R v Stuart Francis Grant

For the higher fee band to apply to the killing of a patient in a medical or nursing care context, the categorisation is not determined solely by the victim’s vulnerability, medical condition or care setting. The circumstances of the killer must also be considered. The provision requires a formal or arguably informal caring relationship, or corresponding care responsibilities, between the killer and the patient. It does not cover the killing of a vulnerable patient by an assailant with no medical or nursing care connection.

The appellant represented a defendant charged with murder and other offences. The Legal Aid Agency assessed the murder claim under Band 1.3 of Scheme 11 of the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013, rather than Band 1.1, which includes the killing of a patient in a medical or nursing care context.

The defendant had participated in the killing of a vulnerable man who lived in sheltered accommodation and received regular care. The appellant argued that the victim’s condition and care setting were sufficient to engage Band 1.1. The issue was whether the provision depended only on the patient’s status and circumstances, or also required a caring relationship involving the killer.

1. Appeal dismissed. The Determining Officer was correct to assess the claim under Band 1.3.
2. The phrase “killing of a patient in a medical or nursing care context” is not defined solely by reference to the status and circumstances of the victim. It also extends to the status and circumstances of the killer.
3. The categorisation implies the existence of some formal, or arguably informal, caring relationship between the patient and the carer. Ordinarily, this involves a healthcare professional or another person with genuine caring responsibilities.
4. A vulnerable person’s residence in sheltered accommodation, medical conditions, recent hospitalisation and receipt of daily care do not, without more, bring the case within Band 1.1. The provision does not include a case in which the victim is killed by someone with no medical or nursing care responsibilities for the deceased.
5. The court followed the reasoning in R v. Knight [2020] SC-2019-CRI-000052 and R v. Taylor [2020] SC-2020-CRI-000112. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

High Court (Senior Court Costs Office): The appeal under regulation 29 of the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 was dismissed. The court upheld the Determining Officer’s assessment of the claim under Band 1.3.