Criminal Defence

We pride ourselves in providing an excellent and professional service at all stages of a case involving criminal charges. We accept instructions on a privately paying basis.

We have in depth experience in advising clients facing an interview at the police station. Legal representation at the police station at the earliest possible opportunity can affect the outcome of any pending charge and trial.

If you or someone you know is arrested, it is often critical that legal advice is sought immediately. Our aim is to respond to every call in no more than 15 minutes. Within that time, we will place one of our representatives at your service. Whether you are being held in respect of a terrorist incident or a road traffic matter, our dedication to your case will be of the same high standard.

Magistrates’ Courts

Our lawyers appear in Courts across London everyday. Often they will be following through their client’s case from initial representation at the police station.

Crown Court

Our criminal defence team provides a powerful presence in the London Courts. When a client faces a criminal trial at the Crown Court, we are well placed with our Higher Rights team to provide the best representation.

We have been involved in cutting edge cases, providing clients with the best representation available. If there is a defence to a crime, we will fight tooth and nail to ensure our clients' rights are advanced. No matter what stage of case has been reached and no matter what level of case is being considered, our team is trained and directed towards achieving the most successful result for the client. The experience provided by our Higher Rights Advocates puts us in a very privileged position when compared with other law firms.

Appeals

We regularly advise and appear in the Appeal Courts and our Higher Rights Advocates represent clients on appeal.

Typical cases

We have defended clients in a wide variety of cases. Their confidentiality is paramount . A brief description of the types of cases we handle will show that we can manage matters from the most basic to the most complex.

Terrorism: we represented hijack terrorists before 9/11 and individuals held under the new Terrorism Act post 9/11.

Murder, attempted murder and manslaughter: we have represented clients on all these charges and some of our Higher Rights Advocates have acted as junior counsel to leading Queen’s Counsel. Even in the highest profile cases, we do not make comments or give interviews to the press.

Fraud: we benefit from the experience of our senior lawyers who also specialise in civil law, as these cases often require an in-depth knowledge of commercial law and business. Our Higher Rights Advocates have acted as Junior Counsel to leading Queen’s Counsel . We have been instructed in cases involving the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and further we regularly deal with prosecuting authorities such as the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise (now known as Revenue & Customs).

We also specialise in confiscation proceedings and High Court restraint orders arising out of potential money laundering and fraud charges. Our civil expertise in the High Court is an invaluable asset in matters where aspects of both crime and civil law are considered and required.

Road Traffic Offences:

The law relating to road traffic offences is both vast and complicated and can range from being sent a speeding ticket to more serious offences of Driving with Excess Alcohol, Dangerous Driving, and even Causing Death by Dangerous Driving. Statistics show that, as a driver in today’s climate, you are likely at some stage in your life to face prosecution relating to the use of your motor vehicle. Constanti Shah specialise in road traffic offences and have done so for a number of years.

Should you find yourself facing such prosecution, please contact us so that we can advise and represent you appropriately.

Publicly funded representation (legal aid) is not generally available to those prosecuted for road traffic offences such as Speeding, Driving Without Insurance, Driving Without Due Care and Attention (Careless Driving) and matters of Driving with Excess Alcohol, where your liberty is not at stake, and Constanti Shah undertake such work on a private basis. Depending on the nature of your case and other factors, we may charge either a fixed fee or at an hourly rate. As general guidance, we would normally charge £300 plus VAT for one appearance at a Magistrates’ Court.

For more serious Road Traffic Act matters, such as offences involving driving whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol, where your liberty is at stake, and Causing Death by Dangerous Driving, the likelihood at that stage is that you would be granted an application for publicly funded representation.

For a general overview of penalty points and risk of disqualification, please see the chart below:

Offence	Mode of Prosecution	Punishment	Disqualification	Endorsement	Penalty Points
Careless and inconsiderate driving	Magistrates’ Court (summary)	Level 4 fine on the standard scale	Discretionary	Obligatory	3 - 9
Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence	Summary	Level 3 fine on the standard scale	Discretionary where the offender’s driving would not have been in accordance with any licence that could have been granted to him	Obligatory in the case mentioned in the column on disqualification	3 – 6
Causing or permitting a person to drive otherwise than in accordance with a licence	Summary	Level 3 fine on the standard scale
Driving whilst disqualified	Summary	Six months imprisonment or level 5 fine or both	Discretionary	Obligatory	6
Using a motor vehicle while uninsured or unsecured against third party risks	Summary	Level 5 fine	Discretionary	Obligatory	6 – 8
Failing to stop after an accident and give particulars or report the accident	Summary	Six months imprisonment or level 5 fine or both	Discretionary	Obligatory	5 – 10
Failure of person keeping vehicle and others to give police information as to identity of driver	Summary	Level 3 fine	Discretionary in certain circumstances	Obligatory in certain circumstances	3
Dangerous driving	(a) Summary (b) On indictment (Crown Court)	(a) Six months imprisonment or the statutory maximum or both (b) Two years or a fine or both	Obligatory	Obligatory	3 – 11
Causing death by dangerous driving	Triable only in Crown Court	14 years imprisonment (maximum) and/or a fine if committed after 27 February 2004	Obligatory unless “special reasons”	Obligatory unless “special reasons”	3 – 11
Causing death by careless driving when under influence of drink or drugs	Triable only in Crown Court	14 years imprisonment (maximum) or a fine or both	Obligatory	Obligatory	3 – 11
Driving or attempting to drive when unfit to drive through drink or drugs	Summary	Six months imprisonment or level 5 fine or both	Obligatory	Obligatory	3 – 11
Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle when unfit to drive through drink or drugs	Summary	Three months imprisonment or level 4 fine or both	Discretionary	Obligatory	10
Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine	Summary	Six months or level 5 fine or both	Obligatory	Obligatory	3 – 11
Being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine	Summary	Three months or level 4 fine or both	Discretionary	Obligatory	10
Failing to provide a specimen for analysis or laboratory test	Summary	(a) Where the specimen was required to find ability to drive, then six months imprisonment or level 5 fine or both (b) In any other case three months imprisonment or level 4 fine or both	(a) Obligatory in case mentioned in (a) under Punishment (b) Discretionary in any other case	Obligatory	3 – 11 in case mentioned in column (a) under Punishment
Motor racing and speed trials on public roads	Summary	Level 4 fine	Obligatory	Obligatory	3 – 11
All speeding offences	Summary	Level 3 fine	Discretionary unless reach 12 points	Obligatory	3 – 6 (3 if you are offered a fixed penalty)

Levels of fines on the Standard Scale:

Level on the Scale	Maximum Fine
1	£200
2	£500
3	£1,000
4	£2,500
5	£5,000

Any amount of fine that is imposed by a Court must be balanced by the resources available to the offender. Courts like most fines to be capable of being paid within one year.

Disqualification from Driving:

There are generally two main scenarios where you may be disqualified from driving and where Constanti Shah can assist you in avoiding such disqualification:-

Disqualification for “totting up”: if you accumulate 12 or more penalty points (e.g. from speeding offences) the Court is obliged to disqualify you from driving for at least six months, unless it finds that there are mitigating circumstances (exceptional hardship) which would allow it to avoid imposing a disqualification. It is for you to satisfy the Court that such circumstances exist and we can help you with this.

Special Reasons

Obligatory disqualification or endorsement can only be avoided for certain offences (e.g. driving with excess alcohol) where a Court finds “special reasons” for doing so. If a Court finds special reasons applicable in your case, then it may reduce your period of disqualification or you may avoid disqualification altogether.

A special reason must be “special to the facts that constitute the offence”.

Constanti Shah will argue special reasons on your behalf, so that you are not disqualified from driving.