Micaila Williams LL B (Essex)

Having completed her pupillage at Trinity Chambers in Chelmsford Micaila Williams joined East Anglian Chambers in May 2007.

She specialises predominantly in all forms of criminal law, having defended and prosecuted a variety of offences in the Youth Court and Magistrates Court.  Micaila is regularly instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service, Department for Work and Pensions, Essex and Suffolk County Councils and the RSPCA to undertake a range of prosecutions.

 

She now spends most of her time in the Crown Court prosecuting and defending all manner of criminal offences and has built up a raft of experience in the following matters:

• Violent offences including s.18, s.20, ABH and domestic violence
• All manner of Public Order offences, including serious cases of Affray
• Dishonesty offences including simple thefts, Burglary and Robbery.  Varying degrees and types of benefit fraud
• Arson, both reckless and intentional
• Sexual offences including Rape in a domestic setting and the management/control of brothels and related offences
• Drug offences including supply, conspiracy to supply, production and simple possession.

She has also been instructed to deal with specific matters including PII, POCA, Abuse of Process and Appeals to the Court of Appeal.

Micaila is regularly instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service, Department for Work and Pensions, Essex and Suffolk County Councils and the RSPCA to undertake a range of prosecutions.

 

Cases of interest

R v Thaws et al (2009/2010)
Micaila acted as Led Junior in this 12-week benefit fraud trial whereby 15 Defendants were accused of making false claims for Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit by inventing fictional disabled children in support of their claim.  The case involved a number of complex areas of law and fact culminating in various legal arguments including abuse of process, severance and admissibility.

R v Burrows (February 2009)
There was significant media interest in this case where the Defendant had voluntarily returned home to England from Thailand (where he had fled after he committed this crime) to plead guilty to one count of knife-point robbery committed at a betting shop in order to pay off his drug debts.  HHJ Thompson at Ipswich Crown Court sentenced him to 18 months immediate custody despite finding “exceptional circumstances”.

R v Kendall CA [2008] EWHC 1848
A member of the BNP had displayed a poster in Southend High Street with the phrase “Illegal Immigrant Murder Scum” followed by pictures of three black illegal immigrants who had just been convicted of manslaughter.  The questions posed for the consideration of the High Court were whether (i) on the facts of the case, the visual display could be regarded as threatening, abusive or insulting; (ii) it could be said that K intended or was aware that the posters might be threatening, abusive or insulting; (iii) it could be said that an act of putting up the posters was motivated by hostility towards a particular racial group.  The appeal was dismissed but raised interesting areas of law and fact.

Interests

She lives in Braintree with her husband Paul and baby daughter.  Together they like to spend time with their family, attend the theatre and socialise with friends.