Saul joined 3 Temple Gardens following the successful completion of his pupillage in March 2010.

He has quickly developed experience in all areas of criminal law and regularly appears in the Crown, Youth, and Magistrates' Courts. He has dealt with a range of serious and complex cases concerning allegations of violence, dishonesty, drugs and sexual offences and has appeared in the Court of Appeal.

Saul has represented a number of vulnerable defendants in both the Crown Court and Youth Courts. He has developed experience in obtaining intermediaries and other forms of assistance for defendants and has undertaken specialist Youth Court training with Just For Kids Law. 

He has been busy this summer representing those arrested in the widespread public disorder. Saul secured bail for a number of clients and dealt with the added pressures of the high volume of cases: on one Sunday representing seven different clients produced in custody.

Saul is part of Chambers’ road traffic team and is regularly instructed in these cases where he has successfully argued both special reasons and exceptional hardship to save clients’ driving licences. He has also obtained a number of acquittals on allegations such as careless driving, crossing white lines and other offences.

Saul recently presented a seminar on road traffic law in Chambers for a solicitors firm keen to expand their work in this area. He also has experience in confiscation hearings (both final hearings and enforcement), inquests and is happy to accept instructions in other civil law or ancillary proceedings where there is a criminal law element such as applications for SOPOs, ASBOs, restraining orders or appearances before Social Security Tribunals (often a next step for clients after acquittal on benefit fraud charges).

Currently a Grade 1 Prosecutor, with a pending application for Grade 2 on the forthcoming CPS Advocate Panel, Saul accepts instructions to prosecute at all levels and has been instructed on allegations such as ABH, dangerous driving and sexual offences before the Crown Court.

Chambers:

Education Committee – an advocacy trainer for Chambers’ pupils, running mock bail applications, witness handling and sentencing exercises as well as editing the legal updates the pupils prepare.

 

Notable cases :

 

R v SA (Youth Court) - Acquittal on a charge of affray after raising self defence and defence of another. The defendant had inflicted four stab wounds to the back of a second man who was also wielding a knife. The Crown only provided disclosure of footage from 16 CCTV cameras on the morning of trial but an effective trial was still possible.

 

R v KM (Youth Court) – defendant charged with three counts of money laundering under s.328 and s.327 POCA 2002. Successful submission of no case to answer at half time in respect of two charges on the basis that the counts did not allege dealing with criminal property (this point is now bolstered by recent authority). Convicted on the remaining count, but dealt with by way of a non-custodial sentence due to the last count being limited to a single transaction.

 

R v RA (Magistrates’ Court) - Four allegations of sexual assault by four separate complainants. The case was complicated by the defendant's mental health which resulted in the hearing becoming an acts and omissions hearing and the defendant ultimately being made subject to a hospital order. 

 

Sentencing Cases:

 

R v Mukota (Central Criminal Court) – guilty pleas to possession of an improperly obtained passport and fraud accepted by the Crown in lieu of false passport offences initially charged. A custodial sentence was avoided and a 12 month community order with 80 hours unpaid work imposed and no recommendation for deportation was made.

 

 R v Adamson (Crown Court) – defendant pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, having made a false report of theft concerning his television. The false report led to the arrest of an innocent neighbour of the defendant who purchased the property in good faith. The Court was persuaded this was an exceptional case and passed a suspended sentence order.