Matthew is an expert criminal practitioner who practices across the Crown Courts on the North Eastern Circuit and beyond. Matthew has developed a busy practice dealing with all levels of offence and at all stages of proceedings, including proceeds of crime act proceedings and appeals to the Court of Appeal.
Matthew has significant experience of representing defendants charged with the whole range of criminal offences, and takes pride in robustly representing his clients’ interests and putting in every effort to assist their case. Matthew prepares an early written advice and looks to have a conference with every client before trial. Matthew holds a particular interest in representing young defendants and those who have had no previous experience of the criminal justice system.
Matthew is a level 3 prosecutor on the North Eastern Circuit panel of prosecutors and has also been appointed to the panel of specialist rape prosecutors. This is based upon considerable experience of prosecuting a broad range of offences.
Matthew also represents service personnel facing Court Martial proceedings and in the civilian courts. As part of Zenith Chambers dedicated Court Martial team, Matthew is acutely aware of the unique needs of those facing such proceedings. Any person charged with a service offence is encouraged to contact Chambers for the opportunity to discuss matters with one of the Court Martial specialists.
Areas of Expertise
- Offences involving young defendants and witnesses
- Sexual offences
- Fraud offences
- Offences of violence
- Dishonesty offences
- Hunting Act offences
- Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings
- Violence committed during sporting activities
- General Crime
- Court Martial Proceedings and Service Offences.
Notable Cases
• R v Knapper. Murder. Defence. Nottingham Crown Court. 2012.
• R v Mann. Rape. Defence. Derby Crown Court. 2012.
• R v Birchall. Rape and Indecent Assault of step-daughter. Defence. Derby Crown Court. 2011.
• R v Ali, Akhbar, Zaman and others. Operation Fordingbridge. Professional fraud, handling and counterfeiting. Prosecution on behalf of the Complex Case Unit. Leeds Crown Court. 2011.
• R v Majewski, Sambor. Section 18, multiple stabbing committed within Polish community. Prosecution. Leeds Crown Court. 2011.
• R v Sedgwick, Sedgwick. Section 18. Hammer attack on a complainant blackmailing the defendant. Prosecution. Bradford Crown Court. 2011.
• R v Webster. Sexual activity with a child. Abuse of ten year old girls by their gym instructor. Prosecution. York Crown Court. 2011.
• R v Zackriya, Shabir and others. Rape and Sexual Activity with a Child. Operation Washday. Prosecution of multiple Asian defendants for the grooming and exploitation of a vulnerable girl. Bradford Crown Court. 2010.
• R v Blaney, Barnes and others. Professional Burglary Conspiracy. Prosecution. York Crown Court. 2010.
• R v Shaw, Easterby. Prosecution of the landowners hosting a hare coursing event attended by Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Sir Mark Prescott. Scarborough Magistrates’ Court. 2010.
• R v Eyre. [2008] EWCA Crim 2729 Successful appeal against imposition of IPP on an appellant with a twenty year history of repeated sexual offences.
• R v Richards. (2009) 1 Cr.App.R.(S). 48. Successful appeal against sentence for offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Cited in Banks on Sentence.
• R v Scrimshaw. [2010] EWCA Crim 142. Appropriate sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines Council guidelines for offences against the person for an offence involving use of a weapon, but without pre-meditation.
Publications
Since 2009 Matthew has been a contributing author of Jordan's Magistrates' Court Practice practitioner's text.
Author of article on Suspended Sentence Orders for the Zenith Chambers crime E-Newsletter February 2012.
Seminars
Speaker at the Solicitors Group Criminal Law conference, Leeds, 2011.
Regular lectures on general criminal law, evidence and procedure. Matthew is happy to present seminars or lectures on any area of criminal law to tailor to the specific needs of clients.
