Congratulations to the David Sellu appeal team for winning Crime Team of the Year at the Modern Law Awards 2018 on 18 January 2018.
David Sellu, a consultant surgeon, was wrongly convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence, following surgery he performed at the Clementine Churchill Hospital in Harrow in 2010.
Mr Sellu served 15 months of a two-and-a-half year prison term before his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
The appeal involved the calling of fresh evidence from a number of medical experts as well as criticism of the legal directions given to the jury.
The Court allowed the appeal because they held that the jury was given no guidance on the meaning of ‘gross negligence’ and that juries need to have clear directions as to the very serious nature of the negligence in order for manslaughter to be proved. The court did not order a retrial.
Mark Ellison QC of QEB Hollis Whiteman led our David Emanuel, and was instructed by Matt Foot of Birnberg Peirce. Dr Jenny Vaughan was inspirational from the start, campaigning tirelessly to overturn the conviction and provided invaluable expert medical knowledge to the lawyers.
This case was reported in the press. See coverage in the BBC and the Justice Gap.
David Emanuel is a member of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.
