Kate Blackwell KC

Criminal Defence

Kate has been involved in the prosecution of many such cases, often advising on disclosure, PII and conducting lengthy and complicated “ex-parte” hearings. For the defence she has made many successful disclosure and abuse of process applications.

Cases of interest include the following:

R v H – Defending man charged with the manslaughter of a police officer.

R v C – Defending man charged with murder of man whose body was found to have suffered 97 separate injuries.

R v J – Defending in retrial of defendant for murder of PC Sharon Beshenevsky.

R v C – Defending schizophrenic man charged with attempted murder by multiple stabbing.

R v FM – Defending a man charged with conspiracy to supply large quantities of heroin involving the use of entrapment. Preliminary legal argument lasted 5 weeks. Successfully reduced case against defendant by half.

R v JI – Defending the main defendant in a multi-handed case involving a major Rochdale drugs gang; issues of autrefois acquit and bad character based upon previous acquittals.

R v H & others – Defending in an extensive drug ring supplying serving prisoners and involving prison officers.

Recent cases involving sexual offences, for which her success rate is exceptional, include:

R v H – Defending a man charged with running a paedophile-ring including the abduction and abuse of a 14-year old boy.

R v J – Defending a psychiatric patient charged with sexual assault upon 2 nurses.

R v P – 22 year sentence handed down to defendant who had waged an 8 year campaign of grooming, rape, sexual assault, trafficking and assaulting a series of young females.

R v B – Case involving taking and producing thousands of images of young female and serious sexual assault. Legal applications included the anomaly produced by the age differential in the Protection of Children Act 1978 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

R v T – School teacher convicted of grooming a rape of an 11 year old pupil over a 5 year period.

R v M – Grooming and rape of vulnerable child with severe learning difficulties.

R v G – Kidnap, rape and assault of several sex workers, one of whom had been trafficked.

R v B and others – Rape of a 4 year old family victim discovered when she was diagnosed with Gonorrhea.

R v B – Multiple historical abuse by music teacher.

R v S – Indian national charged with rape.

R v D – Indecent images charges against former police officer in position of trust.

R v G – Allegations of historic sexual abuse of extended family members.

R v D – Allegations of historic abuse of sister.

R v C – Sexual touching of 13-year old boy.

R v L – Private tutor charged with sexual offences against students.