Paul Canfield
Call: 2019
Paul Canfield
Master of Laws, University of Law, Birmingham (2017-2018)
Bar Professional Training Course, University of Law, Birmingham (2017-2018): VC
Graduate Diploma in Law, University of Law, London (2015-2017): Commendation
Master of Science, Security and Risk Management, University of Leicester (2014)
Legal Aid Number: 02HCX
Contact
T: 01274 722 560 / 01274 722560
Paul is a Grade 2 prosecutor and practices in crime.
He appears regularly in the Crown Court for both the prosecution and defence, and has recently appeared in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division, to represent a client in an Attorney General’s Reference in 2024.
Reputation
Expertise
Criminal
Crime Paul completed his pupillage with the Crown Prosecution Service in 2019, where he spent a period of secondment with the Attorney General’s Office reviewing unduly lenient sentences. Prior to that, he worked as a police officer for over a decade specialising in operations.In the past, Paul led research into the police response to gang-related violence and future security threats as part of his Master’s degree. The findings were later published by Springer Publishing. Paul also attended Harvard Law School where he studied the principles of negotiation, and the University of St Andrews where he undertook studies in terrorism theories and practice.
During his time studying for the Bar Professional Training Course at the University of Law he received awards that culminated in the highest mark in Plea in Mitigation and the Master of Laws prize for the pro bono element of his studies. Paul also volunteered with the Personal Support Unit at the Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre.
Paul’s prior involvement in police operations, coupled with his experience with the Crown Prosecution Service, not only make him an effective prosecutor but ensures that when defending he is able to bring an invaluable insight into the prosecution case. In addition, he has acquired the critical analytical skills required to effectively evaluate complex disclosure and procedure.
Notable Cases
R v R (2024): Paul was instructed to represent a client with learning difficulties in a four day trial that involved the pre-recorded evidence of a child complainant, where a series of sexual acts allegedly had been committed upon her by her brother. Paul was able to undermine the credibility of the prosecution’s case, resulting in acquittals for his client.
R v K (2024): Paul represented a client accused of a number of offences including rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, strangulation and coercive and controlling behaviour within a marital relationship. Preparing for trial involved an expert being instructed to review the client’s phone once it had been released by the police in order to undermine the credibility of the allegations. The client was acquitted on all nine counts.
R v R and R (2024): Secured acquittals for the second defendant following a trial that involved an allegation of administering cannabis or spice in order to rape the complainant.
R v B (2023): Paul represented a client accused of Witness Intimidation and other matters. Following a successful Application to Exclude the pre-recorded evidence of one witness under S78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and cross-examination of the remaining witness, after a half-time finding by the judge his lay client was acquitted of all allegations.
R v M (2023): Instructed by Mr Chowdhury from Highgate Solicitors, Paul represented a client who faced a seven count indictment covering historic sexual offences, which included three counts of rape, Paul was able to secure acquittals on four of the seven counts. Two acquittals were secured following a successful half-time submission that followed careful cross-examination of the complainant. The submission of no case to answer covered the relevant law at the time and the presumptions based on the age of the defendant when the allegations took place. Also, doli incapax was a live issue and properly placed before the court as a subsidiary argument which avoided the indictment being amended.
R v B (2023) - Paul successfully secures acquittals after trial for his client who faced two historic allegations of Engaging in Sexual Activity in the Presence of a Child.
R v N and P (2023): Paul secured convictions for producing cannabis after a five day trial involving two defendants. Both defendants were found in a cannabis farm with an estimated value of cannabis of up to £475,000.
R v I (2023): Paul successfully secured an acquittal for his client accused of rape following a half-time submission.
R v B (2023): Paul, having been instructed by Michelle Wood of Blackwells Solicitors secured an acquittal on 3 January 2023 for a 80 year old client that had been accused of strangling his neighbour after several inconsistencies with the prosecution’s case were highlighted.
R v N (2022): While represting a client accused of burglary, Paul raised several issues with potential breaches of Code D of PACE and that the enhanced images provided by the Prosecution further supported the defence expert’s findings, that his client hadn’t committed the offence. The Prosecution offered no evidence on day 2 of the trial.
R v M (2022): Client accused of Threatening Another with a Bladed Article where three witnesses had alleged that the client had threatened another person with a knife — Instructed by Alex White of Alastair Bateman Solicitors. Paul and those that instructed him were able to establish and follow lines of enquiry that the police had neglected to pursue, including further witnesses and CCTV evidence that hadn’t been seized. Once this undermining evidence was provided to the Crown no evidence was offered after review.
R v H (2022) : Successfully opposed a pre-trial hearsay application under section 116(2)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, resulting in the Crown offering no evidence on a single count of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm against the client’s ex-partner. The relevant circumstances of how the hearsay evidence had been adduced affected the fairness of the trial.
R v B (2022) : Successfully opposed a pre-trial hearsay application under section 116(2)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 by the Crown to adduce several pieces of hearsay evidence including disclosures, made to third-parties, captured on police Body Worn Cameras and within 999 calls. This resulted in the Crown offering no evidence on six counts alleging Assault and Making Threats to Kill against the client.
R v M (2022): A defendant had been charged with driving offences along with possession of a bladed article. Through robust cross-examination of the arresting officer and the use of expert evidence, Paul secured acquittals on the driving offences for the client.
R v Ajmal (2022): On an appeal against sentence of 29 weeks’ immediate imprisonment for Possession of a Bladed Article and multiple counts of drugs’ possession, Paul demonstrated to the appeal court that the sentence had been manifestly excessive. It was reduced to a 12-month Community Order with requirements.
R v Geddes (2021): Paul secured a conviction for Wounding with Intent against a defendant. This required numerous disclosure requests having to be addressed during the trial process after the defendant decided to represent himself. https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/crime/rastrick-thug-jailed-for-10-years-after-causing-life-threatening-injuries-to-woman-trapped-in-debt-3367321
R v Butt (2021): Prosecution junior (led by Stephen Wood QC) prosecuted the defendant for Murder and two matters of Attempted Wounding with Intent. The case involved numerous witnesses who all saw the events unfold as the defendant used a motor car to run over his victim. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-56860006
R v Gedge (2021): Conviction secured against a defendant who threatened to kill his uncle as he robbed him at knifepoint in his own home. https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/crime/violent-criminal-locked-up-for-ten-years-for-knifepoint-robbery-of-his-uncle-at-his-home-in-leeds-3453435
Clerks
