Edward Duncan Smith > 187 Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
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Edward Duncan Smith
Position
Ed came to the Criminal Bar after a number of years practising as an advocate in the County Courts. He now appears regularly in the Crown, Magistrates and Youth courts at all stages of Criminal proceedings. He prepares every case diligently, combining a thorough knowledge of the law with pragmatism and common sense. In court his calm, confident manner is effective both in persuading tribunals and reassuring clients and he is regularly instructed on behalf of vulnerable defendants suffering with mental health issues, learning difficulties and personality disorders.
Notable Cases:
R v GS: A trial of Assault Occasioning ABH at Huntingdon Crown Court in which the Defendant was alleged to have strangled his partner and held a knife to her throat before punching her unconscious. A knife, identified by the Complainant as being the one used during the assault, was later found outside the Defendant’s home. After a trial lasting six days, involving allegations of juror intimidation and contempt of court, the jury returned a Not Guilty verdict.
R v AW: Allegations of Aggravated Stalking, Assault and Criminal Damage at Peterborough Crown Court in which the Defendant’s ex-partner claimed that, after she broke up with him, the Defendant at various times had followed her, turned up at her workplace and phoned her to describe in detail what she was wearing. Evidence in the case included hundreds of text messages sent from him to her. The Defendant’s case was that the contact had been exaggerated and that his behaviour did not amount to stalking in the context of their dysfunctional, volatile relationship. He was acquitted by the jury after only 40 minutes’ deliberation.
R v RS: Assault with Intent to Rob at Huntingdon Crown Court. The Defendant was alleged to have approached a woman on the street and asked for money. When refused, she pulled the Complainant to the ground by her hair. When witnesses intervened, the Defendant claimed that she was not attempting to rob the Complainant but was responding to racial abuse from the Complainant. Acquitted after trial.
R v TC: An appeal against sentence at Southend Crown Court. The Defendant appealed a custodial sentence imposed by the magistrates court. Despite failing to attend the listed appeal and having it dismissed on three separate occasions, the court was ultimately persuaded to re-open the appeal and to overturn the magistrates’ decision in favour of a suspended sentence.
R v RA: A trial of Assault and Breach of Non-Molestation Order where the Defendant was alleged to have threatened his ex-wife at a doctor’s surgery before trying to drag her into a lift. The doctor gave evidence for the Prosecution but was persuaded, in cross-examination, to admit that her account of the incident might have been affected by conversations she had with the Complainant after the event. The Defendant was acquitted.
R v TWB: Criminal Damage, in which the Defendant was alleged to have deliberately flooded a shared property after an argument with another resident. A submission of no case to answer on the basis of a lack of evidence linking the Defendant to the crime was upheld and the case dismissed.
