Giles Pengelly

Reported Cases

 

Souza v Souza [2021] EWHC 199 (Fam) (Cohen J)

 

Ali v Barbosa [2019] EWHC 2776 (Fam) (Lieven J)

 

Notable Cases

 

Violent Crime

 

D.S. (Leicester Crown Court, defending). Defendant acquitted by jury for allegedly stabbing domestic partner with kitchen knife – issue was identity.

 

A.H. and J.L. (Wolverhampton Crown Court, prosecuting). Both Defendants convicted of string of robberies after seven-day trial involving six child witnesses. Contested argument about admissibility of cell-site evidence.

 

O.A. (Warwick Crown Court, defending). Successful application to exclude cell-site evidence at outset of the trial. Following the ruling, the Crown offered no evidence.

 

N.S. (Warwick Crown Court, defending). Successful submission of no case to answer for weapons offence in fast-moving, violent incident.

 

M.G. (Warwick Crown Court, defending). Disclosure requests made in defence case statement required Crown to analyse complainant’s phone in domestic abuse case. Complainant refused to hand the phone over. Crown offered no evidence. 

 

Sexual Offences

 

R.H. (Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, defending). Successfully argued, against Silk, that disclosure failings in investigation of overseas familial child rape allegations meant that they should not be heard at the impending trial of domestic allegations of rape.

 

T.C. (Warwick Crown Court, defending). Instructed on a private basis by defence legal team, led by Silk, to deal with disclosure issues in case involving multiple allegations of rape.

 

S.B. (Birmingham Crown Court, defending). Defendant sentenced to suspended sentence for distribution of child images and attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity where the latter involved blackmail.

 

Drugs

 

Operation Zagros (Worcester Crown Court, prosecuting). Led by Timothy Harrington in multi-kilo class A drugs supply conspiracy. Defendant convicted after trial and sentenced to over 22 years imprisonment. Expert evidence on capabilities of What’sApp over time.

 

Financial Crime and Proceeds of Crime

 

A.H. (Shrewsbury Crown Court, defending). Defendant charged with both illegal money-lending and money laundering (same offending); successful legal argument that Court should not use the money-laundering sentencing guidelines because statutory maximum for money-lending was substantially lower. 

 

P.L. (Birmingham Crown Court, prosecuting). Court found over £700,000 of hidden assets after contested POCA final hearing. 

 

J.A. and L.P. (Stafford Crown Court, prosecuting). Complex two-handed POCA final hearing following fraud convictions. Advised on how to deal with wrongly-obtained civil charging orders apparently seeking to diminish assets available to satisfy confiscation order. 

 

Extradition

 

R.L. (Westminster Magistrates’ Court, defending). Led by Philip Rule KC. Post-Merticariu legal argument that the requested person was not deliberately absent for his trial of serious matters in Slovakia.

 

Motoring

 

E.R. (Taunton Magistrates’ Court, defending). Defendant acquitted, at trial, of drink driving by District Judge; evidence of police officers as to the police station procedure so poor that no Court could not be satisfied that the procedure had been carried out lawfully.