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Christopher Dunn

Year of Call:

1996

Education:     

Ascham House Preparatory School, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Giggleswick School, Settle, North Yorkshire.

Kings School, Tynemouth.

Newcastle Polytechnic 2:2 in Sociology B.Sc (Hons).

Newcastle University 1^st (equivalent) M.A. in Law.

Northumbria University Pass Legal Practice Course.

Newcastle University LLM by research.

Inns of Court School of Law, BVC, competent.

Career:           

Production Manager JC Wire and Tube Fabricators Limited 1986

Kent County Constabulary 1988

Shepherds Demolition Services 1989

Called to the Bar 1996, Gray’s Inn

Pupillage at Sovereign Chambers 1996-1997 supervised by Geoffrey Marson QC and Charles Ekins.

Member of the North Eastern Circuit

Grade 3 Crown Prosecutor (now monitored Grade 4)

Languages:

Basic French and Spanish, learning Mandarin and Japanese.

 

Att.-Gen.’s Ref. (No. 23 of 2009) (R. v. Merrion)[2010] 1 Cr.App.R.(S.) 70, CA ([2009] EWCA Crim. 1683) (CLW/10/11/22).

At first instance, Christopher successfully argued that previous good character, and the offender’s lack of intention to use (or to permit the use of) the guns of which he was in possession for criminal purposes, amounted to exceptional circumstances. The Attorney General disagreed and referred the case to the Court of Appeal for review of sentence. Court accepted AG's submissions but Christopher sucessfully cross Appealed on basis that one of the Appellant's children suffered from an aggressive and debilitating (possibly fatal) illness was capable of amounting to such a circumstance.

Christopher is a Grade 3 Prosecutor (now being monitored for Grade 4). He has prosecuted a number of serious cases on behalf of the CPS including offences of rape and other serious sexual offences; serious drugs offences, and serious offences of violence. He has also appeared on behalf of the Crown in Proceeds of Crime Act applications and Public Interest Immunity applications.

The major part of Christopher’s practice is for defence solicitors. He has significant experience of preparing large, serious and multi-handed cases, from advice on defence case preparation, drafting schedules and admissions and negotiating with other counsel, as well as undertaking Crown Court and Court of Appeal advocacy. He has been involved in many cases involving complex covert evidence, expert witnesses and financial documentation.

Christopher has defended in a wide range of cases including murder, rape, attempted rape, S18, serious historical sexual offences, firearms offences, armed robberies, conspiracies to supply large amounts of Class A drugs, conspiracies to commit Hanoi style burglaries, conspiracies to commit armed robberies and conspiracies to commit bank fraud.

Christopher has been junior counsel to Robert Smith Q.C.; David Hatton Q.C.; David Gordon; Jason McAdam; Mark McKone and Anne Munday. He has been leading Junior in a number of cases having led Craig Hassall and Catherine Silverton on a number of occasions.

Christopher has conducted numerous cases under the old ex post facto scheme (now replaced by the VHCC scheme) which were listed for over 25 days. Some cases involved 5 Defendants or more and involved over 10,000 pages of evidence. Latterly, Christopher has conducted a number of cases for the defence involving Members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. This is a small selection of the cases in which Christoher has been involved:

R v Colin Stewart Newbury [1999] 2 Cr. App R (S) 398 – Christopher was instructed for the Crown. The Defendant was convicted of a number of robberies where old people were targeted. Christopher advised that the sentence was unduly lenient. The CPS agreed and the case was successfully referenced by the Attorney General.

R v Adrian Davies [2002] – the Defendant was charged with murder of his wife. He had mental health problems and a plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was advanced and accepted. Christopher drafted the application for Queens Counsel and was led by Robert Smith Q.C.

R v William Henry Buxton [2003] – the Defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robberies. Christopher drafted the application for junior Counsel and led Catherine Silverton.

R v Robert Livesey [2004] - the Defendant was charged with murder of his brother. He had killed his brother who had been his tormentor for years. Christopher drafted the application for Queens Counsel and was led by David Hatton Q.C.

R v Graeme Austin [2005] - The Defendant was alleged, along with his co-accused, to have been involved in a conspiracy to supply class A drugs with an estimated street value of sixteen million pounds. The co-accused were under surveillance for 10 – 12 months prior to the Defendant’s arrest. The Defendant sought a Goodyear indication on a plea to an alternative count which the Crown sought to refer to the Attorney General – unsuccessfully.

R v Andrew John Pearson [2006] – the Defendant was charged with murder of a female neighbour. He pleaded guilty. It was one of the first cases where the Judge ordered the Defendant to pay the costs of his defence. Christopher drafted the application for Queens Counsel and was led by David Hatton Q.C.

R v Sean David Timmins [2008] - the Defendant was the Vice President of the Wolverhampton Charter of the Hells Angels. He was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent. The defence suggested that the positive identification evidence had been fabricated, and the person seen on the CCTV evidence was not the Defendant. The Defendant was unanimously acquitted after a 4 day trial.

R v John Kelly [2009] - the Defendant was charged with the brutal murder of his wife. The Defendant pleaded guilty. It was evident that representation by Queen's Counsel would not be granted and so Christopher conducted the case alone. The Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 16 year recommendation.

R v Tony Collins [2009] - the Defendant was a Hells Angel. He was being prosecuted for being in possession of an article with a blade outside the Bulldog Bash motorcycle event near Statford upon Avon. The Defence Case Statement was drafted by Christopher. Thereafter, the case was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service.

R v Sean David Timmins [2009] - the Defendant was the Vice President of the Wolverhampton Charter of the Hells Angels. The Defendant and a number of other Hells Angels, and a number of members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, were jointly charged with riot. They had been involved in a fight at Birmingham International Airport where batons and machetes had been used to inflict serious injury.

R v Desmond Merrion [2009] - the Defendant had been involved in the importation of a pistol into the UK from America. He pleaded guilty. At first instance, Christopher successfully argued that the minimum 5 year sentence ought not to apply. The Defendant was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The Attorney General appealed. Sentence increased to 5 years by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) but reduced back to 3 years by way of cross-notice of appeal.

For further details please contact Yvonne Crosbie or Zoe Bellwood on 0113 245 1841.