Securing repeated acquittals in historic abuse cases

5 February 2016

Two members of Garden Court North Chambers’ Crime Team, Brigid Baillie and door tenant Mark Barlow, have been instructed in a number of case that have resulted in acquittals following allegations made as part of Operation Pallial (the North Wales Care Homes Cases). The instructing solicitor, Mark Newby of Quality Solicitors Jordans, has referred to the “outstanding advocacy” of both counsel in a recent article.

Extracts from the article include:

“Returning acquittals is something we [QS Jordans] take a pride in, it is not always possible, but when it comes with regularity the question might be posed why? How is it done in a kafkaesque atmosphere where the Police, Politicians and the media want to try every accused person and convict them even before they get to a Court room? 

The answer is in fact a simple one. We believe in our Clients (That is not the same as standing back and assessing the evidence). But the belief means that we regard our client as much a part of the team as our Support Staff, Legal Executives, Solicitors, Higher Court Advocates  and a stable of experienced counsel who all come together to work as one unit. [We particularly thank  Mark Barlow and  Brigid Baillie for their outstanding advocacy in the current spate of cases.]

Anyone who professes to be a Criminal Advocate should look to the standards they apply in defending these life changing and complex cases and they should always strive to provide the level of care and support they would expect if say for example one of their family was accused. 

…

There is an easy test to know whether you have delivered a good job. What does the Client say to you after that closing speech is delivered. If like in many of our cases the Client such as Kelvin Horriben says “I can’t thank you enough and I would still have said the same if it had gone wrong” then you know you are probably near the mark, although there is always room for improvement.”

The full article is available at Securing repeated acquittals in historic cases.