R v Michael Pipe
[2024] EWHC 106 (SCCO)
R v Gordon Lamonby
8 January 2024
[2024] EWHC 22 (SCCO)
Senior Courts Costs Office
Lawyers argued about whether a short, unexpectedly quick trial should be paid for as a full trial or a 'cancelled trial'. The judge decided it was a real trial because important things happened on the day, even though it ended fast. The lawyers who appealed won and got extra money.
Key Facts
- •Altaf Solicitors appealed a Legal Aid Agency decision regarding LGFS fees for a trial.
- •The defendant was charged with making indecent photographs of children and acquitted after the prosecution offered no evidence.
- •The key dispute was whether the hearing should be classified as a 'trial' or a 'cracked trial' for fee purposes.
- •A joint expert meeting, ordered before the trial, took place on the day of the trial itself, after the trial's initial adjournment.
- •During the adjournment, both counsel questioned the experts, leading to the prosecution's decision to offer no evidence.
Legal Principles
Whether a trial has begun is not solely determined by whether a jury was sworn.
Lord Chancellor v. Ian Henery Solicitors Limited [2011] EWHC 3246 (QB)
A trial begins when substantial case management occurs, even if no jury is sworn.
Lord Chancellor v. Ian Henery Solicitors Limited [2011] EWHC 3246 (QB)
'Cracked trial' definition under the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.
Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013
Modern practice considers substantial case management occurring during the trial, even if historically done beforehand.
R v. Barnes [2022] EWHC 1539 (SCCO)
Similar cases where substantial case management during the trial led to a 'trial' classification.
R v. Fallah [2019] SCCO Ref: 281/18
Outcomes
The appeal was successful.
Substantial case management occurred on the day of the trial, including expert questioning, which was a determinative factor in the prosecution's decision. This constituted a trial, despite its brevity.
The LGFS claim was assessed as a trial, not a cracked trial.
The events of the day, including the impromptu expert meeting and questioning, constituted substantial case management and thus, the trial had begun in a meaningful sense.
Costs of £1000 + VAT were awarded to the Appellants.
The Appellants were successful in their appeal.