PracticeJames is a highly experienced Leading Counsel with a wealth of experience in Defending cases of gravity across a broad spectrum of criminal work. He is instructed regularly as Leading Counsel in cases of murder, armed robbery, multi-handed conspiracies involving the importation and supplying of Class A drugs and fraud. James has extensive experience in defending cases alleging sexual offences, including rape, serious sexual offences against children and the mentally vulnerable. This includes a large scale paedophile inquiry concerning children’s homes in the 1980’s and sex offenders using the internet. He has substantial experience in the Court of Appeal whether with leave or on a pro bono basis. He has appeared at inquests and before Court Martials in Germany and Northern Ireland. Examples of serious and complex cases where James has been instructed as Leading Counsel: Murder: R v Neesha Dubb (aged 20)
Seven-handed conspiracy to murder where the Defendant drove her boyfriend and an armed co Defendant to meet with a further group of men to seek retribution for an earlier show of 'disrespect' by others. The intended victims were not present outside the bar where the earlier incident had taken place, but in spite of this violence erupted with the arrival of the group of seven. A gun was fired resulting in the death of the bar owner. It would seem he was not the intended target. The Defendant was at the scene of the shooting and ultimately drove the gunman away in the aftermath of the shooting. Her defence was lack of knowledge of the presence of a firearm. Submission of no case to answer on the murder upheld by High Court Judge. Both her boyfriend and the gunman were convicted of murder. Dubb and the remaining Defendants were convicted of violent disorder. Eight week trial. R v Alem and others
Four-handed murder of drug dealer shot three times in the back outside Kennington tube station. Operation Trident case. Cross examination of Crown's cell site expert important in the Defendant's defence. His phone alleged to be at the scene of the shooting. He accepted attribution of the phone but denied being present at the scene of the murder, albeit unable to provide an alibi. Acquitted. R v Jake Lee (Central Criminal Court): Leading Counsel. Defendant acquitted of murder. Allegation centred on use of motor vehicle as a weapon. Defendant alleged to have followed victim to scene of crime after nine mile pursuit of vehicle. R V Hutchinson and others: (Central Criminal Court) Leading Counsel. Seven handed gang land shooting in Streatham High Road resulting in one death and another victim seriously wounded. Defendant aquitted after submissions of no case to answer at close of prosecution case. R v Graham and others: (Chelmsford) Leading Counsel. Four handed murder/robbery case where the victim was elderly. "Honey trap" lured victim to scene of robbery where he was kicked to death. R v Stoker Williams and others: (Bristol Crown Court). Defendant joined on double murder indictment in Bristol and Croydon on the same date. Defendant avoided trial after succesful written argument to dismiss case against him. Case went to trial on remaining defendants. R v Ramsey and others: (Central Criminal Court) Multi-handed murder involving competing South London gangs of teenagers. R v Girmay and others: (Central Criminal Court) Multi-handed murder/robberies trial where the victims were sex workers. R v Harrison: (Central Criminal Court) Murder/Attempted Murder. Brixton Road shootings where female survivor was key trial witness in gang shooting. R v Rogers: (Central Criminal Court) Off duty prison officer accused of stabbing unarmed teenage victim. R v Morris: (Central Criminal Court) Street stabbing case with background of drug dealing. R v Ajei: (Central Criminal Court) Planned shooting of victim in murder/robbery shooting with drug dealing background. R v Shafi and others: (Birmingham Crown Court) Multi-handed Murder/Attempted Murder in knife attacks in crowded street after closing time. R v Huggett: (Lewes Crown Court) Disabled Defendant stabs mother’s partner. Mother main witness for the Crown. Murder: (instructed as Junior Counsel) R v Francis and others: (Central Criminal Court) Nationally publicised shooting of "bouncer" at Fulham nightclub over smoking a cigarette. Defendant acquitted. R v Michael Peters and others: (Central Criminal Court). Principal in murder of victim alleged to have raped girlfriend of the accused. Forensic and cell site evidence critical to case. R v Kunasekarum and others (Central Criminal Court). Double murder. Tamil gangland feud involvling two separate killings on the same day in different parts of London. Cell site evidence/CCTV material. Defendant acquitted.
Attempted Murder R v Sutton: (Central Criminal Court). Leading counsel. Defendant identified as being one of two gunmen who fired 14 bullets into the victim (3 to the head). Victim miraculously survived but was paralysed from the neck down. Defendants case was that he was diliberately mis-identified by the complainant to sheild his multi-kilo drug dealing background and the real shooters. Defendant aquitted. R v Williams: (Central Criminal Court). Defendant alleged to have shot stepfather in the face over argument concerning relationship with stepdaughter. Defendant ran deliberate misidentification defence, albeit cell site linked him to scene of crime and identification supported by a further civilian witness. Acquitted. R v Kamran Khan: (Reading Crown Court). Leading Counsel. Defendant extradited to UK after 6 years on the run in Spain following shooting of victim outside a Slough mosque after Friday prayers. Defendant ran self-defence stating firearm was taken from the victim who was then shot by the accused, as he was attacked with a knife. Acquitted. R v Doherty and others: (Croydon Crown Court). Attempted murder involving travelling community when shotgun and machete were used. Acquitted of attempted murder.
Armed Robberies R v Goldner/Caballo and others: (Kingston Crown Court). Part of gang alleged to have committed over 25 armed robberies in South East of England, mainly of betting shops. Both had substantial records of similar offences. Both pleaded guilty. Neither received IPPs. R v Priestley and other: (Kingston Crown Court). Armed raid on Richmond jewellers where two of the Defendants were on day release from prison. Flying squad waiting for the accused after probe evidence installed in their vehicle. R v Bailey and others: (Woolwich Crown Court). Professional and experienced armed robbers with history of discharging weapons at scene. Cash-in-transit officer shot in vehicle. Flying squad waiting for the Defendants. Surveillance/video operation. R v Crabtree: (Central Criminal Court) Multiple armed robberies case involving attacks on railway station safes in South East. R v Hameed: (Central Criminal Court) Attempted murder/armed robberies involving shooting of Securicor Guard.
Drug Conspiracies R v McShane and Others (Southwark Crown Court): SOCA investigation into cocaine importation conspiracy by boat from the Caribbean to the UK involving 100kg+. Extensive cross-examination of surveillance officers alleging incompetence/dishonesty over lenghty period of observations. In addition other officers alleged to have fabricated "verbals". Defendant acquitted. R v Graham and Others (Southwark Crown Court): One of the largest skunk cannabis conspiracy cases involving the importation of multi million pounds worth the drug from Amsterdam over a two-year period. Graham alleged to be multi-kilo distributor during this period. Acquitted. R v Abrahamson: (Southwark Crown Court) Class A Drugs Importation on large scale. Professionally organised with Customs Officer one of those convicted. R v Smith and others: (Winchester Crown Court). Leading Counsel. Multi kilo cannabis importation from Southern Spain. Defendant ran fruit storage business in Spalding. SOCA case involving years of probe and surveillance evidence. R v Beaver and others: (Kingston Crown Court). Leading Counsel. Multi kilo importation of Class A drugs from South America involving cell site and surveillance evidence. R v Monk and others: Leading Counsel. Principal in double, multi kilo importation of cannabis case from Spain. The two importations were divided by several years but the Defendant was forensically linked to both. Complex financial investigation. R v Taylor: (Canterbury Crown Court) Customs Investigation of Major Class A Drugs Importation involving Haulage Industry. R v Bassi: (Woolwich Crown Court) Multi-handed drugs/guns/explosives case involving informers in Southall.
Kidnapping R v Khakh and others: (Southwark Crown Court). Principal in Southall gangland kidnapping. Case against this Defendant centred on complex phone investigation covering many years. R v Sany and others: (Inner London): Woman kidnapped in Brighton street allegedly over unpaid drug debt involving her boyfriend. Put in a van and driven away taser weapon used on her. Police alerted. Defendant caught red handed. Defendant acquitted after Judge refused to allow victim's statement to be read in her absence.
People Trafficking/Facilitation Cases R v Demarku: (Southwark Crown Court) Conspiracy to Traffic for Sexual Exploitation. Albanian gang control young women from Lithuania in large scale sex worker case. R v Cheema: (Canterbury Crown Court) Large scale organised Facilitation case involving the trafficking of people from Punjab into the UK. R v Abrahamson: (Southwark Crown Court) Class A Drugs Importation on large scale. Professionally organised with Customs Officer one of those convicted. Firearms Trafficking R v Ndikanwu and others: (Croydon Crown Court). Defendant acquitted of supplying handguns, ammunition and silencers, in spite of gang being caught with firearms outside his premises, following a lengthy surveillance operation. Defendants linked to the nightclub scene in London as well as Eastern Europe.
Firearms/Shooting R v Powell S.18 GBH with intent
Point blank shooting in daylight. Victim survived shotgun injury to identify Powell as the shooter. Motive was alleged to be the victim having an affair with his estranged partner, who also gave evidence for the Crown. Powell had fled to America after the shooting but voluntarily returned three years later. His defence was that the victim and his former partner had framed him for the actions of another who had been dealing in drugs with both Powell and the victim. The latter was a former Jamaican police officer who was deported from the UK following the shooting as he was an illegal overstayer. He had to give evidence from Jamaica on a live link. Defendant acquitted. R v Balogun: (Inner London). Shooting down fire escape packed with the people at the Fridge nightclub in Brixton. Whole incident caught on CCTV. Avoided IPP. R v Johnson and Payne: (Inner London). Transfer of loaded gun amongst Brixton gang caught on CCTV. Avoided IPP. R v Harrison: (Inner London Crown Court) Defendant charged with gang land possession of firearms with intent to endanger life committed on Brixton Estate. Police officers sought to identify him from CCTV footage having known him from the area for many years. Facial mapping and reconstruction part of the defence case. Aquitted at the close of prosecution case after submission of no case to answer was upheld. R v O'Sullivan: (Kingston Crown Court) Defendant driver of get-away vehicle in Sutton shooting, his defence was lack of knowledge that his passenger had a firearm. The defendant at the time was on licence for a firearm offence. Aquitted.
Fraud R v Kokabzadeh and others: (Northampton Crown Court) Large scale carousel fraud involving multi-millions of VAT. Multi-handed. Defendant successfully applied to dismiss the case. Co-accused were tried and convicted. R v Anderson: (Cardiff Crown Court/Cambridge Crown Court) Fraud on Welsh National Assembly and Medical Research Council in Cambridge. R v Smajlovic: (Southwark Crown Court) Accountants firm involved in allegation of defrauding Inland Revenue with false claims of on behalf of workers in the building and construction industry. R v Saunders: (Guildford Crown Court) Outsourcing VAT Fraud.
Sexual Offences R v Dr L: (Blackfriars Crown Court). Dr accused of serious sexual assault on gay suicidal patient in his NHS surgery. Initially denied any sexual contact had occurred. Forensics showed there had been sexual contact between them. Complainant made allegations immediately after the incident. Dr ran consent before the jury. Acquitted. R v Rowe: (Inner London). Stepfather accused of 25 count indictment of rape, sexual assault on stepdaughter covering eight years. Acquitted. R v A and others: (Inner London): Gang of schoolboys falsely imprisoned and sexually assaulted schoolgirl on school premises. Originally indicted on attempted rape. Guilty pleas on lesser charges for all accused and all successfully appealed their sentences before the Court of Appeal. R v Sterling: (Central Criminal Court). Third sexual offence for offender aged 25. This offence concerned an underage schoolgirl. Successfully avoided IPP sentence notwithstanding his appalling record for sexual offences of the gravest kind. R v Hazelton: (Blackfriars Crown Court). Historical case involving multi count indictment of sado-masochistic child abuse on single child on Pimlico housing estate by seemingly respectable man. Offence came to light after Defendant refused to prosecute victim who had tried to stab him as an adult, many years after the offences on him had taken place. Extremely emotive jury trial. Perverting the Course of Justice R v V (practising solicitor)
During multi handed murder trial at the Old Bailey a key Crown witness gave evidence which days later he admitted was false. Told lies as pressured to do so by a combination of threatening calls from unknown people on mobiles and a solicitor who claimed he was acting for one of those in the dock. The murder trial continued with both principals being convicted. Later extensive forensic inquiry into the perverting calls to the key witness concluded that the source of those calls was from phones used by the principals in prison as well as telephone kiosk calls from a solicitor called V. On arrest he signed a prepared statement stating he had not made those calls. At trial he accepted those calls had been made but there had been nothing said to the witness to change his account. Instead he was acting on behalf of another client who had put him in touch with the witness as he wanted advice. Substantial issues of confidentiality and privilege matters. Defendant acquitted after two-week trial. Societies- Criminal Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit
Other ActivitiesLifelong Manchester United and Surrey County Cricket supporter. Actively plays both football and cricket. Profile updated November 2010
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