Our clients are made up of ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary and often harrowing situations. The cases outlined below represent a cross section of our experience. The first section gives an outline of the work we have done within the criminal courts; further down the page you will find details of notable cases that we have dealt within the family courts.

Whatever your circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your legal situation.

SUCCESSES IN THE CRIMINAL COURTS

WILLIAM BACHE & CO. has successfully defended CK, 31, who was accused of losing his temper and violently assaulting his step-daughter, 19-month-old A C. At Basildon Crown Court on 14th January 2008 the jury, along with K and A's family, broke down and wept as the verdict was read out.

This is yet another example of a parent or carer facing trial on allegations of "baby shaking" and where expert opinion on what is known as "Shaken Baby Syndrome" has proved controversial, leaving juries with the difficult task of assessing highly complex medical data.

We are delighted to have been able to help Mr. K and the C family and are heartened that members of an English Jury are able to recognise the pitfalls which are all too numerous in prosecutions of this nature.

Judge Philip Clegg thanked the jury for their efforts during the five week trial and told them: "This has been an extremely difficult case. I have been in law for 40-years and I have seldom come across a case as difficult as this one. I know perfectly well it has been a great strain on you and I know the great care and attention you have paid to this case."

Andrew Scott, junior defence barrister, spoke on behalf of the family and said: "There are no winners today. There is no celebration. At the heart of this case is the death of a child who was loved and cherished by the whole family and her step father".

A Lt. Colonel in the Army Air Corps

In April 1998 following a nine day trial, our client was found not guilty of charges of scandalous conduct and prejudicing military discipline following his relationship with a female Naval Lieutenant Commander which commenced when they were working together for the Ministry of Defence in the office of the Chief of Defence Staff.

Cpls. MH and KH

Our above clients, together with three other accused, were instructors at the Army Training Centre at Winchester. Following allegations of abuse from recruits going through training, the instructors faced a total of 17 charges of ill-treatment. All five accused were found not guilty of all charges.

Angela Cannings:

A Salisbury mother accused of murdering two of her infant children by smothering. Convicted in April 2002 and released by the Court of Appeal in December 2003.

Angela gave birth to four children, three of whom died. The first child to die was Gemma who was lost to cot death at the age of 3 months. It was at all times accepted that this was a cot death. Jason was then born and died at the age of 7 weeks. A daughter was then born some years later and today is a lively 11 year old. Matthew was the last baby to die at the age of 4 months and it was following his death that the finger of suspicion was pointed. The Court of Appeal was given new evidence which explained that there may have been a genetic weakness in Angela's family which accounted for the deaths of the children. Angela's story is well known from the documentary, drama and news interviews about her over the years.

JW:

Father accused of murder of his infant son by shaking. Found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and convicted in March 2004. He has served his sentence but is currently mounting an appeal to clear his name.

DL:

Father accused of murder of his infant daughter by shaking. Not guilty finding ordered by the Judge following a submission of no case to answer in April 2004.

Marianne Williams:

Mother accused of murdering her infant son by poisoning with salt. Baby Joshua had been born premature with many medical problems. He had difficulty feeding and had to be fed through a gastrostomy which is a tube going directly into the stomach. His feeds contained sodium (salt) as his body had difficulty retaining sodium levels. He had spent much of his short life going in and out of hospital and on his last visit to hospital he was found to have extremely high levels of sodium in his blood.

The prosecution accused Marianne of poisoning Joshua saying that she was unable to cope with him, whereas the defence were able to establish that Joshua died as a result of his medical problems coupled with his treatment. She was acquitted by a jury in October 2006.

I and A G:

I and A G were convicted in 2004 of the manslaughter of their foster son by poisoning with salt. They were released on appeal in March 2006 following the submission of new evidence.

The couple faced a retrial on manslaughter charges to include salt poisoning and were acquitted by the jury in March 2007.

The Gs were prospective adoptive parents of CB and his two siblings. C died at the age of three and a half years from high levels of sodium in his blood.

The couple were portrayed to be wealthy and materialistic and were accused of forcing C to eat salt as a punishment because he was behaving badly. During a seven week trial in Nottingham Crown Court the defence were able to cast grave doubt on the prosecution's case by arguing that C may have suffered from a malfunction in the hypothalamus in the brain which regulated sodium levels in the body together with a defect in his thirst mechanism.

This was another classic case of medical experts in dispute where the jury had to decipher complex evidence and come to a decision.

Cpl. D P

Cpl. P faced charges, with others, of ill-treatment of Iraqi civilians whilst they were being held in a detention centre in Basra. Unfortunately one of the civilians (Baha Mousa) died while being held in Detention and Cpl. P was accused of his manslaughter.

In February 2007 Cpl. P was found not guilty of manslaughter following a submission of no case to answer.

SUCCESSES IN THE FAMILY COURTS

Due to the confidential nature of Children Act proceedings we are unable to provide names of cases or full details. The below anonymised notable cases provide a snapshot of the work we do in the family department. Where a case has been reported in the Law Reports the citation is given.

Re M (2011)

Care proceedings end successfully with our client, the mother, and her children remaining together after concerns of emotional harm are quashed.

Re A (2011)

Care proceedings following firm allegations of non-accidental injury (fracture) by the treating doctor and local authority. The applications for care orders were withdrawn and all supervision of our client, the mother, was stopped after it was established, though expert evidence, that a witnessed accident was the obvious cause of the fracture.

Re K (2011)

Complex and lengthy care proceedings conclude with the step-father being able to return home with the mother and child following serious findings of non-accidental injury.

Re T (2011)

After two years of care proceedings a young child has been returned to his parents care and community based assessment ordered with a view to full reunification after "massive bureaucratic incompetence" was found against the Local Authority.

Re G (2011)

A full High Court re-trial (to last 8 weeks) is ordered in relation to findings of non-accidental injury (shaking) and failure to protect after legal argument and new evidence is considered.

Re S (2011)

Care proceedings following allegations of emotional harm. Our client, the mother, secured the return of her baby after a couple of months in local authority care after the local authority conceded there was no immediate risk of harm; community based assessment to follow.

Re R (2011)

Care proceedings following allegations of non-accidental injury (shaking). We were able to establish the timing of the infant's collapse and exclude our client, the mother, from the pool of perpetrators. The infant was rehabilitated back to her care following full exoneration in relation to the injuries and any failure to protect.

Re R (2011)

Care proceedings involving allegations of shaken baby syndrome. Our client, the father, was fully exonerated at a fact finding hearing in which it was established that the child had become unconscious following an accidental fall and was then subject to a resuscitative shake.

Re K (2011)

We represented a 15 year old child in protracted residence and contact proceedings following s successful application to allow him separate representation (from that provided by the Children's Guardian). In line with his wishes, much more extensive contact was achieved.

Re H (2011)

We represented the mother in care proceedings concerning fractures to an infant. The local authority withdrew their applications for care orders and the family was reunited after it was established that the father had caused the injuries during a witnessed accident in which too much pressure was inadvertently applied.

Re R (2010)

Care proceedings which concluded with the local authority withdrawing their application for a care order (having alleged that the parents violently shook their child) after expert evidence was produced confirming that an accident witnessed by mother was the cause of the injuries.

Re C and D (Children) [2010] EWHC 3714 (Fam)

We represented the mother within care proceedings. This judgment is from the fact finding hearing which sought to establish whether six week old twin girls had suffered non-accidental injuries. The local authority failed to satisfy the court on the balance of probabilities that any of the injuries were non-accidental and subsequently their applications for care orders were dismissed. The court considered the discharge of the burden of proof, unreliable expert evidence, the need for good quality photographs and for skilled representation in care proceedings.

Re S (2010)

Care proceedings following allegations of non-accidental injury. It was alleged the parents had caused serious fractures to the long bones. Both parents were fully exonerated following vital expert evidence presented to the court that there were in fact no fractures at all but a normal periosteal reaction.

Re A (2010)

We represented an aunt within prolonged and complex care proceedings relating to non-accidental injury and the death of an infant. Our client wishes to establish contact with the children; this was successfully obtained.

Re G (2010)

Care proceedings concluding with the children successfully rehabilitated home following allegations of shaken baby syndrome. After extensive investigations by way of expert instruction, the local authority withdrew their applications for care orders at the start of the fact finding hearing. A key issue here was hydrocephalus and other significant health problems due to extreme prematurity.

Re M (2010)

Care proceedings following allegations that the mother's dependency on methadone was causing harm to the children. The children remained at home and the local authority eventually withdrew their applications for care orders when it was established that no harm that the children were in fact suffering could be identified, especially as our client, the father, was drug free and was their primary carer.

O-M (Children) [2009] EWCA Civ 1405

This judgment is from the Court of Appeal following an application to appeal the trial Judge's refusal to allow expert instruction in the field of genetics. Expert instruction was deemed necessary due to an older sibling suffering from a genetic disorder causing fractures with minimal trauma. The appeal was dismissed but the Court of Appeal gave directions to enable the instruction of a geneticist.

Re H (2009)

Lengthy care proceedings involving allegations of 'Factitious or Induced Illness' (previously known as Munchausen's). The baby had been removed at birth but was able to return home to his parent's care once it was established that our client, the mother, did not pose a significant risk to him.

Re S (2009)

Care proceedings following allegations of shaken baby syndrome. Proceedings concluded after a long and complex fact finding hearing in which we were able to produce expert medical evidence that clearly demonstrated there was no non-accidental injury. The local authority could not establish threshold and withdrew their applications for care orders.

Re T (2009)

Care proceedings following the death of an infant. Evidence was gathered to show that our client, the mother, was not responsible for the death and after father admitted to harming the child during a careful cross-examination by our Leading Counsel, mother successfully secured the return of her other two children.

Re H (2009)

Care proceedings following allegations of sexual abuse against father and failure to protect against mother. We successfully secured the children's return to our client, the mother.

Re L (2009)

Care proceedings following allegations of shaken baby syndrome. Despite findings being made that the father shook the child following a failed attempt at resuscitation, the children were successfully rehabilitated to both parents' care with our client (the mother) acting as a safeguard.

Re M (2009)

Care proceedings where 4 out of 6 children were able to return to their mother's care following serious concerns of emotional abuse and neglect.

Re D (2009)

Care proceedings where the children were successfully rehabilitated home following allegations of non-accidental injury by way of shaking. We were able to demonstrate, using expert medical evidence, that the child suffered from a rare blood clotting disorder and was therefore susceptible to bleed following very minor trauma.

Re B (2009)

Care proceedings involving allegations of emotional harm based on our client (the mother) having had children removed in the past due to domestic violence concerns and failure to prioritise the children's needs. Following mother's progress in therapy and the quality of her relationship with the new baby, he was successfully rehabilitated to her care. We also secured a residence order in respect of one of mother's older children who had previously been removed from her care.

Re J (2008)

Care proceedings following allegations of non-accidental injury (fractures). The children were successfully rehabilitated back to their parents care when the local authority failed to establish threshold. One of the key pieces of evidence here was the diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta (a form of brittle bone disease).

Re F (2008)

Care proceedings following allegations of emotional harm based on a history of our client (the mother) having had children permanently removed in the past. Having made much progress, our client secured the return of her new born baby.

Re C (2008)

Care proceedings following allegations that the mother had killed another child. We successfully secured a residence order in favour of our client (the father) in respect of his daughter.

Lancashire County Council v D & E [2008] EWHC 832 (Fam)

This is a Judgment from a fact finding hearing relating to possible non-accidental injuries (shaking). The judge found that the parents were not responsible for the injuries and subsequently the children were immediately returned to their parent's care.

Re H (2008)

Care proceedings in which the children were successfully rehabilitated to our client (mother) following allegations of non-accidental injury.