Louis Maskell

Professional Memberships

CPS Level 3 Panel Advocate
Serious Crime Group Panel Level 3
CPS RASSO panel advocate
Criminal Bar Association
Middle Temple

Louis accepts instructions for both the defence and the prosecution in criminal matters. Louis has been instructed in a wide range of criminal cases, including drug trafficking, serious violence, money laundering, and firearms. 

Serious and Organised Crime

Operation Echovane (Wood Green Crown Court): Louis was led junior for the prosecution in this multi-defendant case that involved the shooting of a 16-year-old on a busy street in Tottenham in broad daylight. The trial lasted 5 weeks and involved extensive CCTV, social media messaging, and the calling of a tagging expert and a slang expert. 
 
R v GB, JF, JR & JM (Woolwich Crown Court): Louis was a led junior for the prosecution in this four-defendant, firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life trial. The case concerned four young males who were stopped in a taxi, inside which a loaded firearm was found. All four denied having knowledge of the firearm. Prior to the close of the Crown’s case, leading counsel was unable to continue, and Louis prosecuted the remainder of the trial. All four defendants were unanimously convicted. The defendants were sentenced to a total of 52 years’ imprisonment, with three receiving extended sentences due to the court finding them to be dangerous offenders. 
 
R v ZZ, IS & DK (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Louis was a led junior for the prosecution in this case which concerned a conspiracy to supply a variety of drugs on the dark web. All three defendant’s entered pleas of guilty to the majority of the indictment at trial.
 
R v NZ (Woolwich Crown Court): Louis prosecuted in this eight-day trial which concerned an indictment of six counts. The main offence was aggravated burglary. The allegation was that the defendant forced entry into an address, attacked the occupants, which included strangling one of them and spraying in both of their faces a corrosive substance, and made a demand for the keys to their vehicle. The defendant was identified by one of the occupants, but not the other. The defence was mistaken identify. The defendant was unanimously convicted on all counts and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment including 3 years extended licence. 
 
R v CC (Portsmouth Crown Court): Louis represented a defendant charged with wounding with intent, following an allegation that he stabbed an individual during a fight. The defendant did not deny that he was involved in a fight but denied stabbing the complainant. The police arrested the defendant that night at a friend’s house and found a knife matching the description given by the complainant. After a three-day trial, which involved evidence from the complainant and eyewitnesses, the jury unanimously acquitted the defendant in under 30 minutes.
 
R v JP (Lewes Crown Court): Louis represented a defendant charge with kidnapping a 7-year-old boy. The defendant had a profound learning disability but deemed fit to plead. 

Sexual Offences

R v DF (Reading Crown Court): Louis is currently instructed to prosecute this case which concerns 12 counts, including several multi-incident counts of rape. The defendant is said to have sexually abused three sisters in the 1960’s and 1970’s when they were aged between 5 and 15. 
 
R v MC & EC (Stratford Youth Court) and R v DC (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Louis is currently instructed to prosecute two linked cases which concerns a youth being orally raped in a park by three men, all youths at the time. 
 
R v DS (Portsmouth Crown Court): Louis defended in this three-day trial, in which the defendant was charged with sexual activity with a child. The defendant’s 15-year-old niece made an allegation that they had touched her inappropriately one night and sucked her breasts. The defendant’s saliva was found on the inside of her pyjama top. The defence case was that no touching occurred and the allegation was entirely false. The defendant was unanimously acquitted. 
 
R v LL (Portsmouth Crown Court): Louis represented a defendant charged with historic child sexual offences. The defendant had recently been diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder meaning he had no memory of the time period the indictment related to. Louis drafted an abuse of process application, and shortly after the Crown decided to no longer proceed to trial.  
 
R v MK (Isleworth Crown Court): Louis prosecuted this four-day trial in which it was alleged that the defendant sexually assaulted his 13-year-old daughter’s best friend, aged 13, whilst she was visiting after school. Both children gave evidence at the trial, the daughter being a witness for the defence. The defendant was convicted. 

General Crime

R v SS (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Louis prosecuted this four-day trial which concerned an offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The defendant was said to have driven aggressively on the A13 and collided with a motorcyclist, causing the rider to lose control, veer off the road and hit with a brick wall. The motorcyclist suffered from fractures to his nose, arm, neck and back. The defendant denied driving dangerously or aggressively and instead blamed the motorcyclist. The defendant was unanimously convicted. 
 
R v SL & JB (Kingston Upon Thames Crown Court): Louis prosecuted this trial lasting seven-days, in which both defendants were charged with a knife-point robbery of a taxi-driver in the early hours of the morning. Both defendants were unanimously convicted.  
 
R v IC (Portsmouth Crown Court): Louis represented a defendant charged with assaulting his wife, and his daughter, breaking her nose. The defendant did not deny causing the injury to his daughter, but said he was attacked first, and all actions were in self-defence. After a three-day trial, the defendant was unanimously acquitted of both offences. 
 
R v MSG (Inner London Crown Court): Louis represented a defendant charged with assaulting three police officers, with one suffering actual bodily harm. The trial lasted four days and involved cross-examination of the officers. The defendant was unanimously acquitted on all counts. 

Fraud and Financial Crime

R v NB (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Louis was a led junior for the prosecution in this 5-week trial concerning 18 counts of fraud. The Crown’s case was that this was a romance fraud, in that the defendant met several women online, entered into relationships with them, and defrauded them of large sums of money, claiming he was a successful bookmaker, who could make them large amounts of money. The defendant managed to gain around £1,000,000 from the women. The defendant said all the relationships were genuine, he never lied to the woman, and any money sent to him by the women was not as a result of any lie or fraud. The defendant was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment. 
 
R v LG (Portsmouth Crown Court): Louis prosecuted this case concerning VAT evasion in the region of £250,000, as a result of overinflation of business costs in the region of £1million. At trial, an agreement was reached between the defence and HMRC as to the level of the fraud, and the defendant pleaded guilty. 
 
R v JJ-B (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Louis prosecuted this four-day money laundering trial which concerned the defendant acquiring £20,000 from the fraud of an elderly victim who was defrauded out of £280,000 in total. At trial, Louis called a voice recognition expert in relation to calls made between an individual and the defendant’s bank. The defendant was unanimously convicted of the single count.