“We seek to try to persuade others to train and undertake this work, and convince those who have left to return to do this work.
We will do all that we can to continue to provide excellence. In return we seek a fee structure which recognises that these cases matter.”
As 1 with Chair Tana Adkin KC
Our cadre of specialist, highly qualified, professionally trained criminal barristers who specialise in the complex
area of rape and serious sexual offence cases, do so because our duty is to conduct fair trials for all, prosecuting and
defending cases as they land, without fear or favour so that justice can be done and is seen to be done.
#CriminalJusticeMatters, so any government must fund RASSO prosecutors and defence counsel.
“After a lengthy trial at Nottingham Crown Court, a jury has just convicted a man of raping his partners, controlling
and coercive behaviour, blackmail and sexual abuse of a child.
His offending spanned a period of 20 years. It was my privilege to present the evidence to prosecute this case which required
the collective skill and legal knowledge of four counsel – two to prosecute and two to defend.
Preparation included over 100 hours of watching videos, distilling 20,000 abusive messages, ss 41 and 28, bad
character, cross-admissibility, special measures, false assumptions and consideration of pre-2003 and post-2004 law.
Four separate women – who felt that no one would believe them – and a child with the same mindset were heard and validated.
This hugely important work, allowing complainants who allege violence against them which includes rape and serious sexual offences (
RASSO) to have their cases heard in court is said to be a priority, whichever political party is in power.
RASSO cases present unique challenges and require significant skills in advocacy and legal knowledge in this ever-changing legal landscape.
Most RASSO cases last for less than a fortnight so there is a relentless workload of running one case while preparing for
the next and the next. The trauma suffered by those who have been raped and those who are falsely accused of rape lasts a lifetime.
It impacts on us too. The reward of allowing a victim to be heard or allowing a person falsely accused to return to their life and their family is a reason to continue but resentment builds up when the renumeration for this work is far less than for, for example, a £31,000 fraud.
Attempts to redress the balance have failed. We are told that there is no money. Resentment builds up when these complex cases are not fixed when counsel are available and when there is no flexibility if the trial before overruns and we need a case to go back a day.
The pre-trial work in a RASSO case takes days. It is not renumerated. The number of barristers willing to continue this vital work is reducing
day by day. The initiative by the Senior Presiding Judge to bring forward rape cases that have been awaiting trial for year is commendable.
If we cannot retain and recruit many more counsel to conduct this specialist work then those accused and their accusers will wait longer for cases to be heard. Never has there been a more urgent time for the Criminal Bar Association to launch a national training programme.
The law in respect of RASSO cases is ever-changing and runs alongside practice directions, case law, new medical and forensic methodologies and new learning in respect of trauma. The rate of rape conviction post-charge has remained high for over a decade at approaching 70%.
However, concerns remain about rates – mistakenly using numbers of allegations reported to police rather than a justice measure
based on cases sufficient to charge has led to academic research on juror misconceptions and criticisms of questioning methods used by criminal advocates.
All the lessons learnt to maintain public confidence and continue with the delivery of fair trials must be absorbed and used by practitioners who are already
at breaking point.”
Source: http://@TheCriminalBar
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