Jessica Clarke

Introduction

Jessica’s practice encompasses a range of the most serious and complex crimes.

She specialises in the most serious sexual offences and large multi-handed cases, recently leading for the Crown in an eight-handed money laundering prosecution.

Jessica is regularly instructed in homicide cases for both the crown and defence with a particular emphasis on cases where cause of death is an area of dispute between expert witnesses.

Jessica also has experience in high profile enquiries. In 2017 she spent 6 months conducting interviews and drafting documents on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for use in the Grenfell Tower Enquiry.

Jessica regularly appears at Courts Martial in both the UK and Germany.

Recommended in the Legal 500 as "a crowd-pleaser for getting to the point, however awkward it might be" Jessica's strengths lie in her witness handling and the presentation of her case to the jury.

background and expertise

With a background in general crime her recent practice involves the most serious sexual offences involving both children and adults, serious violence and large scale drug offences.

Jessica is also a highly skilled junior and her workload includes murder, child cruelty, money laundering and fraud.

Over the last few years Jessica has built up a wealth of experience in military law; appearing in both international and domestic military courts.

Jessica is a grade 3 CPS advocate and is regularly instructed as both sole advocate and junior.

Notable cases

R v FS-W, 2021

Jessica successfully defended a University student accused of attempted rape. Jessica successfully excluded unreliable confession evidence both on arrest and in interview on the basis of police failures.

R v GP, 2021

Jessica secured the acquittal of a young man accused of rape of a child under 13 and an older teenage. The case was particularly sensitive because the allegations arose from a friendship group, meaning many witnesses were unwilling to speak out against the complainants who, the defence say, fabricated the allegations.

R v DC, 2021

Acquittal of a highly vulnerable man accused of the attempted rape of his neighbours. The defendant was found to be unfit through mental disorder and the jury acquitted him of all sexual allegations.

R v R & T, ongoing

Jessica is currently instructed in an Encrochat case concerning a conspiracy to supply 17KG of cocaine.

R v M, 2021

Arson with intent to endanger life. Jessica secured a conviction against the defendant who threw a petrol bomb at his sister’s front door before setting fire to her car. St. Albans Crown Court.

R v W, 2021

Defendant charged with S.18. The case involved a fight on the film set of The Witches at Warner Bros studios whereby a set rigger had his throat slit. St. Albans Crown Court.

R v N, 2020

Jessica secured an acquittal in a five week murder trial at Guildford Crown Court. The allegation was that the defendant had strangled his partner before setting her body on fire to destroy the evidence. Jessica uncovered incomplete toxicology tests and evidence of the police suppressing evidence. The jury unanimously acquitted in under two hours.

R v SH, 2020

Jessica succeeded in having a sexual assault conviction quashed in the Court of Appeal on the grounds of unfair judicial intervention.

R v D, 2019

Led junior for the crown, manslaughter. The case involved an educationally subnormal defendant accused of shaking her 5 month old baby to death.

News report here

R v L, 2019

Led junior for the defence in a case concerning the theft and possession of multiple firearms. The case involved numerous experts on the issue of adequate deactivation of said firearms.

News report here

R v S & ors, 2019

Leading junior for the Crown, money laundering. The case involved eight defendants accused of a far-reaching money laundering conspiracy.

R v A and others, 2019

Lead junior in six handed £250,000 money laundering trial. St. Albans Crown Court.

R v D-R and M, 2019

Possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. Canterbury Crown Court.

R v J, 2019

Defence, rape. Successfully represented a defendant accused of multiple counts of rape in the context of a 10 year relationship.

R v H and T-M, 2016

Prosecution junior in a case involving the murder of a 13 month old baby. Luton Crown Court. See BBC article

R v R, 2016

Secured the conviction of serving prisoner who stabbed a fellow inmate in the jugular despite the victim refusing to give evidence against him. St Albans Crown Court.

See BBC article