Crime, Public Access

Sara's practice encompasses all areas of crime, particularly Animal Welfare – prosecution and defence.

Notable cases:

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) v McCormick & Ors[2016] EWHC 928 (Admin) (29 April 2016) – ruling RSPCA were wrong to prosecute hunting as Animal Fights under S.8 of the animal Welfare Act. Lamont-Perkins v RSPCA[2012] EWHC 1002 (Admin) (24 April 2012) ruling that the correct challenge to a section 31 Animal Welfare certificate is to challenge the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ court. Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v King & Anor(Rev 1) [2010] EWHC 637 (Admin) (02 March 2010) ruling that RSPCA prosecution was out of time because they had issued two differently dated section 31 certificates. RSPCA v Peel. September 2015 – Large scale horse seizure in which it was revealed during the trial that the RSPCA had shot many of the healthy horses shortly after seizing them. Mail on Sunday article RSPCA v Byrnes2014, ( the “Claude the Cat” case). In which CPS took over prosecution. The case received wide national publicity, and resulted in a public apology for the Byrnes family. It also resulted in a second Wooler report which the RSPCA continue to refuse to make public. Times article. R v Nadian– RSPCA stopped from prosecuting cruelty test case. Times article.

Called 1993 South Eastern Circuit Sussex Bar Mess Criminal Bar Association

BA (Hons)