Criminal Defence

"Impressed solicitors note that the individuals at the set represent an amazing level of excellence."

Chambers UK Bar Guide

"The barristers at this set are known for being socially conscious, fully committed to their cases and very imaginative in court."

Chambers UK Bar Guide

“The clerks are easy to get on with, reliable, extremely well organised and quick to respond to calls and e-mails. They work to a very high and professional standard."

Chambers UK Bar Guide

"Garden Court is a chambers of choice for complex, high-profile cases. The quality of advocacy and preparation provided by the barristers is exceptional, and the fine service provided by the clerks ensures smooth case management."

Chambers UK Bar Guide

To contact the Crime Clerks, please email crimeclerksmailbox@gclaw.co.uk or phone

+44 (0)20 7993 7600

Winner Legal 500 Crime Set of the Year 2015
Winner Legal 500 Crime Set of the Year 2015

Our criminal defence barristers have defended in – and won – many of the landmark cases that have defined modern criminal law.

The Garden Court Chambers Crime team regularly defend individuals charged with the most serious offences. We have a strong presence at the Central Criminal Court, where our barristers are instructed on a daily basis.

The Garden Court Chambers Crime Team were nominated for 'Crime Set of the Year' at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023 and are ranked as a leading set in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK Bar Guide.

Areas of Expertise

  • Murder and violent crime
  • Sexual offences
  • Terrorism
  • Protest and public order
  • Baby-shaking
  • High-value frauds and confiscation
  • Criminal appeals

In 2021, our crime team was shortlisted for Crime Set of the Year at the Chambers Bar Awards. In 2015 our crime team won the Legal 500 Crime Set of the Year Award and we have since been shortlisted for this award a further two times. We are proud to have 19 King’s Counsel in our team. We have the highest number of ranked silks at the Bar in Chambers & Partners.

Multidisciplinary expertise within Chambers means that we are able to call on other specialists. A number of us also practise in the fields of judicial review (in particular, challenges to youth court practice and procedure), extradition, inquests into deaths in custody, actions against the police and public authorities and prison law.

We continue to actively lobby Government on policy proposals affecting the criminal Bar, in keeping with our ethos of defending access to justice.

Recent notable cases and news

Henry Blaxland KC, Owen Greenhall and Tom Wainwright appear in Court of Appeal for acquitted protestor in Attorney General’s Reference on ‘belief in consent’ defence

Henry Blaxland KC, Owen Greenhall and Tom Wainwright, of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Rights and Criminal Defence teams, represented the acquitted person, instructed by Lydia Dagostino of Kellys Solicitors.

18 March 2024

Elena Papamichael secures unanimous acquittal for child modern slavery victim after six-week trial

Elena Papamichael is a member of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence and Children's Rights Teams. She was instructed by Darrell Ennis-Gayle at Hodge Jones & Allen.

8 March 2024

Prosecution offers no evidence in class A drugs charge against youth client

Ifẹ Thompson represented LN, instructed by Jeffrey Muhammad of Amosu Robinshaw Solicitors.

19 February 2024

Jury’s acquittal at rape trial ends five year ordeal for man wrongly convicted

David Emanuel KC represented the defendant, instructed by Steven Bird of Birds Solicitors.

19 February 2024

Keir Monteith KC appointed Honorary Senior Lecturer at University of Manchester

We are delighted to announce that Keir Monteith KC has been appointed as an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester within the School of Social Sciences.

15 February 2024

Carol Hawley secures not guilty verdict for defendant in murder trial

Carol Hawley of Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, led by Emma Goodall KC of Doughty Street Chambers, instructed by Joseph Hill Solicitors.

13 February 2024

Michael Ivers KC secures not guilty verdict for defendant in murder trial

Michael Ivers KC of the Garden Court Crime Team led Paul Smith of St John's Buildings. Counsel were instructed by Shakeel Ahmed of Clarkes LLP.

7 February 2024

Ruby Selva secures not guilty verdicts by way of Judge directed acquittals

Ruby Selva of the Garden Court Crime Team, instructed by Vik Lalli of Bhandal Law, secured not guilty verdicts by way of Judge directed acquittals in a EncroChat case.

26 January 2024

Court of Appeal quashes half-century convictions based on racist police officer’s evidence

Henry Blaxland KC, of the Garden Court Criminal Appeals Team, acted for Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, instructed by Matt Foot of Appeal.

18 January 2024

Mark Robinson successfully obtains a Writ of Habeas Corpus

Mark Robinson of the Garden Court Crime Team, instructed by MMA Solicitors, was successful in obtaining a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the High Court (Administrative Court - Kings Bench Division).

20 December 2023

Mark Robinson secures acquittal at Wood Green Crown Court

Mark Robinson of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Bianca St Prix of Lawrence & Co.

20 December 2023

Ifẹ Thompson and Alex Ryle Join Garden Court Chambers as Crime Third Six Pupils

We are delighted to announce that Ifẹ Thompson and Alex Ryle have joined the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team as third six pupils.

13 December 2023

Good Practice Guidance on Certificates for Assigned Advocate in the Youth Court published

Kate Aubrey-Johnson, convenor of the Garden Court Children's Rights Team, has authored new guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Youth Justice Board (YJB)'s 'Youth Justice: Quality of Advocacy Working Group'.

5 December 2023

Russell Fraser secures acquittal at Old Bailey in DJ killing case

Russell Fraser, of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence Team, instructed by James O’Keeffe of O’Keeffe solicitors.

4 December 2023

Icah Peart KC leading Thalia Maragh secures acquittal in Old Bailey murder trial

Icah Peart KC and Thalia Maragh, of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence team, instructed by Vendrys Henry of VH Lawyers Limited.

4 December 2023

Mark Robinson secures acquittal for defendant at Inner London Crown Court

Mark Robinson of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Caroline Downs of Wainwright Cummins.

23 November 2023

Art Not Evidence Launches Campaign to Stop Rap Lyrics Being Used as Evidence

Keir Monteith KC, of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence Team, is a member of Art Not Evidence. Keir is frequently instructed in trials and appeals where rap evidence is prejudicially used.

22 November 2023

High Court Dismisses DPP's Appeal Against Acquittal of Protestors Who Called Iain Duncan Smith “Tory Scum”

Tom Wainwright led Elena Papamichael. Owen Greenhall led Mira Hammad. Tom, Elena and Owen are members of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Rights Team.

21 November 2023

Extinction Rebellion activists cleared of £500,000 damage to HSBC

Owen Greenhall, of the Garden Court Protest Team, acted for an Extinction Rebellion protestor, instructed by Jane Cleasby of Kellys Solicitors.

17 November 2023

Extinction Rebellion protestors cleared of criminal damage to Treasury building

Michael Goold, of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Rights Team, was instructed by Jenny Winter of Birds Solicitors.

17 November 2023

Mark Robinson successful in Criminal Court of Appeal

Mark Robinson of the Garden Court Crime Team was instructed by the Criminal Appeals Office after the single Judge granted a Representation Order.

16 November 2023

Tom Wainwright acts for defendant cleared of violent disorder at protest

Tom Wainwright of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Rights Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Hester Cavaciuti of Bindmans LLP, who was assisted by Shivani Soni, trainee solicitor.

16 November 2023

Alex Taylor-Camara secures acquittal in fraud trial

Alex Taylor-Camara of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Abdul Mojid and Tarjana Hussain at Wainwright Cummings.

13 November 2023

Russell Fraser acts in successful appeal against ‘Kill the Bill’ protestor's sentence

Russell Fraser, of the Garden Court Protest Team, acted for the Appellant. He was instructed by Laura O’Brien of Hodge Jones & Allen.

10 November 2023

Sam Robinson KC secures acquittal of murder and manslaughter at Croydon Court

Sam Robinson KC of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, leading Tom Mayall of GT Stewart, instructed by Clare Dissington of GT Stewart.

3 November 2023

Court of Appeal quashes conviction for murder

Peter Wilcock KC and Catherine Oborne of the Garden Court Criminal Defence Team represented the appellant, Stuart Layden.

27 October 2023

Mark Robinson secures acquittal for defendant at Guildford Crown Court

Mark Robinson of the Garden Court Criminal Defence Team successfully acted for the defendant, instructed by Wainwright Cummins.

26 October 2023

Garden Court Chambers welcomes four new pupils

Garden Court Chambers is delighted to welcome four new pupils: Matthew Banks, Abby Buttle, Daniella Davenport, and Christopher Lambert.

9 October 2023

Garden Court secures top tier rankings in the Legal 500 UK 2024

Garden Court Chambers is proud to be recognised as a Top Tier set again in the Legal 500 UK 2024 rankings.

4 October 2023

Defendant acquitted of perverting the course of justice in under 90 minutes

Danielle Manson of the Garden Court Criminal Defence Team successfully represented the defendant, instructed by Emma Tingling of Amosu Robinshaw.

19 September 2023

New practical guide for lawyers to help reduce the over-criminalisation of care experienced children and young adults launches today

Dare to Care: Representing care experienced young people, written by Kate Aubrey-Johnson of the Garden Court Chambers Children's Rights Team, and Dr Laura Janes, consultant solicitor at GT Stewart, in collaboration with the policy forum at the Drive Forwa

13 September 2023

Garden Court Chambers shortlisted in seven categories at Chambers UK Bar Awards 2023

We are delighted to announce that Garden Court Chambers has been shortlisted in seven categories at The Chambers UK Bar Awards 2023.

11 September 2023

Past Notable Cases

 

Sally Challen murder conviction quashed and manslaughter plea accepted in “coercive control” case (2019) 
Landmark case in which Sally Challen walked free after prosecutors accepted a lesser plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, for killing her abusive husband after decades of psychological abuse. Coverage in BBCGuardian and ITV News.

Stansted 15 kept out of prison following their conviction for endangering safety at an aerodrome (2019)
Defended activists who took action to prevent a deportation flight removing people from the UK and taking those people to countries where their lives were at risk. See coverage in The Guardian.

Jonathan King sex abuse case (2018) 
Represented Jonathan King. Surrey Police apologised and the trial collapsed after defence submissions revealed systematic disclosure failings in sex abuse case of former DJ, Jonathan King. See coverage in The Guardian.
 
Acquittal at Old Bailey in multi-handed gang murder of music producer (2017)
Represented Uzoeme Emeofa, who was alleged to be one of an attacking group that fatally stabbed Dean Pascal-Modeste, an aspiring music producer, 14 times after he was chased to his death, by a group of young men on mopeds and on foot armed with guns and knives. He was acquitted following a seven week trial at the Old Bailey. The case involved extensive cell site, phone billing analysis, forensic evidence and the piecing together of CCTV footage, along with Automatic Number Plate Recognition.

Jailed whistle-blower in plea for press freedoms to take case to European Court (2017)
Unique appeal to the European Court of Human Rights raising issues of constitutional importance: press freedom and whether journalistic sources can remain anonymous or avoid prosecution if their identity is revealed. Trial brought about by Operation Elveden and prosecution for Misconduct in Public office. See coverage in Press Gazette.

Landmark Supreme Court joint enterprise case (2016)
R v Ameen Jogee & Ruddock v Jamaica (Supreme Court and Privy Council) UKSC 2015/0015; JCPC 2015/0020. The most important criminal case of recent decades which found that the joint enterprise law had been wrongly interpreted for 30 years. Significant media coverage, including by the BBC, The Guardian and Independent.

The Hatton Garden raid (2016)
Represented two defendants accused of their roles in the Hatton Garden safety deposit box raid, described by the judge to be the “biggest burglary in English legal history.”  Covered by the BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph.

The Omagh Bombing Case (2016)
R v Seamus Daly. Defended the only suspect in the Omagh Bombing, Seamus Daly, who was accused of murdering 29 people. The prosecution case against Mr Daly collapsed after cross-examination of the prosecution’s key witness. Reported by the BBC, The Guardian, Independent and Sky News.

Acquittal of broker in LIBOR trial (2016)
Darrell Read found not guilty of conspiring to defraud by manipulating the LIBOR rate. The case has been widely reported, including in the Guardian and the BBC.

Stacey Hyde cleared of murder in retrial (2015)
Successfully appealed the conviction of Stacey Hyde, previously convicted of murder in 2010. Reported by the Telegraph, the BBC and the Guardian.

Karissa Cox cleared of child abuse (2015)
Two parents found innocent of child abuse after their baby was removed and adopted. Extensive national press coverage, including in the Guardian and Independent.

Collapse of terror trial against Bherlin Gildo (2015)
Case collapsed against Swedish national as prosecution offers no evidence. The case has received widespread media coverage, including by The Guardian and The Telegraph.

Contact team

The Team

Henry Blaxland KC

Year of Call: 1978

Year of Silk: 2002

Icah Peart KC

Year of Call: 1978

Year of Silk: 2002

Michael Turner KC

Year of Call: 1981

Year of Silk: 2002

Dexter Dias KC

Year of Call: 1988

Year of Silk: 2009

James Scobie KC

Year of Call: 1984

Year of Silk: 2010

Rajiv Menon KC

Year of Call: 1993

Year of Silk: 2011

Peter Wilcock KC

Year of Call: 1988

Year of Silk: 2012

Michael Ivers KC

Year of Call: 1991

Year of Silk: 2016

Clare Wade KC

Year of Call: 1990

Year of Silk: 2018

Brenda Campbell KC

Year of Call: 2002

Year of Silk: 2018

David Emanuel KC

Year of Call: 1996

Year of Silk: 2019

Keir Monteith KC

Year of Call: 1994

Year of Silk: 2019

Hossein Zahir KC

Year of Call: 2005

Year of Silk: 2019

Allison Munroe KC

Year of Call: 1992

Year of Silk: 2020

Anya Lewis KC

Year of Call: 1997

Year of Silk: 2021

Sam Robinson KC

Year of Call: 2002

Year of Silk: 2021

Mark Gatley KC

Year of Call: 1993

Year of Silk: 2022

Edward Grieves KC

Year of Call: 1995

Year of Silk: 2023

Richard Harvey

Year of Call: 1971

Michael House

Year of Call: 1972

Marguerite Russell

Year of Call: 1972

Patrick Roche

Year of Call: 1977

Lalith de Kauwe

Year of Call: 1978

Michael Hall

Year of Call: 1983

Nerida Harford-Bell

Year of Call: 1984

Piers Mostyn

Year of Call: 1989

Alistair Polson

Year of Call: 1989

Alex Taylor-Camara

Year of Call: 1989

Carol Hawley

Year of Call: 1990

Jacqueline Vallejo

Year of Call: 1997

Nick Wrack

Year of Call: 1997

Helen Butcher

Year of Call: 1999

Ruby Selva

Year of Call: 1999

Hugh Mullan

Year of Call: 2019

Minka Braun

Year of Call: 2000

Sam Parham

Year of Call: 2000

Christian Wasunna

Year of Call: 2000

Kate Aubrey-Johnson

Year of Call: 2001

Stella Harris

Year of Call: 2002

Victoria Meads

Year of Call: 2002

Alex Rose

Year of Call: 2003

Tom Wainwright

Year of Call: 2003

Daniel Jameson

Year of Call: 2004

Joanne Cecil

Year of Call: 2005

Lucie Wibberley

Year of Call: 2005

Sarah Hemingway

Year of Call: 2006

Giles Newell

Year of Call: 2007

Lee Sergent

Year of Call: 2016

Shahida Begum

Year of Call: 2008

Lyndsey Sambrooks-Wright

Year of Call: 2008

Thalia Maragh

Year of Call: 2009

Jacob Bindman

Year of Call: 2010

Emma Fenn

Year of Call: 2010

Russell Fraser

Year of Call: 2010

Michael Goold

Year of Call: 2010

Owen Greenhall

Year of Call: 2010

Gerwyn Wise

Year of Call: 2010

Catherine Oborne

Year of Call: 2011

Alia Akram

Year of Call: 2011

Susan Wright

Year of Call: 2013

Tom Copeland

Year of Call: 2013

Audrey Cherryl Mogan

Year of Call: 2014

Meredoc McMinn

Year of Call: 2015

Shina Animashaun

Year of Call: 2015

Franck Magennis

Year of Call: 2016

Zehrah Hasan

Year of Call: 2016

Elena Papamichael

Year of Call: 2021

Gerard Pitt

Year of Call: 2018

Tommy Seagull

Year of Call: 2018

Fatima Jichi

Year of Call: 2019

Mark Robinson

Year of Call: 2020

Will Hanson

Year of Call: 2021

Ifẹ Thompson

Year of Call: 2020

Associate Members

Stephen Kamlish KC

Year of Call: 1979

Year of Silk: 2003

Pete Weatherby KC

Year of Call: 1992

Year of Silk: 2012

Anna Morris KC

Year of Call: 2006

Year of Silk: 2023

Mary McKeone

Year of Call: 1986

Kamran Choudhry

Year of Call: 2001

Sareta Ashraph

Year of Call: 2002

James Mehigan

Year of Call: 2008

Dr Terry McGuinness

Year of Call: 2009

We are top ranked by independent legal directories and consistently win awards.

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