R v Moore

Facts

The appellant, Lloyds PR Solicitors, acted under a Representation Order made on 24 October 2022 for Connor Moore in proceedings before the Crown Court at Maidstone. The defendant had been arrested on 15 September 2020 in connection with a sexual offence and his mobile telephone, exhibit LH/03, was seized. Forensic downloads revealed extreme pornographic material, an indecent image of a child and beheading videos, and confirmed that some content had been distributed, leading to charges under the Obscene Publications Act 1959. He faced trial on three counts of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one of making an indecent photograph of a child; after an ineffective first trial the indictment was amended to two counts of possession and one of making a Category A photograph taken on 2 August 2020. His case was that others had access to the handset and that material had been saved automatically. Because of the nature of the material the full download could not be served in the usual way, and the conducting solicitor, Ms Curry, inspected it at Canterbury police station over an appointment lasting from 11.30 am to 4.20 pm. The appellant claimed the capped 10,000 pages of Crown evidence; the Legal Aid Agency's Determining Officer allowed 377 pages. The appellant appealed under Regulation 29 of the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.