Sarah Elliott

Sarah is a specialist criminal practitioner with extensive experience in a wide range of criminal matters, including murders, manslaughters and non-fatal violence, rape and other sexual offences, drug importation and supply, money laundering, and offences connected with animal rights and other protest activism. She is also instructed in criminal appeals, including those from the Caribbean to the Privy Council and in drafting submissions to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Sarah is an advocacy trainer for Gray's Inn and a member of the Criminal Bar Association.

She has a reputation for strong advocacy, good client relations, careful preparation and determination. She is listed as a leading junior in the Chambers and Partners 2010 directory.

She is instructed as leading counsel, (as well as sole and junior counsel) and has considerable experience of defending in long, complex multi-defendant cases.She is particularly skilled with young or demanding clients and with young witnesses.

In 2009 Sarah acted in:

• R v Steel, first criminal prosecution for conspiracy to commit tortious offences under s145 SOCPA
• R v Elmograhbi retrial arising out of the successful appeal in R v Anwoir
• R v Moore and others, large scale Sussex based drugs supply conspiracy
• R v Shire, fatal shooting of a Camden schoolboy.

She is currently instructed in cases of rape, child cruelty, murder, money laundering, and for anti war campaigners

In 2008 Sarah successfully acted as leading counsel for one of the twelve defendants in the 5 month 'Operation Tornado' prosecution of animal rights activists in the first trial under s145 of the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.

She was junior counsel in the appeal of R v Anwoir and others [2008] 4 ALL ER 582, a 50 million euro money laundering case, which resulted in the conviction of the defendant she represented being quashed.

She acted in R v Avery for the youngest of the SHAC organisers charged with conspiracy to blackmail companies associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

She acted in R v Britton, the woman charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by reporting being the victim of serious indictable offences such as shooting, stabbing and rape, alleged to have been staged by her, who claimed in her defence to be a victim of corrupt police officers and gangsters.

She was junior counsel in the four day appeal against conviction of Robert Firkins, convicted of the double murder of an elderly couple in Wadebridge, Cornwall, widely regarded as one of the worst ever killings in the West Country. She was junior counsel for Gary Weddell, the Metropolitan police inspector accused of killing his wife and mother-in-law.

Recent cases of interest/reported cases

• R v Vincent ('So Solid Crew' murder retrials, 2006).
• R v Karimi [2006] 1 All ER 759, (Post Holley appeal on provocation as a defence to murder).
• Attorney General's Reference No 88 of 2005 (Syron Martin), (sentence for manslaughter by shooting).
• R v Firkins, (Cornish double murder of elderly couple, 2005)
• R v Cairns and others, [2003] 1 W.L.R. 796
• R (On the application of C) v Balham Youth Court, [2003] Crim.L.R. 636

Sarah is an advocacy trainer for Gray's Inn and a member of the Criminal Bar Association.

Year of Call

1996

Education

BA (Hons) Sociology

Email Address

s.elliott@doughtystreet.co.uk

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Specialist Teams

Member :

• Criminal Law