James Elvidge wins appeal against conviction dating back to 2015
Following on from his recent successful appeal against sentence in R v Davis (Reece) [2020] EWCA Crim 1066, James Elvidge has now overturned an historic conviction for Blackmail in R v Porch [2020] EWCA Crim 1633.
The appeal centred upon the prosecution’s failure to disclose telephone evidence that undermined the credibility of the key witness in the trial. Due to the determination and efforts of Mr Porch’s new legal team, the mobile phones which were said not to exist, were eventually located and analysed in 2017.
It then took another three years to bring the case to the Court of Appeal due to the complex nature surrounding the provenance and presentation of the telephonic and new witness evidence.
The prosecution is not pursuing a retrial and have indicated that an application to appeal by Mr Porch’s co-accused will not be opposed.
