Amiee Parkes has successfully appealed the conviction of a client convicted by Magistrates in 2025 following an allegation of a nightclub sexual assault on New Years’ Day, The appellant disputed that he had touched the Complainant in the way alleged.
Following the complainant giving evidence at the appeal, Amiee made a half-time submission based on the 2nd limb as set out in the leading case of R v Galbraith [1981] 73 CrAppR 124. Amiee submitted that. although there was some evidence before the Court, it was inconsistent and vague and therefore of a tenuous nature. She submitted that the Judge must consider whether the evidence, when taken at its highest, was such that the jury could not properly convict upon it. If the answer to that was yes, then the case should not be allowed to continue, and the Judge should dismiss it. The application was successful. In his Judgement His Honour Judge Burbidge KC, the Honorary Recorder of Worcester, stated that that Amiee had forensically and carefully taken the panel and complainant through the CCTV evidence and demonstrated that it did not support the prosecution’s case.
In Autumn 2025, the Justice Secretary announced that he intends to remove the automatic right to appeal a conviction and sentence from the Magistrates’ Court. The genuine concerns about the removal of the statutory rights of an individual to be allowed to appeal a decision from the Magistrates’ Court is strenuously opposed by the Criminal Bar, and this case demonstrates the importance of keeping that automatic right.
Amiee was privately instructed in this matter by GC Law in Hereford, and is available to instruct through our criminal clerking team on crime@cornwallstreet.co.uk.