Phillippa Kaufmann

Phillippa Kaufmann has a predominantly public and civil law practice arising in the field of criminal justice, covering prisoners' rights, police law, deaths in custody, miscarriages of justice and mental health law. Other areas of her practice include international human rights law, media law, community care law, criminal appeals and appeal to the Privy Council in death row cases.

Phillippa has specialised in prisoners' rights since she started practice. In the 2007 Chambers and Partners entry for civil liberties it is said 'no one can compete with her when it comes to prisoners' rights". She has been junior counsel in many of the leading House of Lords prisoners' rights cases including:

• R v SSHD ex parte Simms and O'Brien [2000] 2 A.C 115 (HL) (right of prisoner's protesting their innocence to have face to face interviews with journalists.
• R v SSHD ex parte Daly [2001] 2 AC 532 (successful challenge to policy on searching prisoners' in cell legal correspondence in their absence).
• R v SSHD ex parte Anderson [2003] 1 AC 837 (successful challenge to the power of the Home Secretary to fix the minimum term for mandatory life prisoners).
• R v Pyrah and Lichniak [2003] 1 AC 903 (compatibility with Article 5 and 3 of the Convention of s. 1 of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 - challenge to the mandatory nature of the sentence of life for murder).
• R (Greenfield) v SSHD [2005] 1 WLR 673 (application of Article 6 (criminal charge) to prison disciplinary proceedings and assessment of damages under the HRA).
• R (Giles) v Parole Board [2004] 1 AC 1 (application of Article 5(4) to longer than commensurate determinate sentences).
• R (Smith and West) No 2 v Parole Board [2005] 1 WLR 350 (application of article 5(4) ECHR to a determinate sentence prisoner).
• R (Smith) v SSHD [2006] 1 AC 159 (need for continuing review of minimum term for HMP detainees even though fixing of term judicialised).
• R (Hammond) v SSHD [2006] 1 PLR 1 (power to hold oral hearings in fixing the minimum term of existing mandatory lifers under the Criminal Justice Act 2003).
• R (Stellato) v SSHD [2007] 2 AC 70 (successful appeal against the Home Secretary's attempts to give retrospective effect to the more stringent recall provisions contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003).

Recently she has been involved in the successful challenge to the independence of the Parole Board in R (Brooke, O'Connell and others) v Parole Board and SSHD (2007) HRLR 46 currently awaiting judgment in the Court of Appeal; and the linked case of R (O'Connell) v SSHD [2007] EWHC 2591 (Admin) on the issue of whether Article 5(4) is engaged at the half way point of the extended sentence introduced by s. 227 of the CJA 2003 and if so whether extended sentence prisoners have a right to an oral hearing before the Board. This case is also on appeal.

Phillippa, described as "formidable" in the 2007 Chambers and Partners Police law entry, has gained a great deal of experience in police law having conducted many first instance trials as well as judicial review applications of, among other things, police complaints investigations, and inquests arising out of deaths in police custody. She has also appeared in criminal appeals concerned to uncover police malpractice e.g R v Paul Blackburn (2005) 2 Cr App R 30. She appeared with Keir Starmer QC in Austin and Saxby v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2007] EWCA Civ 989 arising out of the containment in Oxford Circus on May Day 2001of about 3000 protesters and concerning the compatibility of the police tactic of containment with Article 5 of the ECHR.

In the area of mental health notable cases include R v Dr Collins and Ashworth Hospital Authority ex parte Brady [2000] 1 MHLR 17 in which Ian Brady sought the right to end his life by hunger striking; R (Wilkinson) v Broadmoor Hospital Authority [2002] 1 WLR 419 (CA) concerning the approach the court's should take where a decision to compulsorily medicate is challenged on human rights grounds; and R (Munjaz) v Mersey Care NHS Trust [2006] 1 WLR 148 a challenge on human rights grounds to Ashworth Hospital's seclusion policy.

In her media law practice Phillippa has represented Michael O'Mara and Andrew Morton in the claim brought against them for breach of confidence by David and Victoria Beckham arising out the impending publication of Morton's book "Posh and Becks". She represented Mary Bell and Maxine Carr in their successful bids to secure contra mundum injunctions preventing any publication of their current identity and appearance: X and Y v Associated Newspapers and others [2003] EWHC QB 110; Maxine Carr v Associated Newspapers and others, as well as prisoners and the Guardian Newspaper in their successful attempts to secure face to face interviews: A and others v SSHD and Guardian Newspapers (judicial review brought by a number of foreign nationals detained indefinitely under section 23 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 ("the 2001 Act"); Zachel and Guardian Newspapers v SSHD (2004) (judicial review of a refusal to allow a journalist to visit a prisoner detained pending extradition to South Africa).

Phillippa has appeared in many cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council mainly, though not exclusively, in death row cases. Cases include A-G of Trinidad v Lennox Phillip [1995] 1 AC 395 (PC) (validity of pardon obtained under duress) and most recently R v John and Phillip [2007] UKPC 31 (insanity defence under the St Lucia Criminal Code s.21(b)).

Phillippa is co-author with Tim Owen of Halsburys Laws (5th Edn) on Prisons and Prisoners and has contributed to Starmer K, European Human Rights Law (LAG) and Human Rights and Criminal Justice (2nd Edn) Emmerson, Ashworth and Macdonald (Thompson Sweet and Maxwell).

last updated December 2007

Year of Call

1991

Education

LLB (Hons) First Class, MA Distinction, Scarman Scholar

Email Address

p.kaufmann@doughtystreet.co.uk

Specialist Teams

Phillippa Kaufmann is a member of the following specialist law teams:

• Actions Against the police
• Education
• Extradition
• Human Rights
• International Law Group
• Mental Health
• Public and Administrative Law