Oliver has a busy criminal practice, defending over the full range of offences. He regularly appears in both the Magistrates and Crown Court. He is known for his careful and detailed preparatory work on cases, which can produce lines of defence and cross-examination overlooked by others as well as penetrating cross examination. He has successfully argued abuse of process and dismissal applications and regularly succeeds on appeal to the Crown Court.

Here Oliver provides an essential update by outlining changes to PACE Codes of Practice that were updated in 2018 and 2019. This includes changes to the threshold of treatment of those considered to be “vulnerable,” how “vulnerability” can be identified, and the processes involved in dealing with vulnerable people in custody. He outlines potential problems which are essential for professionals to be aware of. He also outlines amendments that address how women should be treated in custody.

Key words/ topics

PACE Codes of Practice

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Vulnerable Persons

Appropriate Adults

Dignity of female detainees

Definition of mental disorder in MHA Code of Practice

Mental Health Act 1983

Policing and Crime Act (2017)

Voluntary Interviews

Sanitary Custody

Independent Custody Visiting Association

Recording devices

Location of interviews

Visual recording

Remote monitoring of interviews

More about Oliver Newman

Oliver is a common law practitioner with specialisms in fraud and property law. He is known for his forensic approach, ensuring that no detail is missed. He is frequently praised for his cross-examination which, built on careful preparation, regularly yields case winning answers.

Comfortable dealing with technicality, Oliver can often be found in the Crown Court fighting complex fraud and money laundering cases involving the analysis of hundreds of pages of bank statements, challenging forensic accountants and painstakingly pulling together details from across business records, emails, call logs and message chains. His cases have required him to master businesses as diverse as fashion purchasing, casino roulette, wine investing and property management. He is a CPS Grade 2 Prosecutor and on the specialist fraud panel.

Similarly, in his property law practice he has argued rights of way cases requiring the analysis of title deeds going back 100 years and careful consideration of the exact measurements on the ground, TOLATA cases involving drawing conclusions from hundreds of pages of bank statements and forfeiture cases requiring creative interpretation of the lease documents.

This cross-disciplinary approach means that Oliver is well equipped to deal with difficult cases which pull in different areas of law. A recent criminal case required him to advise on issues involving corporate law and share allocation, rights of way and interpretation of leases. It has also lead to him being frequently instructed to defend regulatory prosecutions brought by local authorities.

Oliver regularly appears in the family courts arguing matrimonial finance cases, where his experience in finances is a great asset, and matters relating to property such as occupation orders.

He has been direct access qualified for several years and his happy to accept instructions on this basis, frequently saving clients’ money and resolving matters at an early stage with careful detailed advice.

Oliver studied Philosophy, Politics at Brasenose College, Oxford, before doing his law conversion course at City University where he obtained a distinction. He was Called to the Bar in 2010 with the assistance of a Lord Denning’s Scholarship and a Hardwicke Scholarship from Lincoln’s Inn

(For more information, see https://www.goldsmithchambers.com/barristers/oliver-newman/)