Briony Molyneux secures acquittal for client following prosecution disclosure failings.

Briony Molyneux, instructed by Graham Wilkinson of Sperrin Law, has secured an acquittal for her client following significant prosecution disclosure failings. After a careful review of the case, Briony was successful in highlighting the issues and argued that the failings should lead to the prosecution discontinuing the case. As a result of her submissions, the prosecution formally offered no evidence against her client, who had faced two serious Possession with Intent to Supply Class A drugs charges. The Defendant had initially been remanded for several months before being granted conditional bail, and had always maintained his innocence about being linked to a busy drugs phone line. He stated his good friend, the Co-Defendant, who had already pleaded guilty to the offences, was the one responsible.

Briony was able to demonstrate to the court, across a number of court hearings, that vital disclosure was outstanding. This culminated in the discovery that  due to the delay and inaction of the CPS and police, some key evidence in relation to phone data had been permanently lost.

If the Crown had not chosen to offer no evidence, there was ample material to mount an abuse of process on the basis the Defendant ‘could not have a fair trial’.