Latest News
T.I.C.Concurrent Sentence
10th May 2011
The firm recently represented a 20 year old defendant who was serving a custodial sentence for drugs offences and during his time in custody he had availed himself of Operation Clean Slate without any legal advice which resulted in him being charged with 4 burglaries and having a further 10 taken into consideration. The burglaries were a mixture of dwelling and commercial but all involved high value electrical items and various other items which meant that a significant consecutive sentence was a very real possibility; this would have had a major impact on the young client who was keen to transfer to open conditions and had recently been accepted at such an establishment pending the outcome of these matters. Due to the efforts of the team at Nikolich & Carter and instructed Counsel we were able to obtain very positive reports in respect of the defendant which when presented to the sentencing Judge at Manchester Crown Court persuaded him to impose a concurrent sentence which meant that the young man will not spend any additional time in custody and is still eligible for his transfer to open conditions.
£175,000 Cocaine Case Dropped
15th March 2011
Nikolich & Carter recently represented a Nigerian national charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs namely cocaine following police raids at 2 addresses during which in excess of £170,000 worth of drugs were recovered. Gareth represented the defendant from the police station through the Magistrates Court and successfully persuaded the Courts to allow the defendant to have bail throughout despite the fact that 3 co-defendants charged with similar offences were refused bail. When the matter was committed to the Crown Court, Jaime Hamilton of 9 St John Street was instructed as Counsel and the matter was due for trial in August 2011; Nikolich & Carter had fully prepared the case and were ready to proceed on the date of trial having raised numerous issues with the CPS prior to the trial date as to whether or not they should be proceeding with the case against this defendant. Further to continuing representations to the Crown the matter was not ultimatley proceeded with against our client and he was free to leave the Court with his reputation in tact.
Partnership
1st March 2011
Gareth Martin was recently invited to become a partner with Nikolich & Carter and duly accepted. Gareth started with the firm as a trainee and since qualifying he has continued to develop his skills in criminal law with a particular passion for police station and Magistrates′ Court work whilst also maintaining a keen interest in the areas of fraud and White Collar crime. Gareth will continue in his role as head of the police station and Magistrates′ Court department.
Youth Court
24th September 2010
Gareth Martin successfully represented a 16 year old male in relation to 2 counts of robbery and 3 counts of attempted robbery. The case was particularly complex due to issues over identification which meant that the standard video identification procedure (VIPER) was not appropriate; when alternatives were offered Gareth raised legitimate concerns about them in order to ensure that the defendant was not prejudiced. As a result no identification procedure was conducted before the trial and the CPS sought to rely on this to show that the defendant could be the only person who could possibly have committed these offences. The 5 victims in the case were all afforded special measures and as such were allowed to give their evidence via live video link, however when Gareth cross examined each of them at length he was able to identify inconsistencies in their evidence. In addition to these witnesses the Crown relied on evidence from the investigating officer and a student support officer from the school where the defendant and 2 of the victims went both of whom were initially adamant that the defendant could be the only person responsible for the crime, however, under cross examination both conceded that it was possible that someone else could have committed the offences. As a result of Mr. Martin′s cross examination and his closing speech which highlighted not only the inconsistencies but also the lack of any credible identification evidence the Magistrates retired for over 2 hours before finding the defendant not guilty of the offences.
Nikolich and Carter have now moved to newly refurbished offices
3rd February 2010
Nikolich and Carter have now moved to newly refurbished offices in Sunlight House in the heart of Manchester offering an easily accessible location for their clients and improved facilities.