JONATHAN LALLY

Call 2005     Inner Temple

Crime


Business crime and regulatory


Personal injuries

Fraud (Motor)



MA (Cantab)

lally@deanscourt.co.uk

APPOINTMENT

Crown Counsel to the Falkland Islands Government 2007

AWARDS ·        

Inner Temple BVC Exhibition and Paul Methven Scholarship 2004/5 
Peter Rayburn Criminal Law Prize (GdipL 2004)    
Head of School’s Commendation in Advocacy (1st Place BVC 2005)  

AREAS OF PRACTICE 

General Crime 
Jonathan’s general criminal work includes offences of importation, supply and possession of drugs; assaults, arson, kidnapping, threats to kill, people trafficking; robbery, burglary, theft and fraud offences (including benefit fraud); public order offences; sexual offences, including sexual offences prevention orders (SOPOs); perverting the course of public justice.  Whilst he mainly acts for the Defence, he also represents the Crown Prosecution Service and Local Authorities.   

Road Traffic Crime 
Jonathan has extensive experience of complex road traffic cases.  Types of cases include: causing death by dangerous/careless driving; causing death whilst drink driving/uninsured; dangerous driving; careless driving; drink driving and failing to provide a specimen; speeding offences; failing to furnish information (S.172); construction and use offences; special reasons; exceptional hardship.  Many cases have involved complex expert evidence and technical procedural and legal submissions and arguments.  He has represented a number of celebrity, sporting and high net-worth individuals across the country and is regularly instructed by insurance companies to defend in matters where there is a resulting civil claim for injuries and death.  Such representation also extends to inquests following death as a result of a road traffic accident. 

Other Specialist Criminal Work 
Jonathan has conducted a number of cases involving prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act.  Such cases involved complex expert evidence in relation to animal behaviour, animal dentistry and legal argument emanating from this. He regularly represents serving prisoners at adjudication hearings, parole hearings, and ancillary court hearings post conviction, for example SOPO applications. He has conducted a number of cases involving the Protection from Harassment Act including applications for both civil and criminal injunctions against individuals.  Such applications have been made on behalf of individuals or companies protecting individual staff employed by them. He has recently started to take instructions from members of the medical profession for representation at General Medical Council disciplinary hearings. As well as attending inquests in relation to deaths caused by road traffic accidents he is instructed to attend inquests into deaths caused by other means, representing a range of interested parties.  

Regulatory 
Jonathan has represented a number of local authorities in various types of cases.  These include: the prosecution of Education Act offences, Licensing Act Offences, Housing Act offences, trademarks and copyright offences; Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) applications and prosecutions; and Noise Abatement Notices Applications and prosecutions.  He has also represented local authorities at licensing hearings at Council hearings, and appeals to the Magistrates and Crown Court.  Such hearings include taxi licensing, alcohol licensing and gaming licenses.  Equally he has represented individuals and companies in relation to all the above types of licensing hearings. He has also represented Local Authorities, the Foods Standards Agency, and defendant companies in health and safety prosecutions including: offences relating to accidents and injuries at work; hygiene offences; and prosecutions for environmental and agricultural offences.  

Personal Injury 
Jonathan conducts all types of hearings in relation to personal injury cases, particularly those involving road traffic accidents.  Prior to studying for the bar he worked as a paralegal in a catastrophic injury department. He also receives instructions from defendant insurance companies in relation to cases of civil motor fraud.   

International Work
 Jonathan was seconded to the Falkland Islands Government as Crown Counsel in 2007.  Since then he has advised and represented clients in the Falkland Islands on both criminal and personal injury cases.  Instructions from other British Overseas Territories and other overseas common law jurisdictions are welcome.  

NOTABLE CASES 

General Crime 
R v Harrison- Successful defence of lady charged with being in control of a dangerous dog.  The defendant had fostered the dog from a dog rescue centre.  Legal argument regarding ownership and whether dog was ‘dangerously out of control’.  Use of expert dental evidence. 
R v Ford- Represented defendant on charge of being in control of dangerous dog.  Use of animal behavioural expert.  Prevented destruction of the dog. 
R v Childs- Jury ordered to acquit defendant (of charges of intimidating a witness) at half-time following application of no case to answer in that no physical harm caused.  Successful application of the case of R v Normanton [1998] Crim.L.R. 220, CA. 
R v Helm­- Represented defendant on charge of perverting the course of justice (by setting fire to the car) in relation to a case of causing death by dangerous driving.  Extensive use of expert evidence in the following fields: road traffic accident investigation, CCTV reconstruction, fire damage and causation. 
R v Orsos­- Led junior in a case involving people trafficking, prostitution and rape. 
R v Wood- successfully challenged the validity of a search warrant and thus the ability of a defendant to be convicted of an offence of assaulting a constable ‘in the execution of his duty’. 
R v Smith- represented defendant charged with kidnapping and s.18.  Case involved burning of victim’s hands.  
Regulatory GMP v Barracuda- Represented GMP at local authority review of premises licence following one of the first Closure Orders issued under the Licensing Act 2003. 
Cumbria County Council v Campbell and Sons Ltd- Represented defendant haulage firm in one of the first prosecutions under the Animal By-Product Regulations 2005 (cross-contamination involving meat and bone meal).  

Road Traffic 
R v Slattery- Successfully defended driver of horsebox on charge of careless driving involving the death of a tractor driver (initially charged as causing death by dangerous driving and would now have been death by careless driving).  Use of expert evidence regarding visibility, light failure and speed. 
R v Gardner- Successfully appealed the conviction of a coach driver for careless driving following his coach overturning on the M6 whilst transporting schoolchildren.  Expert evidence used to establish mechanical fault with tyres as cause of accident. 
R v Farran- Successful defence of driver for careless driving (Involving death of his girlfriend).  Expert evidence used to establish defect in road as cause of accident. 
R v Taylor and Duggan- Successful defence of two drivers charged with dangerous driving (including allegations of racing).  Extensive use of expert evidence and evidence obtained from onboard computer in one defendant’s car.  Rebuttal of allegations from off-duty police officer as a result of the technical data recovered from car. 
R v Insley- Successful defence of lady charged with failing to provide a specimen.  Very vulnerable defendant treated very badly by police whilst in custody.  Established that correct procedure was not used in attempting to obtain specimen.  Use of police CCTV to show disgraceful treatment of defendant whilst in custody. 
R v Martin- Successful defence of motorist charged with failing to provide a specimen.  Extensive legal submission and argument regarding the correct procedure to be adopted in requesting urine sample.  Whether ‘two samples’ had been obtained. 
R v Antonia Valencia- Footballer -road traffic matters 
R v Neal Trotman- Footballer - road traffic matters 
R v Dennis Taylor- Snooker player - road traffic matters 
R v Jamie Spencer- Jockey - road traffic matters 
R v Ishmael Miller- Footballer - road traffic matters