Sean Horstead

Practice

Sean remains absolutely committed to providing a thorough, professional and unstinting service to his lay and professional clients alike, seeking to ensure that the rule of law, and the protections that this purports to provide, are defended and advanced on behalf of all those against whom the state has decided to instigate a criminal prosecution.

He remains equally passionate in his commitment to representing the families of those who have lost loved ones in circumstances where the deceased was in a dependant position in relation to agencies of the state, whether in police custody or in prison. He will always seek to ensure that any failings of those agencies which may have contributed to the death will be clearly exposed and publicly scrutinised and, where appropriate, individual and institutional accountability demanded.

(a) Criminal Defence

Sean has a thriving Crown Court practice and is instructed in serious cases across the criminal law spectrum as both leading and junior counsel. In the last year he has acted as leading junior in three cases: R v Peters and Others, a 500,000 pound cheque fraud, R v Butt and Others a multi-handed 10,000,000 pound international money-laundering case arising out of HMRC Operation Labici and R v Hussain and Others an eight-handed conspiracy to rob.

Serious violence

Sean has particular experience in offences involving the most serious violence, armed robbery and firearms. He has been instructed as Junior counsel in a number of murder trials at the Central Criminal Court and in his own right in an attempted murder case R v Searle. His numerous Section 18 cases, include serious injuries to babies: R v Featherstone and Another; the causing of multiple death by dangerous driving: R v Cherry and Another; multiple robbery of the targeted elderly (eight counts): R v White; armed robbery and conspiracy to rob: R v Samuels and another (led); R v Eguaba and Others; R v Hussain and Others, (leading); numerous cases involving possession of firearms with intent to endanger life/ commit indictable offences: eg R v Harriott; conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, blackmail, threats to kill: R v Hutchison and Others; R v Khurram; R v Green and Others; R v Sinnarsa and Others; R v Gaynor.

Serious public order matters

All manner of serious public order disturbances including, inter alia, organised football violence: R v Row and Others; conspiracy to cause public nuisance (so-called 'rave' cases), including R v Steinecker and Others in which a skeleton application to dismiss was successful; violent disorder: R v Stevens and Others; R v Reid and Others.

Serious sexual offences

In R v W Sean represented a 14 year old diagnosed with autism spectrum and significant learning difficulties in a case involving allegations of the rape of two boys under the age of 9 and indecent assault of two girls aged 4 and 6: the case was particularly demanding and challenging as the defendant was just 11 years' old at the time of the alleged offences, making him the youngest alleged perpetrator of this kind of multiple offending in UK criminal history. Sean has appeared in a number of other rape and serious indecent assault matters, including notably R v Nandasena: an allegation of indecent assault by a care worker upon a patient (leave granted for appeal against conviction, appeal against sentence allowed).

Serious drugs offences

Numerous cases involving conspiracy to supply drugs of Class A, B and C and/or possession of large amounts with intent to supply the same: R v Roberts (heroin); more recently: R v Harisingh and Another involving 2.4 kilos of cocaine and R v Heath and Others (firearms with intent and possession with intent to supply heroin, crack cocaine and ecstasy); Sean has successfully defended several large scale cannabis cases including, recently, R v Oviahon (an alleged importation of 60 kilos of cannabis); sizeable commercial cannabis cultivation cases: R v Fane and another; R v Webb and Collins.

Serious dishonesty offences

Sean's experience covers a broad compass including conspiracy to steal; conspiracy to commit housing benefit fraud; credit card fraud, including large-scale 'skimming and cloning' operations; 500,000 pound conspiracy to defraud: R v Peters and Others (leading); money laundering: R v Butt and Others, part of HMRC Operation Labici involving in excess of 10,000,000 pounds (leading) (both mentioned above) and was led in an acquittal secured following successful application to stay as an abuse of process in an 8,000,000 pound tobacco importation case (R v Georgiou).

Sean has experience of the Court of Appeal in appealing against conviction and sentence, with and without leave. In recent months he has successfully appealed sentence twice: in R v Cherry reducing a sentence for death by dangerous driving x 3; R v Peters reducing a sentence for fraud offences, having renewed the leave application before the full Court, leading to the Appellant's immediate release.

(b) Inquests

Since 1997 Sean has appeared in coroner's inquests before juries all over the country on behalf of the families of those who have died in police custody, in prison (as serving and remand prisoners) and in connection with police vehicle pursuits. He continues to act pro bono when necessary.

Sean has frequently obtained 'neglect' verdicts or, more recently, highly critical narrative verdicts, leading to the use by coroners of their Rule 43 powers in a number of notable inquests including those into the deaths of:

Scott Robbins (death in police custody, neglect verdict),
John Sambells (death in police custody, neglect verdict),
John Everett (death in HMP Norwich, neglect verdict),
Craig Whelan (police pursuit death, critical coronial comment),
Dean Miller and Tunde Allimi (police pursuit deaths, highly critical coronial comment),
Michelle Allen (death in police custody, neglect verdict),
Seamus Walsh (police pursuit death),
Gary Butler (police pursuit death),
Andrew Cliff (death in HMP Holme House, neglect verdict),
Lee Duvall (police custody death, critical narrative verdict and coronial comment);
John Hinde (police restraint choking case, highly critical narrative verdict and coronial comment);
John Hyslop (death in HMP Wandsworth, critical narrative verdict);
Sean Beard (police restraint choking death, critical narrative verdict and coronial comment),
Mohammed Rasuel (death in HMP Wandsworth: neglect verdict);
Jamie Yuksel and Voker Hasa (two deaths on a railway level crossing: highly critical coronial comment re Network Rail).

Background

Prior to coming to the bar Sean taught International Relations and Human and Civil Rights at the University of Sussex for a number of years. During this period he worked closely with Professor Mary Kaldor on a project funded by the United Nations University analysing the post-1989 revolutions in East and East Central Europe, culminating in the publication of two books, both edited by Mary Kaldor: Citizenship and Democratic Control Contemporary Europe (1996) and The European Rupture: The Defence Sector in Transition (1997).

Memberships and Associations

Sean is a long-standing member of INQUEST, a member of the Inquest Lawyers' Group (ILG) and has contributed numerous case reports to the ILG publication Inquest Law over the years. Sean was recently invited to join the ILG Steering Committee.

He is a member of the Criminal Bar Association and has been a member of Amnesty International and Greenpeace for over twenty years and remains committed to the work of these organisations.

Interests

Originally inspired by 'The Clash', Sean has played the drums in various bands for over twenty-five years, though, sadly, a record contract has yet to materialise.

Year of Call

Education

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