R v Chloe Dempster
[2023] EWHC 1690 (SCCO)
R v Qaiser Shah
3 February 2023
[2023] EWHC 1692 (SCCO)
Senior Courts Costs Office
A law firm appealed a decision about how much they should be paid for a case. The defendant pleaded guilty before the trial, so the court said they should get paid less than if it had gone to trial, rejecting the firm’s appeal.
Key Facts
- •Qamar Solicitors appealed a Legal Aid Agency decision regarding fee classification under the Litigator's Graduated Fees Scheme (LGFS).
- •The defendant, Mr. Qaiser Shah, initially pleaded not guilty to murder and related charges.
- •A pre-trial preparation hearing (PTPH) was held in May 2021, but no plea was entered due to co-defendant issues.
- •In September 2021, the defendant applied for and received representation by Queen's Counsel.
- •In October 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges.
- •The trial was listed for January 2022, but the guilty pleas were entered and accepted before the trial date.
- •The dispute centered on whether the case should be classified as a 'cracked trial' or a 'guilty plea' for LGFS fee purposes.
Legal Principles
Definition of 'Cracked Trial' and 'Guilty Plea' under the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.
Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013, Schedule 2, Part 6
Distinction between cases with an intention to proceed to trial later changing course ('cracked trial') and those where a guilty plea is entered later due to factors like limited disclosure or unclear instructions ('guilty plea').
R v. Lamin [2020] SCCO Ref: 175/19; R v. Barzey [2022] EWHC 1775 (SCCO); R v. Jarir [2022] EWHC 2231 (SCCO)
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The court found that despite the initial not guilty plea and the trial listing, the case met the criteria for a 'guilty plea' under the LGFS, not a 'cracked trial'. The court emphasized that the key factor is whether there was a genuine and settled intention to proceed to trial at the PTPH before a change of course, and this was not the case here given the ongoing disclosure and the plea being accepted three months before the trial date.