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Crime
Our team of criminal defence solicitors in Cardiff have been supporting clients throughout South Wales for more than 30 years. During this time, we have built up an excellent reputation and are experienced in representing a wide variety of criminal cases.
Our team of crime solicitors are available 24 hours, 7 days a week, for all police station and court attendances. For attendance enquiries outside of our normal office hours, please call our emergency contact telephone number on 07974 919292.
We have a contract with the Legal Aid Agency. This allows us to provide further funding for legal advice and assistance if the outcome of your attendance results in a charge. Legal Aid funding is a source of government funding which can provide legal advice and/or representation by a lawyer for those who are unable to afford it.
When dealing with criminal law, legal aid can be granted for both Magistrates and Crown Court matters. The Legal Aid Agency will assess your eligibility. In order for Legal Aid funding to be granted, you must pass the following two tests:
This assesses the merits of each case and will consider things such as whether there is a risk of conviction and a person’s ability to understand court procedure.
Your personal circumstances will also be taken into account, so if it’s likely you might lose your livelihood or liberty, you may be eligible.
This establishes whether or not the applicant is eligible for Legal Aid based on their finances. Things which are taken into consideration by the Legal Aid Agency are: income, marital status, dependants and expenditure. If you are in receipt of certain benefits, you may automatically pass this test.
Please contact us for further information.
In order to process this request, we will contact you and ask that you provide us with documentation or information like National Insurance numbers, proof of income and other relevant information to support your application. If you are unsuccessful at obtaining full Legal Aid funding, you may be eligible for partial funding and be ordered to make a contribution towards your costs. If you are above the threshold, we offer very competitive private paying fees for all criminal matters.
For some matters, we are able to offer fixed fees. For further information contact our office today on 02920 458895.
Crowley & Co Solicitors are fully accredited to undertake cases that are deemed ‘Very High Cost Cases’ by the Legal Aid Agency.
We have a proven track record of handling large scale and complex cases. These cases include allegations of multi-million pound fraud against a government agency and a criminal conspiracy to defraud insurance companies out of millions of pounds from fictitious road traffic accidents under the label ‘crash for cash’.
We have systems in place that allow us to handle such cases in an efficient and organised manner. We can put forward the best defence possible for clients who are faced with prosecutions from the Serious Fraud Office and the Complex Case Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Did you know that any person being interviewed by the police is entitled to FREE legal advice and assistance? This is regardless of whether you attend on a voluntary basis or are held under police custody. If someone you know is in attendance or you require assistance yourself, contact our office immediately on 02920 458895 (Monday to Friday 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM) and a representative of the firm will attend and provide advice.
We provide initial advice over the telephone in the first instance, which will help until your legal representation has arrived. If the office is closed, contact our dedicated out of office mobile on 07974 919292.
Our team consists of three qualified police station solicitors and several accredited police station representatives. Each member of our team has a wealth of experience and assists with interviews throughout South Wales on a daily basis. We are happy to provide assistance whether you are an existing or new client. You can ask for us directly at the station.
The benefits of our representation are:
Once the interview has been conducted, we will provide you with further advice such as the likely outcome or next steps, bail conditions (if any) and procedure if charged.
The court in which your matter will be heard in will depend on the category and seriousness of the allegations. There are three categories in which offences are classified:
These are offences which are normally dealt with by the Magistrates Court. However, a matter may be committed to Crown Court for a number of reasons, including sentencing.
These are offences that can be heard in the Magistrates or Crown Court. If the Magistrates consider their sentencing powers to be adequate to deal with the offence, the accused will have to elect to have it dealt with summarily (in the Magistrates Court) or on indictment (in the Crown Court). This is known as mode of trial.
These are offences where the defendant has the right to trial by way of Jury at the Crown Court. We regularly represent and advise clients throughout South Wales in both Magistrates and Crown Court.
The Youth Court is a specialist Magistrates court who deal with young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years. Like the Magistrates Court, the defendant’s case will be heard in front of three Magistrates or a District Judge. Unlike the Magistrates Court, the Youth Court is less formal. The public are not permitted to attend hearings and often the youth will be addressed informally on a first name basis. If the defendant is under 16 years of age, parental or guardian supervision may be required.
There may be times where the seriousness of allegations made against a defendant will require the matter to be passed by the Crown Court. The matter may start at the Youth Court but will be passed to the Crown Court. Such matters include, rape, murder or GBH (grievous bodily harm).
The Youth Court have the power to pass a range of different sentences, which may include community orders and detention and training orders. Each case is judged on its own merits. Things the Youth Court must consider when passing sentence include:
There may be times where sentencing may be too harsh or lenient. Both the defence and the prosecution may be able to appeal the sentence. Our team are often very successful in appealing sentences. Whether we represented you in proceedings or not, we are able to assist with appealing sentences.
Our team is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, for all police station and court attendances. For queries in relation to attendances outside of office hours, our emergency telephone number is: 07974 919292.
We have vast experience in dealing with defendants in Magistrates and Crown Court trials throughout South Wales, for a wealth of offences such as:
Theft, Assault, Criminal Damage, Possession of drugs and or Offensive Weapons, Dangerous Dogs, Breach of Restraining Orders, Sexual Assault, Rape and Driving Offences to name but a few.
Below are some of the examples of the cases in which we have successfully represented defendants:
R v RT – acquittal secured of a student accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a bladed article.
R v Y (Cardiff Crown Court) 1983 – Defendant acquitted of murder.
R v Taylor (Cardiff Crown Court) 1994 – Defendant acquitted of murder on causation following cross examination of Professor Bernard Knight.
R v R (Cardiff Crown Court) 1996 – Defendant acquitted of rape after a full trial.
R v L (Court of Appeal) 1996 – Defendant acquitted of burglary on identification.
R v T (Cardiff Crown Court) 1998 – Defendant acquitted of murder.
R v R (Cardiff Crown Court) 2006/2007 – Defendant acquitted of conspiracy to sell drugs in a 35 handed conspiracy.
R v D (Cardiff Crown Court) 2008 – Defendant acquitted of attempted murder.
R v K (Cardiff Crown Court) 2008 – Proceeds of Crime Application successfully reduced from 4 million pounds to one million pounds.
R v H (Newport Crown Court) 2008 – Trademarks offence – Defendant received suspended sentence with subsequent confiscation stayed as an abuse of process.
R v Mbengo & Others (Court of Appeal) 2008 – Successful appeal of deportation orders.
R v I (Winchester Crown Court) 2010 – Defendant acquitted of Multimillion pound money laundering conspiracy arising from MTIC fraud.
R v G (Cardiff Crown Court) 2010/2011 – Defendant acquitted of multiple historical rapes and sexual assaults involving numerous familial complainants.
R v F (Cardiff Crown Court) 2012 – Defendant acquitted of conspiracy to misuse police computers.
C v Cardiff County Council (High Court) 2012 – Successful Judicial Review of Cardiff City Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy.
R v R (Cardiff Crown Court) 2012 – Defendant acquitted of causing death by dangerous driving.
R v G (Cardiff Crown Court) 2012 – Defendant acquitted of Rape after trial.
R v D (Cardiff Crown Court) 2014 – Defendant acquitted f of Producing Class B Drugs, Supply of Class B drugs and Possession of Class B drugs following a fully contested trial.
R v B (Newport Crown Court) 2015 Defendant successfully acquitted of sexual assault x 2 within minutes of the jury retiring to consider its verdict. The case involved careful scrutiny of CCTV footage which was presented to the Jury.
R v B (Newport Crown Court) 2016 Defendant acquitted after Trial for an allegation of sexual assault again after careful scrutiny of CCTV assisted the defendant in this case.
R v C (Cardiff Crown Court) 2016 The defendant was charged with a serious assault, the crown offered no evidence half way through the case.
R v K (Cardiff Crown Court) 2016 Successfully presented an appeal to the Crown Court following conviction in the Magistrates Court.
R V Ltd Company (Cardiff Crown Court) 2017 Defendants acquitted of money Laundering, Slavery and Trade Mark Offences. Obtained returns of £263,000.00 cash to company.
R V C & J (Cardiff Crown Court) 2017 Defendants acquitted of ABH following a fully contested trial.
R V P (Newport Crown Court) 2017 Defendant acquitted of sexual assault against a minor following a fully contested trial.
R V G (Cardiff Crown Court) 2018 Retired G P acquitted of historical rape, procuring an abortion. NEO on all 5 defendants.
R V H & others – Cardiff Crown Court 2019 – Successfully represented the Defendant who was the only one to be acquitted after trial in a large scale conspiracy to supply Class B drugs involving 16 other defendants brought by the Crown Prosecution Service Complex Case Unit team.
R V D & others – Newport C C 2019 – Defendant acquitted when 7 other co def convicted of murder / manslaughter.
R V ZM – Cardiff C C 2023 – Student rape acquitted.
R V DW – Cardiff C C 2023 – Def acquitted of multiple counts of coercive behaviour.
If you require the assistance of crime solicitors in Cardiff, give Crowley & Company Solicitors a call. We specialise in a range of criminal legal services and have a high success rate.
We offer 24/7 contact for all queries in relation to police attendances and out of office enquiries. Speak to one of our expert crime solicitors today to see how we can assist you.
