ConsultantsA

Text Box: Edward Fitzgerald Q.C. He argued the appeals of Michael Hickey (in the Bridgewater 3 case); the posthumous appeal of Derek Bentley; the appeal of Steven Downing; and numerous battered wife cases, as well as the cases of R v Offen (which modified the test for automatic life sentences), R v Chapman (on discretionary life sentences) and R v Mitchell (on hospital orders). He is currently involved in the appeal to the Privy Council on behalf of William Labrador, who was controversially convicted of the killing of a US artist in the British Virgin Islands, and in the posthumous case of Timothy Evans. Edward Fitzgerald has been involved in a number of cases involving freedom of speech and the right to privacy. He originally represented David Shayler at the Old Bailey and then in the Court of Appeal. He was counsel for John Venables in the case of Venables v News Group, Which resulted in a lifelong injunction against the media from publishing the new identities and whereabouts of the boys convicted of killing James Bulger. He also represents Mary Bell and Maxine Carr in their injunction proceedings designed to protect their current identity and whereabouts from publications. He has particular expertise in all areas of public law involving the criminal process, especially extradition cases, such as the Rajneeshi case (ex parte Hagan & Croft), the successful challenge of Graham Tomlins v US, Kashamu Nos 1 and 2, Al Fawwaz v US, Lodhi v United Arab Emirates, and the case of US v Raissi (the Algerian pilot falsely accused of involvement in the September 11th hijackings). Recently, Edward Fitzgerald represented Babar Ahmed against a request for extradition by the United States for alleged terrorist activities (US v Babar Ahmed, unreported). This case raised significant questions about US extradition policies; the defence was predominantly based on the possibility of Mr. Ahmed facing the Military commission and being sentenced to the death penalty or incarceration in Guantanamo Bay if extradited to the US. Subsequently, Edward Fitzgerald successfully represented Natalia Chernysheva (Russia v Maruev and Chernysheva, unreported), and ex-YUKOS employee, in her fight against an attempted extradition to Russia. It was held that if she returned she would not receive a fair trial in Russia due to her political opinions. His experience in the public law field extends widely to judicial review of disciplinary hearing, local authorities and other regulatory bodies, and he was counsel for Greenpeace in the Brent Spar judicial review. Edward Fitzgerald has taken a number of cases to the European Court of Human Rights against the UK for prisoners and mental health patients.