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Career Summary

Jessie’s practice encompasses crime (both domestic and international), extradition and public law. She represents defendants charged with a range of serious offences, including murder, war crimes, foreign interference, terrorism, military-grade weapon import/export, modern slavery and protest. 

Before being Called to the Bar in the UK, Jessie was a solicitor advocate in Australia with a national security focus. She has prepared and advised on numerous terrorism, foreign incursion and INTERPOL matters concerning the Tamil Tigers, Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, the Islamic State, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), the Iraqi Peshmerga, Chechen militia, Philippine separatist militia, Neo-Nazi groups and intelligence whistleblowers. She was also briefed to argue for the de-proscription of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation before the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. 

Jessie also acts for victim-survivors. She is currently instructed as an expert witness by Hogan Lovell on behalf of Yazidi women who were taken as slaves by the Islamic State, in proceedings before the UN Committee Against Torture. She is also instructed by Save the Children on behalf of children unlawfully detained in northeast Syria.

Alongside legal practice, Jessie teaches the national security component of advanced criminal law at the University of Oxford. She has previously taught criminal law on the LLM programme at the University of Cambridge and was a Managing Editor of the Cambridge International Law Journal. 

Since joining Doughty Street Chambers as a tenant in 2023, instructions include:

  • R v R-M: trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Acquitted of murder. 
     
  • R v A-L:  trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Acquitted of murder. 
     
  • R v C: trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Acquitted of murder.
     
  • R v T:  trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Resolved to a plea of guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.
     
  • R v O: trial counsel (led) for a defendant charged with membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation – the PKK – contrary to s11 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Fixed for trial at the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v AA: trial counsel (led) in a case alleging serious Iranian foreign interference. Fixed for trial at the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v P: trial counsel (led) for a defendant charged with terrorism support offences, contrary to section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Concerns the law reform campaign led by ‘Defend our Juries' in opposition to the proscription of Palestine Action. Fixed for trial at the Old Bailey.  
     
  • R v A: Trial counsel (unled) for a defendant charged with aggravated burglary and criminal damage in connection with Palestine Action. Fixed for trial in the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v G: trial counsel (unled) for a defendant charged with export offences connected with military-grade weaponry. Allegation involves the procurement of weapons by a terrorist organisation in Afghanistan. Fixed for trial at Southwark Crown Court.
     
  • R v L: Counsel (unled) for first far-right offender charged with breach of a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Notice (TPIM).
     
  • R v C: Trial counsel (unled) for a man charged with terrorism uniform offences, contrary to s13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Concerned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 
Terrorism and national security (UK and Australia)
  • R v AA: trial counsel (led) in an alleged foreign-state sponsored attack in London. Fixed for trial at the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v O: trial counsel (unled) for a defendant charged with membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation – the PKK – contrary to s11 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Fixed for trial for 3 months at the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v G: trial counsel (unled) for a defendant charged with export offences connected with military-grade weaponry. Allegation involves the procurement of weapons by a terrorist organisation in Afghanistan. Fixed for trial at Southwark Crown Court.
     
  • R v A: trial counsel (unled) for a defendant charged with aggravated burglary and criminal damage, with a ‘terrorist-connection’. Concerns Palestine Action. Fixed for trial for two months in the Old Bailey. 
     
  • R v L: Counsel (unled) for first far-right offender charged with breach of a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Notice (TPIM).
     
  • R v C: Trial counsel (unled) for a man charged with terrorism uniform offences, contrary to s13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Concerned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Matter is currently on appeal by way of case-stated.
     
  • R v P: Instructed as led junior to prepare the sentencing submissions for a man convicted of encouraging the commission of acts of terrorism, contrary to s1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. The case concerned the assessment of terrorist risk by the Probation service.
     
  • R v J: Assisted senior counsel in the defence of a British volunteer who joined the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG) in Syria. The trial involved allegations of attending a place of terrorist training and preparing terrorist acts, contrary to s5 and s8 of the Terrorism Act 2006. (Academic consultant) 
     
  • R v B: Assisted senior counsel in the defence of a British volunteer who joined the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG) in Syria. Case discontinued pre-trial by the Crown Prosecution Service. (Academic Consultant)
     
  • R v Witness K: Assisted counsel for a senior intelligence whistleblower who disclosed the bugging of East Timorese cabinet offices by Australia during treaty negotiations (academic consultant).  
     
  • Minister for Home Affairs v B: Assisted Ron Merkel KC in a constitutional challenge to the regime of post-sentence detention for convicted terrorist offenders before the High Court of Australia (academic consultant).
     
  • R v L: Assisted Phillip Boulten SC to successfully resist a Crown appeal against sentence before the Court of Criminal Appeal (NSW). Concerned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) (academic consultant).
     
  • R v L: Assisted Phillip Boulten SC to successfully defend a foreign incursion trial before the Supreme Court of NSW. Concerned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) (academic consultant).
     
  • R v C: Trial for foreign incursion offences before the Supreme Court of Victoria. Concerned non-state actors in the southern Philippines (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v K: Committal proceedings concerning terrorist financing offences. Concerned Syrian non-state opposition groups (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v B: Trial concerning foreign incursion offences and membership of a terrorist organisation. Concerned the Islamic State and Chechen opposition groups (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v W: Trial concerning foreign incursion offences. Case discontinued by Commonwealth Attorney-General following legal submissions. Concerned Australian volunteers serving with the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG) (instructing solicitor, without counsel).
     
  • R v E: Sentence concerning terrorism financing and foreign incursion offences. Concerned Jabhat Al Nusra (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v E: Successfully resisted Crown appeal against the leniency of sentence in a terrorism financing case before the Supreme Court of Victoria (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v M: Trial concerning acts in preparation of terrorist acts. Concerned the Islamic State (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v M: Trial concerning foreign incursion offences before the Supreme Court of Victoria. Concerned Syrian non-state opposition groups (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v C: Trial concerning acts in preparation of terrorist acts. Concerned the Islamic State. Case discontinued by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (instructing solicitor, without counsel).
     
  • R v K: Trial concerning terrorism possession offences before the Supreme Court of Victoria. Concerned Al Qaeda (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v A: Conviction appeal concerning acts in preparation of terrorist acts before the Court of Appeal (Victoria) (instructing solicitor).
     
  • R v A: Special leave application before the High Court of Australia. Concerned a conviction appeal for preparatory terrorist conduct (instructing Solicitor)
Murder and serious crime
  • R v R-M: trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Fixed for trial at the Old Bailey.
     
  • R v AL:  trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Acquitted of murder. 
     
  • R v T:  trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder. Resolved to a plea of guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.
     
  • R v C: trial counsel (led) for a man charged with murder and attempted murder. Acquitted of all counts.
     
  • R v D: Trial counsel (led) for a woman charged with perverting the course of justice following a murder in Kent. Secured unanimous acquittal in under 30 minutes.
     
  • R v S: trial counsel (led) for a man charged with human trafficking, money laundering and control of prostitution. Acquitted after thee month trial. 
     
  • R v M: trial counsel (unled) in a 8-hander people smuggling case. Fixed for trial at Southwark Crown Court.
International human rights law
  • DRJ v The Commonwealth of Australia: Five Yazidi survivors of torture by an Australian citizen and member of Da’esh (Islamic State) filed a joint complaint against Australia to the United Nations Committee against Torture. Provided an expert report on counter-terrorism law on behalf of the applicants.
  • Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. Assisted counsel to file written submissions on behalf of victim-survivors.
  • Mikolaj Pietrzak v Poland (ECtHR): Assisted the UN Special Rapporteur with the drafting of amicus submissions concerning the oversight of intelligence organisations. 
War crimes
  • R v AA: Counsel (unled) in a Pre-charge bail application at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerning war crimes in Syria.
  • Prosecutor v Radovan Karadzic (ICTY): Associate on the appeal team of former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic. 
Public law
  • Save the Children v Minister for Home Affairs: Writs of habeas corpus before the Federal Court of Australia.
  • Thorpe v Transport for Victoria: Prepared legal analysis on public law issues for the applicant’s counsel in a case concerning the removal of indigenous birthing trees.
  • Consultant to the NSW Legal Aid High Risk Offender Unit on select post-sentence detention cases. 
Inquests
  • Inquest into the death of ANH: represented an interested party in an inquest concerning a ‘lone-actor' act of terror. The party was successfully excused from giving evidence. (Appeared as solicitor advocate).