Changing barrister

[fighter]

We had a very good solicitor and was assigned to a barrister for the crown court hearing. However, when we met with the barrister, we didnt feel he believe that my partner is innocent. We felt he is not so interested in our case and our meeting was very brief. Is it possible to request for another barrister? we have legal aid for this case. He just focused on the statement from the other side; but we have other character witnesses. Please advise many thanks,

[gem]

hi is the barrister experienced in this sort of case. find out quick.in our case the solicitor said our barrister was very experienced but after my son got found guilty i questioned our solicitor why the barrister didnt even fight for my son in the court room he wasn,t even bothered as far as we were concerned .my solicitor replied he did all he could .but the barrister left vital medical evidence out that could have acquitted my son. i only found out when i engaged a new defence team .the new solicitor told me .yes our old barrister was experienced but not for sexual offences but for GBH our new solicitor was horrified when i told him the evidence that was left out of the trial. he has even told me his firm will never ever use that barrister again .so in my experience you must get the best available i can.t stress that enough
my son got 7 years ...

[Rachel3333]

Spk to ur solicitor about it u can change ur barrister even if ur on legal aid they dint really have a lot they can say before the case papers all come in and the judge has to order the prosecution to release them it's usually at the 1st crown court hearing the prosecution is given a time limit to deliver them and the DVDs relevant and u have a few weeks after that to enter ur defines statement usually round the time of ur plea and Case management hearing

[Rachel3333]

Good advice we googled our barrister and found out about his past cases and the chambers he was in he was excellent

[fighter]

Thanks for this advise gem. We called another barristers right after i read your reply..and inform our solicitor that we are thinking of changing because we are not convinced with the barrister and the solicitor said we can still change. We have some evidences and witnesses that the barrister didnt mention to be called upon and we found it odd. I check the barrister's profile and it doesnt say he works on falsely accused allegations even though the solicitor said so, but it should be at least on the website right. Sorry to hear about your son, I hope you get your son back soon with you.

[fighter]

Rachel,
thanks also for the advise on when we should change the barrister! we can still change!! also googled the barrister nothing found on him except the profile he had on the chambers website and it doesnt say he works on falsely accused allegations. Our hopes had been up that we have a very strong case but with just one hour with the barrister our hope was gone by the way he deals with us

[gem]

hi i think if he dealt wilt these type of allegations it would say on his web site.
though i could be wrong. i googled my new solicitor and he is a specialist in these cases according to his web site but he was also recommended to us .. he in turn has told me he will be using the best for our appeal.i also believe our old solicitor could have done a lot more for us every time i rang him for an update on the case .he fobbed me off. if only i knew then what i know now things would have been a lot different. and we basically only get one kick of the ball. we can,t get a rerun if we don,t get the result we want .unless we are lucky enough to get evidence for appeal.
[and we don.t know if we are one of the lucky ones yet] i am glad you are trying to get the best for your partner he deserves a fair trial with his team working hard for him .the trouble we all tend to think the justice system wont let us down so we put our faith in them .. WRONG ... i sure you will find the right one for you. stay strong

[fighter]

Gem, yes, I don't trust the system. I am scared of the 12 people in the jury who will decide on our life. My partner is a good man and does not deserve this. we could be confident because it did not happen. The statements from other people are conflicting but there will always be the accuser who could be a good actress; she has learning disability (very slight) and I dont want to take chances on that. As I read through the forum posts, seeing similar cases to my partners, I know we have to be more pro-active and be less confident but more prepared. Your post is among those who had really moved me. I really really hope you can find a new evidence for appeal. It is good you now have a new defense team.

[gem]

hi fighter
you are quite right about the jury .the trouble is you never know what the outcome will be. you have 12 people from all walks of life decide if our loved ones are guilty or not .thats if they are actually listening : thankyou fingers crossed we get our appeal