Hodge Jones & Allen

Criminal Defence

Darrell is a Partner in the Criminal  Defence Team and Head of the Data Deletion team.

He specialises in all areas of criminal defence, representing clients at all stages of the criminal justice system. He appears regularly as an advocate in the Magistrates’ Court, Youth Court and Crown Court. He runs a varied caseload including cases such as murder, serious violent offences, drug offences, terrorism and sexual offences. He also represents clients in ancillary proceedings such as confiscation and forfeiture.

He has an excellent track record in dealing with data deletion matters. He regularly represents clients in applications to have their criminal records deleted and applications to be removed from professional barred lists. He has represented clients as a litigator and counsel in a number of high-profile cases. These include murder, terrorism and computer misuse.

He has represented high-profile individuals and is regularly instructed by record labels to represent their acts. He has a reputation for representing music artists in relation to criminal cases and civil injunction proceedings where the police have tried to prevent artists them from performing their music.

Recent Notable Cases

• R v KL [2020] – Represented a youth who was charged with attempted GBH. The client was a youth who was accused of attempting to attack a police officer with a machete. He was acquitted as the defence were able to establish that he was acting in self-defence.

• R v CK [2022] – Represented a female school teacher who was charged with murdering her partner during lockdown in the Pandemic. She accepted stabbing him to death but was acquitted of murder and found guilty of manslaughter. She received a reduced sentence as the defence were able to demonstrate with expert evidence that she was the victim of abuse at hands of her partner.

• R v AM [2023] – Represented a youth charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The client who was 14 years-old was charged with seven other defendants in relation to a large ”county lines” drugs operation in Essex. The client was the only defendant to be acquitted in the proceedings as the defence were able to demonstrate with the use of expert evidence that he was an exploited child and the victim of modern slavery.

• R v SB [2024] – Represented a defendant who was charged with attempted murder and possession of firearms. The prosecution alleged that the client was involved in a gang related shooting. The defendant was acquitted of all charges as the defence were able to establish that he had been acting under duress.

• Durrell Goodall, Reano Williams and Nathanial Williams [ongoing] – Representing three clients in a joint application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The clients were three of eleven defendants convicted of murder under the doctrine of joint enterprise. Applications have been made to the CCRC to review the convictions on the basis that the prosecution adopted a false and racist gang narrative against them in the proceedings. A decision is pending. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-65756935

Data Deletion Cases

• TC [2023]: Represented a client who had been convicted of a serious sexual offence when he was a youth. When he turned the age of 18 years he was added to the children’s barred list which prevented him from working with children. With the support of expert medical evidence we were able to establish that the client posed no threat to children and successfully applied to have him removed from the barred list.

• SC [2024]: Represented a teacher who had been cautioned for a dishonesty offence when she was a youth. She needed to immigrate to China for personal and professional reasons but would have prevented from doing so because of the caution appearing on her ACRO Police Certificate. We successfully applied to have the caution expunged resulting in the client having a “no trace” ACRO Police Certificate.

Darrell joined Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors in 2016.

SACHA – The Solicitors’ Association of Higher Rights Advocates CarAf Centre (Trustee) The Likulezi Project Malawi (Fundraiser) LCCSA Art Not Evidence