Sarah Regan
Degree: LL.B (Hons) University of West of England
Year of call and Inn: 2000; Lincoln’s Inn
Professional Membership: Western Circuit; CBA
Practice:
Sarah is a specialist in criminal law undertaking defence and prosecution work and is a CPS Grade 3 prosecutor. She has a particular interest in cases which involve issues of disclosure with extensive experience of Public Interest Immunity, offences of violence, vulnerable witnesses and sexual offences involving both adults and children.
She advises on prison law and judicial review, most recently in relation to prisoners imprisoned for public protection and held beyond their tariff.
Sarah is responsible for editing the Albion Chambers’ Crime Team Newsletter and lectures on advocacy for the Western Circuit and Lincoln’s Inn. She is also a mentor for students attending the BVC at UWE and a member of the Bar Council Speakers for Schools project
Cases of Interest in 2009 – 2010:
Fraud, Theft, Drugs and Miscellaneous
Defending a large-scale, professional conspiracy to handle stolen goods which involved covert recordings and the evidence of undercover officers;
Prosecuting a company for serious breaches of housing law in relation to properties let to vulnerable victims;
Defending a large-scale drugs cultivation and supply operation and the resulting confiscation proceedings;
Defending in respect of an allegation of perverting the course of justice resulting from the death of a work colleague.
Violent offences
Defending counts of s.18 and robbery which left the victim with permanent injuries. The trial included defence expert evidence challenging the causation of a particular injury as well as footwear and DNA evidence and the mitigation involved the issue of dangerousness under the CJA 2003;
Prosecuting a s. 18 knife attack on the victim who had been subjected to years of abuse both from the defendant and others. The case was complicated by the victim refusing even to make an initial statement and included bad character in relation to other matters previously unreported to the police and hearsay in respect of initial comments made by the victim;
Defending a care worker accused of cruelty to a patient who ultimately died. The case involved many issues including causation, proof of lack of care and expert evidence in respect of what a person in a similar position could reasonably be expected to do;
Prosecuting a s.18 in which the female defendant stabbed a man said to have been responsible for physically abusing her. Prior to trial the victim had retracted his statement and so applications were made to have his 999 call admitted as an exception to the hearsay principle as well as to adduce bad character in respect of both;
Prosecuting foster carers for offences of assault on a young boy with learning difficulties.
Sexual offences
Defending an elderly man in relation to a single historical assault committed over 30 years before. The issues included the admission of evidence of pornographic material found many years later, said to be relevant to identification;
Prosecuting a church warden for offences of historic sexual abuse which involved bad character in respect of a similar conviction some 15 years prior to the current matter and a victim who had an extensive psychiatric history;
Defending a youth charged with over 20 offences of rape and sexual assaults committed against two 10 year-old boys;
Prosecuting a two defendant rape of a victim who had willingly attended the home of one of the defendants and whilst there admitted to having taken illegal drugs.
Publications
The Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 2009
The Times Newspaper, Tuesday, 14 March 2000: Dining at the Inns’ other views
Reported Cases:
Mills and Poole (2003) 1 WLR 2931, (2004) 1 C R App R 7, (2004) Crim LR 60 (murder/disclosure);
R v Pace West Wiltshire JJ (2002) 2 Archbold News 2 DC (judicial review of justices decision to accept jurisdiction)
Cases that have made the National News:
Prosecution of Lynn Coles – the lady who threw a tomato at Tony Blair;
Prosecution of Peter Docherty;
Prosecution of Mills and Poole the subject of a number of documentaries including Trial and Error.
Albion Chambers, Broad Street, Bristol BS1 1DR
T: 0117 927 2144
F: 0117 926 2569
sarah.regan@albionchambers.co.uk
Clerk: Nick Jeanes
T 0117 311 0307
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