R v A (Isleworth Crown Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a defendant who had been charged with being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug (nearly 40kg of cannabis). After making lengthy submissions in mitigation, Tessa successfully persuaded the court that the defendant fell within lesser role and secured a reduction in the starting point from 3 years to 30 months’ imprisonment.

R v R (Southwark Crown Court) – Tessa was led by Neil Griffin in a 4 day contested confiscation hearing in which the defendant was facing a confiscation order of approximately £712,000. Over 3 days of evidence, they successfully convinced the Judge to reduce the figure to just over £410,000. Importantly, this would ordinarily carry a term of imprisonment in default of 5 years. However, they were also able to successfully convince the judge that the value of a restrained property, which would be realised by the Crown, should not be taken into account for the purposes of determining the defendant’s term of imprisonment in default. Instead, a term of imprisonment in default of 30 months was imposed.

R v O (Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a defendant in a case being prosecuted by the RSPCA. The defendant was charged with an offence of animal cruelty on the basis that he had failed to seek veterinary care for his cat who had unnecessarily suffered as a result. After successfully opposing an application to adduce evidence of the defendant’s bad character, the defendant was acquitted.

R v C (Reading Magistrates’ Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a defendant in his trial at Reading Magistrates’ Court. The defendant was charged with assault by beating. Tessa successfully cross-examined the complainant pointing out a number of inconsistencies between her statement and her evidence and secured an acquittal.

R v M (Kingston Crown Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a defendant in her committal for sentence. The defendant was convicted of a sophisticated fraud against her employer which she perpetrated over a period of 14 months; the total value of which was over £8000. After making comprehensive submissions in mitigation, Tessa secured a suspended sentence for the defendant.

R v H (Uxbridge Youth Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a youth defendant in breach of bail proceedings. The defendant was on post-conviction bail for a section 18 offence. He was given an electronically tagged curfew and had been breached for several occasions when he had been late home. Tessa successfully argued that the defendant ought to be re-released on bail into the care of his parents rather than being remanded.

R v O-H (Willesden Youth Court) – Tessa was instructed to prosecute a youth defendant on behalf of the Local Authority in respect of alleged breaches of the defendant’s youth referral order contract. The court found the breaches proved.

R v B (St Albans Crown Court) – Tessa was instructed to prosecute an appeal against conviction and sentence in respect of an assault by beating. The defendant had been convicted in his absence in St Albans Magistrates’ Court in 2022. The defendant was again found guilty and the appeal quashed.

R v Y (Salisbury Crown Court) – Tessa was instructed to represent a defendant who had pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and one count of possession with intent to supply class B drugs. After lengthy submissions in mitigation, Tessa secured her client a suspended sentence which the Judge described as an ‘exceptional course taken in view of the mitigation’.