R -v- Olivia Brandford & ors
John Clifford and Jim Dick appear as Respondents in Court of Appeal in R -v- Olivia Brandford & ors; a case which involved a multi handed conspiracy to supply Class A drugs through county drugs lines on the south coast. The appeal against conviction considered the defence of duress and: (i) the circumstances in which a judge is entitled to withdraw the defence from the jury, (ii) whether the fact that a threat was conveyed indirectly is a fatal bar to the defence, and (iii) whether the defence is available where there is mere pressure based on the exploitation of a relationship, see R. v. Brandford (2016) 160(48) S.J. 43, CA ([2016] EWCA Crim. 1794) and [2017] 4 W.L.R. 17. The Appeal against Conviction was dismissed.