Simon Morgan
Call 1988 (Gray’s Inn)
Qualifications Formerly a solicitor, admitted 1977
Professional Membership Criminal Bar Association; Western Circuit, Member of the Health & Safety Lawyers Association
Judicial Office Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) 1998
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Areas of Practice
Simon is one of the senior members of Chambers specialising in regulatory offences and crime. Having spent eleven years practicing in crime as a Solicitor, he has an in-depth knowledge of that role, its responsibilities and pressures.
He is renowned for his even-tempered and professional approach to his work. He is held in the highest regard by his peers and is seen as an adversary to be respected. He is a Senior Prosecutor (Grade 4) for the Crown Prosecution Service and Category “A” Prosecutor on the Attorney General’s List. He has been a “leader in his field” for many years in the Chambers Directory and in the Legal 500.
Regulatory
Recognised as having a particular expertise in health and safety cases, Simon has prosecuted and defended such cases for many years. The majority of his regulatory cases involve catastrophic events (many of which attract considerable publicity) and are cases upon which the outcomes of civil actions also depend. These include the deaths of children in schools, deaths in care homes, hospitals, on construction sites, at ports, activity centres and those involving heavy plant, agricultural machinery, farming and explosive substances.
He is regularly called upon to advise in such cases whilst still under investigation. Such cases have included one relating to three deaths and a number of illnesses resulting from Legionnaire’s Disease (for the prosecuting authority) and that of a very large building contractor regarding a death on site (for the defendant). He recently represented a Health Authority for offences arising out of a death from Legionnaires Disease and a Local Authority in relation to asbestos in a school.
Pre-Charge Advice
He is regularly asked to advise both the prosecution and defence (particularly in regulatory cases) on matters prior to interview/charge, most particularly on the procedures and tactics to be adopted at interviews with the police and regulatory bodies. He has advised the police/CPS/government agencies prior to charge in cases of murder, manslaughter, rape, fraud, health and safety, environmental matters and serious road traffic incidents.
Inquests
He is frequently asked to attend inquests concerned with cases involving health and safety and road traffic deaths. This is particularly important in cases where companies or individuals at any risk of prosecution either by the CPS or any other government agency, including the HSE.
Criminal Matters
He prosecutes and defends in the most serious criminal cases, most recently the prosecution of Vanessa George (the Plymouth nursery school employee) – He has recently represented in cases that involved the kidnap, lengthy incarceration, torture and killing of a man and a gangland contract killing. He is currently representing in cases of murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and several cases involving deaths on the road.
Simon has extensive experience in the field of fraud and duty evasion. He has prosecuted and defended in numerous such cases for many years. He represented one of the defendants in the largest ever fraud case prosecuted outside of London by the Serious Fraud office. He recently prosecuted, as Leading Counsel, a duty evasion case involving five defendants importing counterfeit tobacco to the value of £800,000 from Eastern Europe. He is currently prosecuting a cross-border duty evasion case representing over £3m in lost revenue and has defended in breach of copyright conspiracy cases relating to the production of counterfeit DVDs.
Fatal Road Traffic Accidents
Such is Simon’s reputation in cases of causing death by driving that he has several such briefs at all times. Many such cases involve highly technical matters and Simon’s familiarity with this type of evidence is of singular advantage when examining and cross-examining witnesses. He has recently advised the Crown in a fatal accident collision involving significant technical evidence relating to the movement of persons within a vehicle in an effort to establish the identity of the driver. He has been instructed in several “look but don’t see”? cases, and several cases where it has been alleged that drivers have fallen asleep, including undiagnosed narcolepsy. He has regularly dealt with cases involving back/forward calculations of alcohol consumption and has successfully argued the exclusion of evidence of breath sample results.
Reported Cases
- Hodder & Matthews v DPP (1990) “Product” for purposes of Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
- DPP v Vivier – definition of Public Place
- R v Cardiff MC Exp. Hole (1997) Abuse of process
- Western v DPP (1997) Use of interviews by prosecution and the raising of issue of self defence
- R v Dodman (1998) Courts Martial Appeal Court – strict liability offences
- R v Iles (CA) Sentencing principles for certain sexual offences
Recommendations
VHCC Scheme
- Ranked as a Leading Junior
Chambers UK 2012
- Simon is “outstanding, and a superb communicator, who is focused and approachable,” say sources. His most high-profile recent case was the prosecution of Vanessa George for child sex abuse.
Chambers UK 2011
Simon continues his impressive handling of the most serious and long-running criminal cases. He most recently prosecuted an extremely sensitive and high-profile child abuse case that received extensive national media coverage.
Legal 500 2011
- Simon Morgan “always shows an ability to make firm, logical decisions very quickly”, is a “formidable advocate”, and has a mixed crime, regulatory and inquest practice.
Legal 500 2010
- St John’s Chambers’ Simon Morgan is “great for regulatory matters”.
