The Supreme Court Costs Office

No. 23 of 2005

DCA v Stork

3 August 2005

Mr Justice Gray Sitting with Assessors

This was an appeal by the DCA against the decision of the Costs Judge in the case of R v Staniland [2005] 2 Costs LR 337. The case concerned the proper construction of an undecided point in relation to "length of trial uplift" in paragraph 7(2) of part 2 to Schedule 4 of the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2001.

Ten defendants went to trial on a charge of violent disorder but at the end of the prosecution case, after 19 days, the Judge acceded to submissions by Mr Stork on behalf of Staniland and other Counsel on behalf of four of the ten co-defendants that there was no case to answer. The trial continued for a further ten days against the remaining defendants.

The Costs Judge had decided that the length of trial uplift should be related to "the case" and therefore that Mr Stork was entitled to 28 uplifts and not 18.

In an extremely clear Judgment the Judge reviewed the nature of the graduated fee scheme and concluded on the proper interpretation of the regulation the Costs Judge had come to the wrong conclusion and his decision had to be reversed.