Key Facts
- •Appeal against the determining officer's use of band 1.2 in the Banding of Offences table to calculate fees under the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme.
- •Appellant counsel represented a 12-year-old defendant (TA) who pleaded guilty to death by reckless driving, causing the death of his foster carer.
- •The foster carer was killed when TA reversed over her while attempting to drive away in her car.
- •Counsel argued that band 1.1 should apply due to the victim being an 'equivalent public servant' killed in the course of her duty.
- •The determining officer used band 1.2 because the defendant was a child under 16.
Legal Principles
Interpretation of the 'Banding of Offences' table within the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.
Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013, as amended; 'Banding of Offences' document (version 1.2)
Determining whether a foster carer is an 'equivalent public servant' to a police or prison officer for the purposes of the Banding of Offences table.
R v Wisniewski [2023] EWHC 216 (SCCO); R v Earnshaw & Gaukroger
Outcomes
Appeals dismissed.
The court found that the foster carer, while a public servant, was not performing a role equivalent to a police or prison officer. Her actions were considered more akin to acting in loco parentis than in a public-facing capacity involving the maintenance of law and order. The determining officer correctly applied band 1.2 based on the defendant's age.