Alison Wilkes became a tenant in Chambers in October 2006, having spent 12 months as pupil to David Tomlinson
During the course of her tenancy Alison has quickly gained experience of prosecuting and defending in the Crown Court in a full range of criminal cases. She also has considerable experience of dealing with complex, lengthy or multi-handed matters in the Youth Court.
Alison has gained invaluable experience of the prosecution process whilst acting as in-house charging lawyer for CPS London Direct, advising on charge, bail, the application of the Full Code Test and diverting suitable cases from prosecution.
Alison also has considerable experience and expertise in Extradition law. Between May and November 2008 she was seconded to CPS Extradition as a full-time extradition prosecutor. During the course of her placement, she appeared in court several times a week, prosecuting extradition requests both under the European Arrest Warrant scheme and those originating from Category 2 territories. She has also drafted, prepared and overseen extradition requests to return individuals to the UK for serious offences including Rape, Child Abduction, and Grievous Bodily Harm.
Since her return to Chambers she has continued her Extradition practice, including appearing regularly in the High Court.
Alison also practises in Prison Law, including appearing at adjudication hearings under the Prison Rules and representing prisoners at Parole Board Hearings.
Cases Undertaken Include
Marcin Bukowski v Regional Court in Bydgoszcz [2009] EWHC 1283 (Admin)
An extradition case in which the meaning of the phrase "deliberate absence" in Section 20 of the Extradition Act 2003 was examined
Sandi v Craiova Court, Romania [2009] EWHC 3079 (Admin)
An extradition case examining what particulars were required by Section 2(6)(b) of the Extradition Act 2003 in "conviction" cases.
R (on the application of Harrington) v Bromley Magistrates Court [2007] EWHC 2896 (Admin)
A successful claim for judicial review of the District Judge's decision to commit a serious s20 matter for sentence at the Crown Court, in breach of an earlier indication by the lay Bench.
R v SH (2009) Youth Court
A sensitive case in the youth court dealing with a 15-year old boy charged with multiple sexual assaults on the same complainant, a girl in his year at school.
R v Fitzroy Banton (2009) Court of Appeal (unreported)
An appeal case dealing with the safety of a bladed article conviction under s139 where the original bladed article had been destroyed prior to trial.
R v. Williams & ors [2007]
Junior counsel for lead defendant in multi-handed money laundering trial involving large-scale manipulation of the "hawala" informal banking system.