Specialises in public and administrative law cases with civil liberties and human rights crossover. He has considerable experience of cases which arise in the context of prison and criminal law.
Matt, a multi-disciplinary practitioner, is ranked in both the UK Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. The former describes him as “unafraid to argue novel points of law”, whilst the latter refers to his oral and written submissions as “always excellent” and describes him as an “intense and passionate advocate” and a “very confident, approachable advocate” who is “excellent on his feet”.
Matt’s day-to-day practice is split between inquests and civil claims, usually involving actions against the police. He also frequently accepts instructions an public law cases focusing on judicial reviews on behalf of prisoners, bereaved families and cases with a civil liberties angle. He has acted as leading junior in the criminal and civil jurisdictions, including in the Court of Appeal. He has also appeared in a number of recent cases in the Supreme Court.
Matt runs a website, appealsbarrister.com, which provides plain English information about the appeals process and occasional blogs.
Matt accepts public access instructions from members of the public in cases across the range of his practice areas.
Matt frequently appears at inquests on behalf of bereaved families, usually in the context of deaths in custody where he draws upon his substantial experience of prison law and practice. He also has particular expertise in mental health cases and deaths in secure hospitals.
Notable recent cases include:
Yousef Makki: Matt is instructed on behalf of the family of Yousef, a Manchester Grammar School pupil who was killed in Hale Barnes on 2 March 2019
Emily Green: Matt was instructed on behalf of the family of Emily, aged 14, who died in November 2018, with the Coroner finding that there had been failures in a police investigation into a complaint of sexual assault that she had made some months before her death
Terence Storey: Matt was instructed on behalf of the family of Mr Storey, whom a jury found was failed by the authorities when he died at HMP Liverpool
David Baker: Matt acted on behalf of the family of David Baker, in which the Coroner held that Article 2 ECHR was engaged in a natural causes death in custody
Matt acts in civil claims against public authorities, most frequently the police. He is currently acting for Victor Nealon in his claim against the police resulting from ‘notorious miscarriage of justice’.
Matt accepts cases funded by legal aid as well as conditional fee arrangements in suitable cases.
Matt is involved in bringing claims under the Human Rights Act against a wide range of public authorities and has a particular interest in cases involving failures to investigate and prosecute.
Matt is instructed to act on behalf of claimants in cases across the public law spectrum, but in particular those with a human rights or civil liberties aspect. He has been involved in a number of recent and high profile cases, including at the highest level. Notable cases include:
Having started life at the Bar as a criminal practitioner, Matt continues to accept instructions in some criminal cases. He has a specialist criminal appeals practice and has been involved in a number of leading cases, including R v Hunter [2015] 2 Cr App R 9, the leading case on good character directions. He has acted in a number of Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referrals and judicial review challenges to CCRC decisions. He is instructed on behalf of miscarriage of justice victim Victor Nealon in his challenge to the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme, which is the subject of a pending application to the European Court on Human Rights.
Matt runs a website, appealsbarrister.com, which provides plain English information about the criminal appeals process and periodic blogs on topics of interest. In addition he is a semi-regular contributor to The Justice Gap.
Matt’s Privacy Notice may be viewed by clicking here.
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