News
MARTIN AND STRAIN ARE GLAD TO CONFIRM THE SUCCESFUL APPEAL FROM GWYNEDD YOUTH COURT [23/01/08]
The following is a copy of the client’s mother’s e-mail:
Just a note to write and thank you and your team, jeff. simon and the barrister Mr Roberts for the excellent work which resulted in *****’s appeal against his ABH charge being upheld. It has been such a stressful 12 months for us from when this incident occurred and only now do I have some of my faith restored in the british justice system and I can tell my son once again that, yes, if you tell the truth, and keep telling it, someone will believe you. I just wish I'd known about Martin & Strain when this all began.
Once again, thank you so much on behalf of **** and myself.
PRESS RELEASE [19/10/07]
FOLLOWING HER ACQUITTAL OF THE MURDER OF WILLIAM McAULEY ON THE 10TH APRIL 2007, WENDY ELLIS SAID:
On the 10th April 2007 there was a tragic end to what were years of domestic abuse and my attempts to salvage a home and a life and a family. My only wish is that others who suffer, as I have done for so long, do not persist in their attempts to salvage a relationship which is beyond repair and to seek the help and support within the wider society that is available rather than suffering in silence as I have done for far too long.
Can I also express my support for the principle of Welsh language juries hearing cases which are predominantly through the medium of the Welsh language. I found three days in the witness box an immensely traumatic experience and can only believe that, for people such as myself, being able to give direct evidence to the jury in a language which they understand can only assist juries in reaching their proper decisions and also avoiding the risk of mis-translation and loss of meaning which could ultimately, if things go wrong, lead to a lifetime lost in translation.
Can I thank
Firstly the Magistrates at my first Court hearing in Llangefni for having the courage of their convictions to grant me bail
The staff of The North Wales Probation Service who run the Ty Newydd Bail Hostel with such compassion and commitment
My legal team under the leadership of Elwen Evans QC
Finally, but most of all, my family and the community in Blaenau Ffestiniog who have been so hugely supportive over these nightmare months. I do not think that I could have survived this trial and the months leading up to it without the support and encouragement.
Finally, can I say that I now look forward to rebuilding my life and retreating into the privacy of my home with my family and to the opportunity of providing a safe stable and secure home environment for myself and my children which I have sought in vain for so many years.
PRESS RELEASE [05/05/06]
On the 5th May 2006, David Merfyn Griffith was acquitted of manslaughter following a seven day trial at Caernarfon Crown Court before His Honour Judge Walker KT.
Mr Griffith was originally charged with murdering James McFarlane Cook at the Blu Night Club on the 16th October 2006. The charge was reduced to one of manslaughter on the 19th November 2005 and the Trial being fixed for the 26th April 2006.
The subsequent enquiry involved the service and consideration of a large amount of material gathered by the North Wales Police in the course of their investigation. Two hundred and seventy eight people were present in the Night Club and over five hundred statements were taken by the North Wales Police.
Michael Strain, the solicitor representing Mr Griffith as part of the Defence team led by Michael Chambers QC and John Wyn Williams as Junior Counsel, said that it was a tragic incident which came about as a result of a very unlikely set of circumstances resulting in Mr Cook’s death. Following this incident, these two families will never be the same again. The Cook family have to bear their loss and Mr Griffith has to try to reconstruct his life following a traumatic six month period. The case itself involved dissemination of a large amount of work and he praised the whole defence team at the Pwllheli office including Gerallt Parry, Jeff Guile and Iola Roberts.
Increasingly, incidents such as these involve large scale resources being employed by the Police which in turn require substantial resources and manpower involved on behalf of the defence. The jury heard all the facts and reached the conclusion that Mr Griffith was innocent of the allegation and was free to return to Pwllheli without a stain on his character.
It is to be hoped that the tragic events of the 16th October will stand as a warning, in the main, to young people and people who are involved with late night disturbances to be aware that even a minor disagreement could end in tragedy and that drinking alcohol carries with it a responsibility both to the individuals drinking and to others who are out socialising on a weekend.
PRESS RELEASE [21/11/05]
Congratulations to Bethan Mair of Llangybi Young Farmers club for winning the chair at the Eryri area Young Farmers Eisteddfod. Martin and Strain have a sponsorship programme funding community events in the local area. Other recent beneficiaries are Eisteddfod Mynytho, Pwllheli football club and Pwllheli Sports club.
PRESS RELEASE [25/10/05] LSC AUDIT RESULT
Following an annual audit by the Legal Services Commission, Martin and Strain's Criminal department were granted a Category 1 listing .The LSC assess the quality of a firm 's legal aid work as Category 1,2, or 3 ,1 being the highest. The firm's files achieved compliance in excess of 90% as against the criteria laid out by the commission and as such came out in the highest category.
PRESS RELEASE [07/10/05]
The difficulties of estimating the amount of alcohol in an individual’s body at the time they were stopped driving was made apparent recently in a case at Pwllheli Magistrates’ Court. A local man from the Pwllheli area was stopped whilst driving his motor vehicle by the Police. He failed a roadside breath test. Having been taken to Caernarfon Custody he was placed on the line intoximater and gave a breath reading of 49 which was within the band whereby the Police are obliged to give a suspect the option of blood or urine sample. The suspect provided a blood sample, the sample being taken by the Custody Nurse. The sample taken was split into two. The Police retaining one and the suspect retaining the other. The suspect then went home. The following day, the driver took his sample to the Biochemistry Lab at Ysbyty Gwynedd to test his own sample and received a reading of 77 which was 3 milligrams below the legal limit of 80. It was much to his surprise that he subsequently received a summons from The North Wales Police due to the fact that the Police’s expert had found a reading of 85 which was 5 milligrams over the legal limit.
At the subsequent Trial at Pwllheli Magistrates’ Court the Prosecution expert from Chorley maintained the validity of their sample whilst the Defence expert was called from Ysbyty Gwynedd who explained the validity of their findings. In a very unusual case, two experts were clear about the validity of their own sample, one that the defendant was guilty of a Drink/Drive, the other showing him to be below the legal limit.
After a lengthy Trial the Court retired and on their return found the defendant not guilty of the offence, the Court being unable to choose between the two samples.
The advice following the case is clear. If an individual feels they are at or below the legal limit then the sample taken should be analysed by the Defence as soon as possible.
PRESS RELEASE [06/10/05]
Three men were acquitted by Pwllheli Magistrates’ Court on the 30 th September 2005 in respect of Disorderly Conduct contrary to Section 5 of The Public Order Act 1986. This is a type of case which clearly shows the dangers which can follow the service of a Fixed Penalty Notice by the Police.
An altercation took place at a kebab shop in Pwllheli in March of 2005 as a result of which three employees were served with Fixed Penalty Notices. The individuals served disputed that their conduct constituted a Section 5 Disorderly Conduct and refused to accept the Penalty Notices. They were subsequently summoned for the offence and the matter went to Trial at Pwllheli Magistrates’ Court.
After a brief retirement, the Court returned to find the defendants not guilty of the offence and indicated that they felt the defendants’ conduct was reasonable.
Michael Strain , of Martin & Strain Solicitors, Pwllheli, the defendants’ solicitor, said, “Contested Penalty Notices are rare. It is clear, in this instance, the Notices were issued inappropriately and the defendants were shown to have behaved within the law. There is clearly a danger with the increased use of Fixed Penalty Notices that people will be accepting criminal convictions for the sake of avoiding stressful and protracted court proceedings at the end of which they could prove their innocence.”
