David Emanuel QC, of the Garden Court Chambers Criminal Defence Team, acted for NJ and was instructed by Correna Platt at Stephensons.
In a highly unusual case, David Emanuel QC succeeded in persuading the Court of Appeal that NJ’s convictions for rape and other serious sexual offences were unsafe despite him having pleaded guilty to all the offences.
NJ was unrepresented at the Crown Court and suffered from undiagnosed learning difficulties when he openly accepted his guilt to everything that was alleged against him. David was instructed years later and obtained psychiatric and psychological reports which were accepted as fresh evidence at the appeal.
The Court granted an extension of time of 1859 days and, despite fierce opposition from the prosecution, accepted David’s arguments and quashed the convictions on the basis that there were clear doubts about their reliability and as such the pleas were equivocal.
The Court considered David’s representations on whether there should be a retrial and concluded that it would not be in the interests of justice.
David Emanuel QC was instructed by Correna Platt at Stephensons who was initially contacted by NJ and who immediately recognised that a miscarriage of justice had taken place.
