Sarah Hemingway

Year of Call: 2006

“Sarah is one of the best juniors around."

Chambers UK, 2024 (Police Law, Band 1)

"Sarah is an experienced and thorough counsel. Her work is done to a high quality and she undertakes complex tasks with the minimum of direction required. She is also a real team player and works extremely well with her colleagues."

Chambers UK, 2024 (Inquests & Public Inquiries)

"Sarah is sound in all areas. Her drafting is exceptional and she is able to explain the the most complex legal points to clients in such a simplified manner that they are easy to understand."

Chambers UK, 2023

"She has vast experience in police trials."

Chambers UK, 2022 (Police Law)

"Sarah is a skilled advocate, both in written submissions and on her feet, and is very thorough and always extremely well prepared. She inspires confidence in clients and is really great to work with."

Legal 500, 2022 (Inquests & Inquiries)

"She has a detailed level of knowledge of inquest law and the intricacies within it."

Chambers UK, 2021 (Police Law)

Contact

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Sarah Hemingway regularly represents claimants in civil jury trials, including multi-handed and multi-claim cases, often involving false imprisonment, assault and malicious prosecution. She appears at the county courts, high courts and Court of Appeal.

Claims Against the Police and Public Authorities

Overview

A major part of Sarah's practice involves civil claims against public bodies, with a particular focus on actions against the police. She is experienced in jury trials involving false imprisonment, assault, malicious prosecution and other torts and regularly advises on similar claims.

Sarah also has experience of round-table negation and mediation in police cases and recently helped to settle a race discrimination claim against Kent police for £50,000 plus an extensive written apology. In the case of Alford v CC Cambridgeshire Police she was junior counsel to a serving police officer who brought a claim against a neighbouring police service for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

Notable Cases

Past notable cases can be viewed below. Click here to see a list of recent notable cases.

Erinle v CC Merseyside Police
Sarah secured damages for a man assaulted by police in the course of an arrest then maliciously prosecuted for assault PC.

Pannell v Chief Constable of Surrey Police
Sarah was junior counsel in a team that managed to secure £40,000 for the victim of an assault by a police officer.

Deakin v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police
Sarah secured substantial damages for a man falsely imprisoned, assaulted and maliciously prosecuted for affray.

Stanford v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police
Successfully represented a claimant in relation to a case involving an arrest for breach of the peace in a domestic setting.

Hayes v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police [2012] 1 WLR 517
Sarah was junior counsel before the Court of Appeal case clarifying the application of the "necessity of arrest" requirement.

Marper v UK
Sarah worked on this case as a pupil, wherein the ECtHR unanimously held that the blanket retention of DNA breached Article 8.

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Inquests and Inquiries

Overview

Sarah's inquest work includes deaths in custody, deaths occurring soon after contact with police and health authorities, and deaths at work or those involving prospective prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive. Civil claims in negligence or Article 2 claims following the inquest procedure are growing areas of practice.

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Prisoners’ Rights

Overview

Sarah is regularly instructed in prisoner adjudications and parole board applications, providing written representations and advocacy at oral hearings. She also advises on potential challenges to recall, prisoner complaints and other civil actions or human rights claims brought by prisoners.

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Administrative and Public Law

Overview

Judicial Review

Sarah mainly advises on judicial reviews arising from the criminal justice system such as the decisions of the Parole Board, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, magistrates, the Criminal Cases Review Commission and CICA. She has represented both prisoners and victims of crime in their applications before the High Court and is currently acting in a number of challenges against the IPCC. A growing area of work involves challenging decisions to detain within the immigration context.

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Mental Health Law

Overview

Sarah is often instructed in cases involving detention and human rights before the Mental Health Tribunals. Court of Protection work is a growing area of interest.

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Criminal Defence

Overview

Criminal work makes up a significant part of Sarah's practice involving crown court trials, appeals and cases stated to the High Court.

Notable Cases

R v Abad Siddique and ors [2010]
Led junior for the main defendant in a prosecution arising from "Operation Retriever" where the charges included rapes, several false imprisonments and sexual assaults against a number of complainants.

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Protest Rights

Overview

Sarah has substantial experience in the area of protest cases, such as those arising out of "Climate Camp and other environmental campaigns, including sentencing of the 49 Stansted protesters ("Plane Stupid") case. She continues to represent people in cases where there is a potential civil claim arising out of police acts or omissions and in ASBO applications.

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International Human Rights

Overview

Sarah works internationally as a human rights expert for the Council of Europe training police in developing countries (completing missions in Georgia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Russia) and has represented Northern Ireland at international seminars held in Paris and Strasbourg.

In June 2011 and March 2012 she was involved in the training of senior UK police officers in human rights and public order.

In 2010 she was an international legal observer of an employment trial in Turkey for the International Centre for Trade Union Rights. And her report assisted in speeding up victory for the unfairly dismissed employees.

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Pro Bono Work

Overview

Sarah continues to work for the Asylum Support Appeals Project, which provides free representation for failed asylum seekers needing financial support and housing. She also works for the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) providing free representation at bail hearings in the AIT.

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Sarah Hemingway

Notable Cases & News

Garden Court Chambers celebrates 50th Anniversary

This year marks 50 years of Garden Court Chambers winning ground-breaking cases of constitutional importance.

Friday 31 May 2024

Danny Jay Anderson: Inquest hears of serious failures of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Danny Jay Anderson, aged 35, died on 30 March 2023 by suicide contributed to by neglect, just two months after being discharged from the care of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (‘the Trust’). HM Coroner Nadia Persaud determined that Danny died by suicide, contributed to by the neglect of the Trust. The Inquest exposed […]

Tuesday 8 Oct 2024

“The end did not justify the means” – Undercover Policing Inquiry Interim Report Released by Inquiry Chair Sir John Mitting

Garden Court Chambers counsel, of the Inquests & Inquiries Team, are instructed in the Undercover Policing Inquiry.

Thursday 29 Jun 2023

G4S admits its failures in the running of a prison amounts to breach of the Article 2 systemic duty

Sarah Hemingway of Garden Court Chambers and Nick Armstrong KC of Matrix Chambers instructed by Jo Eggleton and Shaki Sanusi of Deighton Peirce Glynn.

Thursday 23 Mar 2023

Young claimant awarded damages for false imprisonment by Nottinghamshire Police

Sarah Hemingway of Garden Court Chambers acted for the claimant, instructed by Gregsons Solicitors of Nottingham.

Thursday 26 May 2022

Family wins High Court challenge following inquest into prison death where jury were not properly directed as to their conclusions

Stephen Simblet QC and Sarah Hemingway, of the Garden Court Chambers Inquest Team, were instructed by Bhaskar Banerjee of GT Stewart solicitors.

Friday 14 Jan 2022

Background

Before coming to the Bar, Sarah was the human rights training adviser to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

She has also worked extensively on human rights issues at the international level. As an immigration and human rights consultant for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Bosnia and Herzegovina), she worked predominantly on issues of trafficking, discrimination and economic and social rights. As a human rights officer at the OSCE/ODIHR (Poland) she worked with the senior legal adviser on anti-trafficking issues and international human rights law.

Publications

Turkey: Sinter metal trial observation report, ICTUR, August 2010

Legal response to women as victims of trafficking: A European perspective, Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, Vol 16, No. 1&2, 2009 (co-authored with Phillippa Kaufmann)

DNA Discrimination, New Law Journal (co-authored with Azeem Suterwalla), April 2008

Challenges in defining and operationalising a human rights-based approach to development: Experience from the Rights-Based Municipal Assessment and Planning Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, IDPM, University of Manchester, 21-22 Feb 2005

The impact of tourism on the human rights of women in South East Asia; The International Journal of Human Rights, vol.8, No.3, pp.275-304 Autumn 2004

Sexual minorities and the international human rights framework; presented at Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Summer School, "3rd Generation Human Rights", September 2003.

Excess Baggage?: The responsibility of companies and individuals for human rights abuses within the tourism industry, Human Rights Law Review Student Supplement, 2002.

Training and seminars

Sarah works internationally as a human rights expert for the Council of Europe training police in developing countries (completing missions in Georgia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Russia) and has represented Northern Ireland at international seminars held in Paris and Strasbourg.

In 2021, Sarah spoke at the LAPG Annual Legal Aid conference on the future of the civil legal aid bar and contributed to vital research, on behalf of INQUEST, into exceptional case funding for bereaved families at inquests. This led to an important rule change that means bereaved families at inquests are now able to apply for legal representation through exceptional case funding without means-testing. 

In June 2011 and March 2012 she was involved in the training of senior UK police officers in human rights and public order.

In 2010 she was an international legal observer of an employment trial in Turkey for the International Centre for Trade Union Rights. And her report assisted in speeding up victory for the unfairly dismissed employees.

Education

  • BA (Hons) Politics
  • LLM Human rights law (University of Nottingham)
  • Middle Temple Diplock Scholar

Professional Memberships

Police Action Lawyers Group

Inquest Lawyers Group

Free Representation Unit (Employment Law)

Fair Trials International Young Defenders Network 2009

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