Kannan Siva
Degree: BA (Hons)
Year of Call and Inn: 1996; Gray’s Inn
Professional Membership: Western Circuit; CBA
Practice:
Formerly at Queen Square Chambers, Bristol; Kannan Siva joined Albion Chambers in May 2010.
Kannan has a specialist criminal law practice. He has considerable experience in defending conspiracies, particularly those involving the supply of class A drugs and serious violence.
He is a CPS panel advocate level 4 prosecutor and has a particular interest in cases involving vulnerable victims. He also has extensive experience in wide range of cases including murder, serious sexual offences and fraud.
Kannan has been involved in several trials involving the challenge of experts including a professor of veterinary medicine, forensic scientists, psychologists, and doctors in cases involving Asperger’s syndrome.
Kannan has co-presented seminars to medical practitioners on the presentation of evidence in trials alleging sexual offences. Further training seminars have included the topics of hearsay and disclosure.
Cases of interest include:
Defence:
Currently instructed to defend an extremely serious case alleging kidnap, false imprisonment and wounding with intent and other forthcoming cases involving the defence of a conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and a conspiracy to steal from vulnerable complainants;
Operation Rebus – multi-handed drugs conspiracy in South Wales involving substantial amounts of class A drugs. Successful double jeopardy abuse argument was upheld on behalf of defendant;
R v Herbert-Stamp – section 18 GBH; vacation of guilty plea; exclusion of basis of plea submitted by previous legal team; defendant acquitted after hung jury;
R v Dewar — junior for the principal defendant in murder. Conducted the bulk of legal argument relating to bad character and conducted the cross-examination of several police officers in which excessive force by the police was alleged;
R v K – rape. A series of sadomasochistic rapes on teenage girl; admissibility of memory of diary entries; appeal against conviction Court of Appeal;
R v Mokhtari — conspiracy to obtain false passports; successful application advanced on behalf of the only defendant who received the benefit of a Not Guilty verdict, to exclude evidence on first day of trial where mischief alleged was manipulation of disclosure (beyond the control of the CPS) by one of the main prosecution witnesses.
Prosecution:
Operation Pendulum – recently appeared as Leading Junior for the Prosecution in a high-profile case which attracted national publicity brought by the Complex Crime Unit and heard in Liverpool Crown Court. Defendant convicted after a three-week trial of historic rapes and indecent assaults in which victims were drugged with the assistance of the defendant’s wife. Issues of prior-consent and incapacity involved;
Stranger rapes, where cross-examination has been conducted through the assistance of interpreters, including trial where interpreters were used for prosecution witnesses and the defendant;
Prosecution of trial in which the defendant was convicted of sexually assaulting a three year-old victim. Hearsay evidence of victim. Challenge of defence expert on issue of Asperger’s syndrome.
Albion Chambers, Broad Street, Bristol. BS1 1DR
T: 0117 927 2144
F: 0117 926 2569
kannan.siva@albionchambers.co.uk
Clerk: Nick Jeanes
T 0117 311 0307
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