Overview
David is a specialist criminal defence advocate.
He has a busy practice in the Crown Court as trial counsel alone and as a led junior across the full spectrum of offences including murder, serious violence, kidnapping, blackmail, armed robbery, drugs supply and importation, immigration offences, public disorder and offences of dishonesty. He also has experience of taking cases to the Court of Appeal.
David has a particular interest in protestor cases, raising issues of freedom of speech and necessity. Recently, he represented many climate change activists arising from protests around the Kingsnorth power station in Kent and the Drax power station in Yorkshire (the Drax 29). In 2010, he represented the Didcot 20 (aggravated trespass at Didcot Power Station, in which activists occupied the chimney stack for 3 days). In 2011, David was part of the defence team which forced the collapse of the high-profile case of protestors at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, after they discovered the role of PC Mark Kennedy, a police officer who had been working undercover in the environmental movement for 7 years, please click here for full story. David is currently instructed in the trial of the Manchester Airport 6 - a group of activists who locked themselves onto an airplane on the runway at Manchester Airport.
Together with other members of chambers, he has written the practitioners textbook: The Law of Public Order and Protest (Oxford University Press - March 2010).
David is a member of the Extradition team and has experience of extradition work both in the Magistrates Court and in the High Court.
In addition to general criminal work, David also has experience of Courts Martial work.
Recent Cases
David's recent cases included the following:
Protest/ Political Work - R v Pawling and Others ("The Ratcliffe-on-Soar case") [2011] - Nottingham Crown Court - junior alone - together with other members of Doughty Street, David was part of the defence team which forced the collapse of the high-profile case of protestors at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, after they discovered the role of PC Mark Kennedy, a police officer who had been working undercover in the environmental movement for 7 years.
- R v Gillett and Others ("The Manchester Airport 6")- [current 2011] - Manchester - the trial of a group of activists who locked themselves onto an airplane on the runway at Manchester Airport.
- R v Bard and Others ("The Drax 29") [2009] - Leeds Crown Court - Together with Edward Rees QC, Kirsty Brimelow and Ben Newton, David represented and advised twenty-nine anti-climate change activists who stopped a train carrying 42,000 tonnes of coal to Drax Power Station - the biggest coal-fired power station in Europe. They sought to argue that they acted out of necessity and to prevent crime - on the facts of the case they were unsuccessful.
- R v The Didcot 20 (2010) - Oxford - aggravated trespass at Didcot Power Station, in which activists occupied the chimney stack for 3 days.
General Crime - R v Marshall and Others (Operation Counter) - Winchester Crown Court 2010 - conspiracy to rob and to burgle - led junior in a 6 week trial concerning a series of armed robberies of post offices in Hampshire and Devon
- R v RA - 2010 Harrow Crown Court -- junior alone - successful defence of a 16 yr old charged with rape
- R v JR - murder trial at the Central Criminal Court. Led junior representing a young man alleged to have been involved in a fatal stabbing incident, with over 40 eyewitnesses (JR was the only defendant acquitted).
- R v Hammad - blackmail, kidnapping and false imprisonment trial at Blackfriars Crown Court - led junior representing a millionaire restaurateur trying to reclaim £60,000 stolen in a burglary of his home.
- R v Kinkela - money laundering trial and confiscation proceedings at Cardiff Crown Court.
- R v Ghirvu, Feraru, Bontas and Dinu [2007] EWCA Crim 1232 - in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal, representing members of a Romanian card cloning gang who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud with potential losses to the banking industry at £750,000. Sentence reduced on appeal from 4½ years to 3½ years.
- R v Shepherd & Others - conspiracy to rob trial at Kingston Crown Court lasting 7 weeks. Led junior representing the first defendant alleged to be involved in a series of travel agent robberies across the south east of England.
- R v Isah [2007] EWCA Crim 1975 - Court of Appeal - recommendation against deportation quashed on appeal in the case of a Nigerian woman who pleaded guilty to an offence under the Identity Cards Act 2005.
- R v Popov - conspiracy to cultivate cannabis trial at Wood Green Crown Court. Led Junior representing the first defendant said to be at the heart of a series of cannabis factories with an alleged annual turnover of £1.2 million.
Appellate Work & Judicial Review - Attorney General's Reference (No 33 of 2009) (R v G) [2009] EWCA Crim 1635 - Court of Appeal - David successfully resisted a Reference by the Attorney General stating that the sentence was unduly lenient. G was a prolific burglar but at the age of 55 he had finally owned up to the fact that he had an entrenched drug addiction. More importantly, on remand in prison he had demonstrated real determination to deal with his addiction - even becoming a mentor to other recovering addicts. David persuaded the sentencing judge that G had reached a critical stage in his life and should be given "the chance of a lifetime" to receive drug treatment in the community rather than 4 years imprisonment. The Court of Appeal agreed that in such exceptional circumstances a judge could pass a non-custodial sentence, even on a third strike burglar. Whilst the sentence was merciful, it was not unduly lenient.
- R v Phanida Ubolcharoen [2009] EWCA Crim 3263 - Court of Appeal - Fresh evidence appeal against conviction. David was referred this case for a second opinion. He succeeded in overturning the conviction for sex trafficking, for which the appellant originally received 7½ years imprisonment.
- Fergus v Southampton Crown Court [2008] EWHC 3273 (Admin) cited in Archbold 2010 at 3-19a - Judicial Review of the decision of a Crown Court judge to withdraw bail from a man who had been complying with bail conditions for months. The High Court quashed the decision on the grounds of irrationality and a failure to give reasons. It held that bail could only be withdrawn where it was strictly necessary.
Extradition - Agius v Malta [2011] Divisional Court ruled that a judge was required to examine human rights issues in all extradition cases, including EAW requests. The recent line of authorities by Mitting J (Jan Rot, Dabkowski, Klimas) - which had stated that requesting states which were signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights could be assumed to abide by their Convention obligations and so there was "no need to make any enquiry at all" into concerns that human rights would be violated - was wrong and not to be followed. This important judgment puts human rights issues back at the heart of extradition cases.
- O'Connell v Judicial Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife [2010] EWHC 2957 (Admin) [2010] WLR (D) 261 - CO/8145/2010 - A British man was saved from 5 years in a Spanish prison after the High Court quashed the order for his extradition as being oppressive. David Rhodes represented Daniel O'Connell before both the District Judge and the High Court. In this important decision, Moses LJ held that the passage of time of a "mere" 3 years could be considered "plainly oppressive" in the particular circumstances of this case.
- Lynch v Irish Judicial Authority - The High Court Dublin [2010] EWHC 109 (Admin) - extradition case dealing with the interaction of passage of time and mental health issues in the case of a man sought for trial in Ireland on historic sex offences dating back over 20 years.
- District Court of Michalovce, Slovakia v Juraj Badi [2008] EWHC 2913 (Admin) - Extradition case in which the Divisional Court upheld the ruling of the Magistrate to refuse to order extradition because Mr Badi would not be entitled to a retrial if returned to Slovakia - s.20(5) Extradition Act 2003.
Publications David writes a regular column for the Solicitors Journal called "Life in Crime" commentating on current issues in criminal law (click links to read recent articles: May 2011 Sept 2010 July 2010 April 2010 January 2010 December 2009 Sept 2009 June 2009 March 2009 December 2008 Sept 2008 July 2008 March 2008 December 2007 Sept 2007 June 2007 March 2007 December 2006 October 2006 June 2006 March 2006).
David is a contributing author (together with other members of Doughty Street Chambers) to two books published by Oxford University Press. - Human Rights in the Investigation and Prosecution of Crime (Jonathan Cooper and Madeline Colvin eds) - OUP 2009
- The Law of Public Order and Protest (co-author) - OUP 2010
Memberships - Criminal Bar Association
- Liberty
Other
He is also responsible for training pupils in chambers in criminal procedure and advocacy.
Before being called to the Bar, he worked as a research assistant for a Member of Parliament.
David is a member of the Criminal Bar Association and Liberty.
David is currently captain of the King's Bench Walk Cricket Club, a wandering team of barrister-cricketers.
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Year of Call
2002
Education
BA (York) History & Politics 1st Class
M.Phil (Oxon) European Politics
University of California at Berkeley
CPE/PgDL (City University London)
Queen Elizabeth Scholar, Middle Temple
Email Address
d.rhodes@doughtystreet.co.uk
Click for contact details
Specialist Teams
Member :
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