Education
2006 BVC, BPP Law School, London
2004 CPE, City University, London
2002 University of Nottingham / UCM Madrid BSc Physics with Spanish (First)
Practice
All areas of criminal defence including Serious Violence, Sex Offences, Dishonesty and Drug Offences; Extradition; International Criminal Law; Public and Administrative Law; Human Rights and Prison Law.
Sam Blom-Cooper is associated with the following areas of expertise:
Crime
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance
Human Rights Law
International Criminal Law
Prison law
Cases
International Criminal Law/Extradition
- Brown et al. v Government of the Republic of Rwanda [2009] EWHC 770 (Admin) – Led Junior in the High Court on behalf of one of four persons requested for extradition to Rwanda to face charges of genocide. Order for extradition successfully overturned on Art 6 grounds.
- Government of Poland v Brandys – Right to respect for family and private life relied on in the context of ‘trivial’ extradition offences.
Crime
- R v Powell – Counsel for the alleged ringleader during a violent knifepoint robbery in the home. Defendant found not guilty.
- R v Sagoo - Counsel for defendant charged with inflicting GBH at the Central Criminal Court. Defendant found not guilty after trial.
- R v Muse-Hashi – Counsel for the alleged knifeman in a gang street robbery.
- R v Breakwell – Counsel for defendant accused of series of serious assaults all arising out of a public order incident. Defendant found not guilty of all four assaults.
- R v Boyraz – Counsel for Kebab-shop owner acquitted of sustained multi-handed assault on a customer.
- R v Lamban - Counsel for defendant charged with violent sexual assault on a train passenger. Defendant found not guilty after trial.
- R v Stewart – Importation of 3kg of cocaine. Case dismissed following contested committal proceedings in the Magistrates' Court.
Court of Appeal Cases
- R v Rhodes [2010] EWCA Crim 500 - Successfully obtained leave to appeal against sentence following refusal by the single judge for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply. Sentence of 4 1/2 years reduced to 3 years.
- R v Davis [2010] EWCA Crim 594 - Successfully argued on appeal against sentence that a term of 12 months' imprisonment for Blackmail should have been suspended. Sentence of 9 months suspended for 12 months with supervision requirement imposed
Human Rights Work/Associated work
Kurdish Human Rights Project:
- Kaya v Republic of Turkey – Petitioned the ECtHR on Art 10 grounds on behalf of a Turkish citizen who was convicted for using the word “esteemed” in reference to the convicted PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan.
- Training on Rights of the Child in International Law (Diyarbakir, Turkey) – Conducted training sessions for members of the Diyarbakir Bar Association on the rights of the child in international law and their enforcement.
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre
- Elikashvili & Lomidze v Russia – Petitioned the ECtHR on behalf of two applicants resulting in the serious injury and death of Georgian citizens during Russian military bombings.
Death Penalty
- Between 2002-07, practiced as an investigator and mitigation specialist on behalf of persons facing the death penalty in the US, focusing on the cases of Mexican nationals in Texas.
- Conducted trainings for consular officials on behalf of Mexico in relation to death penalty litigation and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
- Regularly conduct death penalty trainings on behalf of Reprieve.
Public and Administrative Law
- R (Electoral Commission) v City of Westminster Magistrates Court & Anor [2009] EWCA Civ 1078 – Led Junior in relation to the forfeiture of donations. Donor not found to be "permissible donor" within Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
Prison Law
- Governor of HMP Bullingdon v Brar – Prison Adjudication involving the smuggling of prohibited items into a prison.
Articles & Publications
Lethal Indifference: Tinkering with the machinery of death – Review of the constitutionality of lethal injection - Middle Templar – Easter 2008, Issue 44
Associated Work
Professional Memberships
- Reprieve
- Human Rights Lawyers’ Association
- Extradition Lawyers’ Association
Languages
- Fluent in Spanish
- Competent in French and Farsi
Contact
T. 020 7067 1500
020 7067 1500 |
020 7067 1507|