Nicholas Hearn
Year of Call: 2007
Email: nhearn@furnivallaw.co.uk
General Crime
Nicholas is regularly instructed in the Crown Court in all areas of criminal proceedings including offences of violence, dishonesty, drugs, sexual offences and frequently accepts private instructions in road traffic proceedings in magistrates’ courts.
Nicholas has acted as a lead junior in proceedings relating to allegations of Murder and Conspiracy to Murder at the Central Criminal Court. He has also acted as a lead junior in proceedings relating to the large scale supply of Class A drugs at Kingston Crown Court. Most recently Nicholas has acted as a lead junior at Inner London Crown Court in a historic sexual abuse case.
As a junior alone Nicholas’ practice has encompassed offences of Grievous Bodily Harm With Intent, Aggravated Burglary, False Imprisonment, Robbery, Affray and a variety of sexual offences.
Highlights have included:
R v Hoyte (Inner London Crown Court) - Lead by Sonia Woodley QC in a six week trial at Inner London Crown Court arising out of allegations of sexual abuse against a youth worker by nine different complainants.
R v SG & Ors (Wood Green Crown Court) – Successful defence of two 18 year olds accused of Burglary in circumstances where the defendants were arrested fleeing from the scene of a burglary and the Crown’s forensic expert suggested that there was “strong support” for the contention that footprints found at the scene belonged to the defendants. Both defendants acquitted by a jury.
R v AS (Southwark Crown Court) – Successful defence of 18 year old illegal immigrant accused of Assault Causing Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent (s.18). Defendant acquitted by jury.
R v BM & Ors (West London Magistrates’ Court) – Successfully defended a mother and two sons in relation to charges of Assault PC arising out of a s.18 search warrant of their family home. Nicholas received a commendation for his handling of the case by the District Judge in his written judgment acquitting all three defendants of all charges.
Extradition
Nicholas is a specialist extradition practitioner with a busy defence based extradition practice. He regularly appears before the Administrative Court in extradition proceedings. Nicholas has acted for individuals whose extradition has been sought in relation to offences as varied as Murder, Sexual Offences, People Trafficking and Drugs Importation.
Nicholas is available to provide advocacy and advice in extradition proceedings from the Initial Hearing right through to appeal proceedings in the High Court.
Nicholas is currently instructed in a number of extradition proceedings relating to requests under “Part Two” of the Extradition Act 2003. He is currently acting for an individual requested by the Russian Federation for Drugs Importation and for an individual requested by the United Arab Emirates for an offence of Armed Robbery.
Earlier this month Paul Garlick QC and Nicholas Hearn acted in a successful appeal of a District Judge's decision to order the extradition of a Romanian national pursuant to a European Arrest Warrant. The appeal centred on the application of the new 2009 Framework Decision on retrial rights for those convicted of an extradition offence in their absence. The judgment will be of interest to extradition practitioners: Ernest-Francisc Bohm v Romanian Judicial Authority [2011] EWHC 2671(Admin).
Also in October 2011, Nicholas Hearn represented an individual facing extradition to the Russian Federation to face trial on charges of drugs importation. Nicholas successfully challenged an earlier decision of a District Judge to order extradition: Kyastutis Musikyavicius v The Government of the Russian Federation [2011] EWHC 1549 (Admin).
The High Court remitted the case to the Magistrates' court to decide again whether extradition was barred by the passage of time since the extradition offences or whether extradition posed a risk to the requested person's rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to Russian prison conditions. At the remitted hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, District Judge Quentin Purdy ruled that extradition was barred due to both the passage of time and the risk that the requested person would be at risk of mistreatment in breach of his Article 3 rights.
Reported cases:
Italy v Ayaz [2010] All ER (D) 34 (Oct) – Double Jeopardy in the extradition context.
Varga v Szolnok City Court [2011] All ER (D) 154 (Feb) – Discrimination against Roma.
Regulatory
Nicholas has represented defendants facing prosecution by a wide range of prosecuting authorities including the Department of Work and Pension, Media Protection Services Ltd (on behalf of BSKYB) and The Royal Mail.
Asset Forfeiture
Nicholas is regularly instructed in cash forfeiture proceedings in the Magistrates' court and recently appeared for the applicant in proceedings relating to the seizure of £200,000 suspected to be the proceeds of a "Carousel Fraud".
As part of his general criminal practice Nicholas also regularly appears in confiscation proceedings in the Crown Court.
Immigration
Nicholas appears at Asylum and Immigration Tribunals throughout the United Kingdom. He regularly represents immigration detainees in bail applications and appeals against refusals of asylum.
Other
Before his call to the Bar, Nicholas worked for white collar law firm, Kingsley Napley, where he assisted in the management and review of disclosure for the second defendant in a four month trial at Southwark Crown Court, arising out of the collapse of the "Independent Insurance Company" with a loss in the region of 1 billion (R v Bright & Others).
In 2005 Nicholas completed an internship at the Gulf Region Advocacy Centre (GRACE) in Houston, Texas. GRACE provides free legal representation to indigent individuals on death row in Texas. During his internship Nicholas liaised between office based lawyers and inmates on death row and assisted with research and investigation in support of appeals against the imposition of the death penalty.
Professional Memberships
Criminal Bar Association
Young Fraud Lawyers Association
Extradition Lawyers Association
Reprieve