Anthony James

Anthony has significant trial experience having secured acquittals for defendants charged with offences of violence, drug-related charges and sexual offences.

Anthony has had particular success in cases where he is able to combine his keen eye for legal argument with robust cross-examination. His attention to detail and meticulous case preparation have been instrumental in securing multiple acquittals.

Anthony’s ability to cross-examine professional witnesses, from police officers to expert witnesses, has proved of further use in the areas of violence against police, public disorder and animal welfare.

Notable Crime cases

RSPCA v S [2023] Woolwich CC

Anthony’s client faced 4 counts under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Following written representations from the defence, the RSPCA, prosecuting, wrote to the court and defence indicating the acceptability of guilty pleas to the less serious alternatives on the indictment at Counts 3 and 4.

Those pleas were duly entered at court and the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report. The sentencing judge on the next occasion expressed dissatisfaction about the RSPCA’s decision to accept the lesser pleas. The matter was adjourned with the RSPCA required to consider the position. On reviewing the case, the RSPCA wrote to the defence saying that it would in fact proceed on Counts 1 and 2. The case was adjourned for trial and a timetable set for a possible abuse of process argument.

On day one of the trial, Anthony argued that to proceed in such a manner following an unequivocal representation from the prosecuting body that it would not, both in writing and coram judice, would be an abuse of the court’s process. This application was resisted by the RSPCA.

Following two days of legal argument, the trial judge agreed with Anthony’s submissions and stayed proceedings as an abuse of process. Anthony’s client was sentenced for the lesser pleas to a community order.

R v O [2023] Woolwich CC

Represented a defendant accused of the attempted kidnap and affray perpetrated by a group of four to five men. Anthony’s client was the only man charged on the basis of recognition evidence of the alleged victim’s family, who were at the scene.

Anthony’s cross-examination of the victim’s father focussed on inconsistencies in his evidence and the fact that the witness was basing his recognition on images seen on social media. Following this, Anthony made submissions to the judge that the case was based on unsupported identification evidence that was now unreliable in light the father’s evidence. The prosecution offered no evidence after these submissions on all counts.

R v N [2023] Cardiff CC

Junior counsel (led by Tom Crowther KC) in a multi-million pound fraud conspiracy involving false claims on the chargeback scheme operated by WorldPay.

R v A [2023] Isleworth CC

Junior counsel (led by Alexandra Scott) in a multi-million pound money laundering involving the transporting of cash to Dubai.

R v J [2022] Isleworth CC

Acquittal for a defendant charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs following a four-day trial. The client was charged on the basis of messages found on a mobile telephone said to the belong to the defendant. Anthony ran a two-fold defence, namely that there was insufficient evidence of the supply of either drug and that the attribution evidence linking the defendant to the device was unreliable.

R v K [2022] Central Criminal Court

Anthony’s client was charged with handling stolen goods. Having taken Anthony’s advice not to give evidence in his defence and following Anthony’s speech, the defendant was unanimously acquitted by the jury.

R v N [2022] Kingston CC

Anthony won a complex legal argument on reverse burdens of proof for an offence which has never before been dealt with in case law. The relevant statute required the defendant ‘to prove a reasonable excuse’. Anthony successfully argued that this express statutory exception should be read down under the Human Rights Act 1998 to impose only an evidential burden and therefore not contravene the defendant’s right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the ECHR.

The Chief Constable of Sussex Constabulary v Ors [2022] Brighton MC

Represented the Chief Constable of Sussex Constabulary in breaches of Domestic Violence Protection Orders.

The Insolvency Service v R [2021] Luton MC

Prosecuted a defendant charged with re-using a prohibited company name under section 216, Insolvency Act 1986.

R v T [2021] Westminster MC

Client charged with possession of an offensive weapon and trespassing into Buckingham Palace. Client had complex mental health issues including schizophrenia. He also had two previous convictions for bladed article offences, subjecting him to a mandatory minimum sentence. Anthony produced a lengthy sentencing note in addition to his oral submissions. Chief Magistrate Goldspring found that it would have been unjust in all the circumstances to impose the mandatory minimum, noting that he ‘could not fault’ Anthony’s approach to the relevant law. The client received a sentence which did not affect his release date. The Sun, the Daily Mail and The Guardian.

R v B [2021] Maidstone CC

Secured a suspended sentence for a client charged multiple shoplifting offences and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, described by the judge as ‘at the highest level of ABH, on the cusp of GBH and wounding.’

R v S [2021] Isleworth CC

Client received a sentence of 16 months’ custody for possession of a razor blade melted into a toothbrush in prison. The sentence was below the starting point for such an offence. The judge was persuaded to grant the client 20% credit for a guilty plea entered on the first day of trial as the client had not had the opportunity to view the CCTV prior to that date.

R v C [2021] Uxbridge MC

Anthony successfully excluded confessions made by his client per section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Despite the client’s failing to attend her trial, she was acquitted due to the lack of other prosecution evidence.

R v C [2021] Uxbridge MC

Anthony successfully excluded confessions made by his client per section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Despite the client’s failing to attend her trial, she was acquitted due to the lack of other prosecution evidence.

R v H [2021] Kingston CC

Negotiated a basis of plea to one charge of cultivating cannabis which placed the client in lesser role on the sentencing guidelines. The client received a sentence which allowed his immediate release.

R v H [2021] Willesden MC

Successfully persuaded the court not to order the destruction of his client’s pitbull. The complex hearing involved the cross-examination of police officers and two canine experts. The client then received a fine for the offence despite significant injuries caused to both humans and dogs at the scene.