Oliver Jarvis
Practice:
Oliver has an exclusively criminal defence practice. His areas of specialism include:
* Murder
* Organised crime involving international drugs conspiracies, money
laundering and fraud
* Fatal road traffic offences - as recommended by the 'Legal 500'
Fraud and Serious Crime
Oliver is a defence specialist and has acted as lead counsel in many trials. Oliver defends throughout England and Wales in the most serious and often high-profile prosecutions. He has been involved in numerous murder cases, including acting for an appellant in the Court of Appeal guideline murder case of R v Sullivan, Gibbs and Elener [2005] 1 Cr App R 3.
Oliver’s knowledge of information technology assists him particularly in fraud cases which demand the management of vast amounts of material. This enables him to have a pro-active approach to crucial issues such as non-disclosure and abuse of process. He has acted as lead counsel in numerous large scale frauds.
Some recent notable cases include:
R v G - Liverpool Crown Court. The deceased was painted white by the defendants and then murdered by the insertion of a mop handle.
R v B - Chester Crown Court. Torture Murder.
R v Gerrard - Chester Crown Court. Cutthroat defence involving the murder of the defendant's ex-partner.
R v Thompson & others - Oliver was leading Junior in this case. This was a million pound conspiracy to defraud elderly people throughout the UK. The case against Thompson was eventually dropped at trial.
R v Chen - This involved an international fraud, co-ordinated from Portugal in which thousands of elderly home owners were persuaded to part with vast sums for needless damp proof courses. Chen’s involvement was captured on the BBC programme “Rogue Traders”. The confiscation proceedings in the Court of Appeal were successfully appealed, setting a new precedent for the assessment of pension funds. Oliver was the leading junior.
A v Darshan Kaur - Leeds Crown Court. As leading junior Oliver was the only counsel to secure an acquittal in a multi-million pound money laundering case stemming from the activities of a drugs baron called Malik. The case was so vast that the number of defendants had to be split into three trials. The criminal investigation and trial process lasted for five years.
R v S - Manchester Crown Court. International cocaine conspiracy involving an agreement to import 200 kilos from the Caribbean.
R v A - Bradford Crown Court. The defendant was acquitted following a defence application to dismiss. The prosecution alleged that the defendant was part of a conspiracy to flood the Bradford area with heroin, brought up from London.
R v L - The defendant was allegedly part of an organised crime group, distributing Class A drugs throughout the North of England. Following a successful application to dismiss, the prosecution sought a Voluntary Bill, which the defence successfully opposed.
R v T - A well known television soap star received a non custodial sentence, following an admission that he broke someone's jaw in an unprovoked attack.
Driving Offences and Vehicle Crime
Oliver has a particular specialism in defending fatal road traffic offences and has become a leader in this field. He has defended numerous high profile cases throughout the country. Oliver has developed an in depth understanding of all forrms of expert evidence in this area including collision investigation, medical defences and tachograph analysis. He has also defended in many vehicle related frauds.
Below are some notable driving cases which Oliver defended:
R v Dyer - The defendant was cleared by a jury of causing the deaths of two people by his careless driving, following a crash on the M6. [See press report]
R v Helliwell - The defendant walked free from Court after pleading guilty to an offence of causing death by dangerous driving. [See press report]
R v Barr - A Pub landlord who drove over a suspected burglar, originally charged with attempted murder, walked free from court after being sentenced for the lesser offence of dangerous driving. [See press report]
R v Paulo da Silva - Portuguese lorry driver, tried at Chester Crown Court, who was acquitted of causing the deaths of a family of six by dangerous driving, but convicted of the lesser offence of causing death by careless driving. [See press report]
R v Wrighton - A lorry driver was exonerated at Liverpool Crown Court after a diagnosis of “sleep apnoea” was accepted as a lawful excuse for the accident that resulted in a fatality. [See press report]
R v Mucha - A Polish national who controversially, walked free from Lincoln Crown Court after being acquitted of causing the deaths of three people. [See press report]
R v McDonald - The 79 year of disabled driver who killed a pedestrian during a driving lesson avoided jail. [See press report]
R v Meadows - The bus driver that crashed into a tree on Tower Bridge, London, resulting in one fatality and seventeen injured passengers. Sky News originally reported the impact as suspected terrorist attack. [See press report]
R v Farooq - He received a community order following his guilty plea to driving a quad bike dangerously through Halifax town centre. The prosecution offered no evidence on a more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving. [See press report]
R v Tomlinson - A company director acquitted after being prosecuted for aiding and abetting the dangerous driving of one of his employees.
R v Gray [2008] 2 Cr App R (s) 72 - Oliver represented the appellant in the Court of Appeal, which has become one of the leading sentencing authorities on dangerous driving.
Personal:
Education - Law (Hons) Northumbria University
Languages - Basic Polish, Indonesian and French
Other Legal Interests - Oliver wrote and presented a short documentary for Radio 4 about matrilineal systems and tribal law in Sumatra, entitled “Mum Knows Best”
Memberships - Northern Circuit Representative on the Bar Council Fees and Remuneration Committee
