David Rhodes

David also has a niche practice in the area of Courts Martial. He regularly appears before the Court Martial in Germany and has won a recent victory in the Court of Appeal (CMAC) in R v Mulgrew [2012] EWCA Crim 2008.

David has significant experience of defending service personnel before the General Courts Martial, especially in Germany. Recent cases include:

• R v Corporal PR [2012] Court Martial, Germany - successful defence of a soldier charged with rape. The case involved issues of capacity to consent and applications under s.41 YJCEA 1999.
• R v Trooper Danny Mulgrew [2012] EWCA Crim 2008. David represented Trooper Mulgrew at his Court Martial in Germany and on appeal to the Court of Appeal (CMAC) - for the first defendant in a multi-handed s.18 GBH trial involving cut-throat defences. Unlike a jury, the basis on which a Court Martial Board reaches its verdict can become known to the defence during the sentencing process. David Rhodes argued that the factual basis of the verdict was perverse and unsafe in the absence of a direction on self-defence. The Board's finding had effectively exonerated Mulgrew. They had found that he acted in self-defence but convicted because the way in which the Crown argued the case meant that they could not convict the co-defendant without convicting Mulgrew. The Court of Appeal (Court Martial Appeal Court) criticised the Crown for the inflexible way in which it nailed its colours to the evidence of a discredited witness in spite of forensic scientific evidence to the contrary and which led the Crown to argue that a direction on self-defence was unnecessary. The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions because of the lack of a direction on self-defence. There will not be a retrial.

• Laskowska v Poland [2012] the High Court (Collins J) overturned an extradition order on the grounds that it would be a disproportionate interference with the right to family life under Article 8 of the ECHR. Ms Laskowska faced extradition to Poland to serve 6 months imprisonment for 'making her flat available' to another in order that he could divide up 46g of marihuana. David represented Ms Laskowska and persuaded the High Court that extradition would be a disproportionate interference with the right to family life of her 2yr 8 month old son, for whom she was the sole carer. This was an offence of no great gravity, committed some 6 years ago, there had been considerable delay in seeking her extradition and she now had a dependant infant child, with no alternative carers, and for whom separation from his mother would have devastating consequences. This is the first case in which the rights of the child was the decisive factor on Article 8 following the Supreme Court judgment in R (HH) v Deputy Prosecutor of the Italian Republic, Genoa [2012] UKSC 25. It represents a significant victory for the rights of the child in extradition proceedings.
• 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). An 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.

• R v Knight, Wargalla, Slothuus and Others ("The Panton House Protest") [2012]. The alleged 'storming' of Panton House in Piccadilly (home to Xstrata mining corp) by Occupy London Protestors. All 16 defendants were acquitted of public order charges.
• R v Barnard and Others ("The Halloween Picnic case") [2012]. The last prosecution for participating in an unauthorised demonstration in Parliament Square. David led the judicial review of the prosecution and conducted the subsequent trial.
• R v Richard Collins ("The Naked Cyclist") [2011]. Mr Collins has been a naturist for 30 years. He is well known around Cambridge as The Naked Cyclist where he is tolerated with good humour. Unfortunately, when he went on holiday to Bournemouth and decided to cycle down the promenade wearing little more than his socks and sandals, he caused something of a stir and was arrested on a public order charge. David Rhodes represented him on appeal to the Crown Court arguing for Mr Collins' right to freedom of expression (that his naturism went to the core of his identity) and that s,5 of the Public Order Act 1986 was never meant to deal with public nudity.
• R v Laporte and Christian ("the Haringey Civic Centre case") [2011]. More than 200 anti-cuts protestors were alleged to have 'stormed' Haringey Civic Centre and when the TSG riot police were called in they declared a 'breach of the peace' in order to justify the use of force. David represented the veteran campaigner Jane Laporte on charges of assaulting a police constable. The judge ruled there was no case to answer because there had been no breach of the peace and the police actions had therefore been unlawful.
• 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.

• Death by Driving - In recent years, David has successfully defended a number of death by driving cases and has particular expertise in dealing with the scientific and expert evidence involved. David would prefer not to name his clients for obvious reasons. His work in this niche area has taken David to Crown Courts all over the country.
• 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 M, B & S [2013] Snaresbrook CC – Multi-handed s.18 GBH trial – client was acquitted on the direction of the judge after a successful submission of no case to answer.
• R v IM & Others [2012] Oxford CC – Multi-handed s.18 GBH trial
• R v FL [2012] Wood Green CC – Defending alleged ‘mastermind’ of series of Cannabis factories – successful application to stay proceedings as an abuse of process.
• R v Corporal PR [2012] Court Martial, Germany - successful defence of a soldier charged with rape. The case involved issues of capacity to consent and applications under s.41 YJCEA 1999.
• R v Trooper Danny Mulgrew [2012] EWCA Crim 2008. David represented Trooper Mulgrew at his Court Martial in Germany and on appeal to the Court of Appeal (CMAC) - for the first defendant in a multi-handed s.18 GBH trial involving cut-throat defences. The Court of Appeal quashed the convictions because of the lack of a direction on self-defence. There will not be a retrial.
• 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 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 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 4 years to 3 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.