Francis McGrath Essex Street London WC2R 3AA General Crime

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1 General Crime Francis has conducted a range of cases across the entire spectrum of criminal offences, either as a leading junior or junior alone. Recent case include allegations of homicide, serious sexual offences (both historic and contemporary ), fraud, unlawful possession of firearms or controlled drugs, kidnapping and false imprisonment. He has undertaken a number of cases with significant degrees of factual or legal complexity including cases involving public interest immunity, disclosure and bad character evidence. Francis has experience of presenting or testing a variety of expert or specialist evidence including: Blood Pattern Analysis, DNA, Fingerprints and other forms of contact or trace evidence, Computer and Communication Data Evidence, Road Traffic Collision Investigation, Forensic Accounting, Medical Evidence, including evidence of causation of injury. Recent cases of note include: R-v-KK [2018] Frankmcgrath@23es.com Frankmcgrath@23es.com.cjsm.net Counsel s Clerk Clerks@23es.com Primary Areas of Practice General Crime Fraud & Financial Crime Environmental Law Professional Memberships Criminal Bar Association South Eastern Circuit Education St. Malachy s College, Belfast New College, Oxford, MA Jurisprudence Inns of Court School of Law, Bar Vocational Course Leading junior for one of five defendants accused of two conspiracies to Murder arising out of a suggested dispute connected to regional networks supplying class A drugs. KK was one of three accused acquitted in the course of a trial which involved scrutiny of significant

2 volumes of communication data and the product of covert listening devices. R-v-LP [2017] Represented a defendant charged with the attempted murder of his grandmother and great aunt before the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). The case was one of a number considering the scope of section 45A of the Mental Health Act 1983 (see Edwards & Others [2018] EWCA Crim 595). R-v-LL [2017] Defended LL who had been identified as being responsible for an attack committed against a resident of a block of flats in London. LL was identified by DNA evidence. The weight to be given to DNA evidence was considered by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) reported at [2018] EWCA Crim R-v-PW [2017] Represented a local authority employee who was charged with causing death by dangerous driving following a collision between the gritting lorry driven by PW and a motorcyclist. R-v-AS [2016] Junior counsel for a defendant accused with murder. The Crown has alleged that the deceased died as a result of an attack that was designed to maintain an organised crime network s monopoly on the supply of drugs in a town in the southeast of England. R-v-MH [2013] Leading Junior for the first defendant facing an allegation of conspiracy to supply class "A" drugs arising out of a six month covert police operation during which an undercover officer was identified and attacked by members of the conspiracy. In addition to the normal variety of evidence accumulated in a prosecution of this time, the case raised a number of issues surrounding the legality of undercover police activities with particular emphasis upon scope, and limitations, of authorizations under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act See News Reports; Telegraph Daily Mail

3 Mirror R v GE [2011] The first Crown Court trial of an allegation of an offence contrary to the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations The facts of this case revolved around the shipment of used televisions to Nigeria and gave rise to two appeals reported at 2012 Env.LR 15 and 2012 EWCA The Court of Appeal have certified a question of public importance for the Supreme Court with a view to establishing if the offence charged is one of strict liability. R v JS [2008] Allegation of false accounting and money laundering the proceeds of a fraud directed at the National Health Service. R v JW (2004) Defendant accused of being one of four off-duty soldiers who attacked a prominent community worker charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. R v AZ [2004] This was a case in which the complainant alleged that he was the victim of a gang-related attack planned and executed by the defendants during which he suffered a gun-shot wound to the face. Fraud R-v-PS (2016) Represented a former member of the European Parliament accused of offences of dishonesty connected the expenses regime operated by the Parliament. R v KL (2013) Allegation of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation arising out of a crash for cash conspiracy. R v AO (2012) Defended company director accused of laundering the proceeds of a 2.3million fraud against the Olympic Delivery Authority as part of an eight-handed conspiracy. Drugs

4 R v CT (2009) Defendant charged with cultivation of cannabis at a number of locations in Hampshire and Wiltshire and money laundering with a significant cross-border element to the moment of funds at the heart of the alleged offences. R v LT (2009) Case involving allegation of cultivation of cannabis and a number of residential addresses and money laundering through a network of businesses. Sexual offences R-v-CA (2016) Defended in a case involving two serious sexual assaults committed seventeen years before the accused was identified by DNA evidence. The admissibility of the DNA evidence was considered by the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). See R-v-MH (2016) Defending in a case related to a number of historic allegations of sexual offences made against the accused by a number of family members. R-v-FT (2015) Represented a defendant accused of committing serious sexual offences committed against his step grand-daughter. The case required cross-examination of a six-year old witness. R v AG (2014) Represented a defendant facing an a.llegation of stranger rape. Upon conviction AG received a sentence of imprisonment for life. The sentence was quashed by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. Reported at [2015] EWCA Crim 2106 R v RB (2012) Allegation of Rape. The case led to two decisions in the Court of Appeal, one on the limits of permissible judicial comment in a summing up [reported at 2012 EWCA 403] and the other, the point at which appellate proceedings conclude [2012 EWCA 390]. R v SD (2009)

5 Defended a woman charged with Rape. The issues in the case revolved around the limits of DNA and other forms of Scientific evidence. R-v-AT (2010) Prosecution of man which five previous convictions for Rape who was accused of attempted Rape. This case required painstaking analysis of CCTV footage and the history of previous offences and allegations of Rapes that where the subject of a badcharacter application. Violence R v GC (2012) Represented a former prisoner accused of holding a prison officer at gun-point in order to procure the release of a prisoner under escort to hospital in what was said to be an organised escape attempt. The case required examination of fingerprint, DNA, identification and cell-site evidence. R v DO (2012) Conducted the case for one of four accused in a cut-throat defence to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The Crown alleged that the defendant s has deliberately targeted a local drug dealer in a gang related dispute over territory. R v GL (2011) This was a case in which the deceased appeared to initiate a confrontation with GL and the prosecution alleged that the fatal blow was administered by the co-defendant. The case hinged upon the conclusions that could be drawn from expert analysis of the CCTV evidence.