. Recent articles include:
- “Repeat Offenders: the rise in re-offending among drink-drivers” (2010)
- “The Growth of Average Speed Cameras” (2009);
- “The Abolition of the blood test” (2009);
- “Concerns over road safety figures on A-roads despite road deaths reaching an all time low ” (2009);
- “How far does the Road Safety Act 2006 succeed in achieving the right balance between fault-based and harm-based accountability and punishment?” (2008);
- “Drink-driving: Time to lower the drink-drive limit?” (2008);and
- “Causing Death by Driving – The Latest Developments” (2008).
