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You are in: In Depth: The Shipman murders: The Shipman files | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() In defence of Shipman
Nicola Davies: A medical lawyer first and foremost
From the start, the odds seemed to be stacked against Nicola Davies QC.
Charged with defending Harold Shipman against 15 counts of murder, in most people's eyes she was on the "wrong side" in one of Britain's most spectacular criminal trials. Miss Davies first heard she was "on board" the Shipman case when she received a telephone call while on holiday in Brazil. Her initial response was not noted, but it's a fair bet she accepted the case with the kind of steely resolve that became her trademark during the ensuing trial. Mixed reaction to court performance
Reaction to her performance at the Shipman trial has been mixed. One local journalist said she had done an "amazing job" mounting a defence considering the dearth of evidence in Shipman's favour. But others think her plummy southern tones did not help her cause and say she frequently resorted to sniping at the prosecution for want of any hard evidence. Certainly, the London-based silk had something of a rough ride during the pre-trial hearings, when the judges were said to have been unhappy with her request that the case be held outside northwest England. In the trial itself, she set out to pick holes in the prosecution's case and cast doubt in the minds of the jurors.
"She's on home turf with medical evidence and what she was trying to do was sow confusion." She and her junior cousel, Ian Winter, had been weaker in the criminal machinations. Another journalist says she didn't exude the slick style of her prosecution counterpart. "She came across as quite cold and clinical but she did better in the closing speeches. She muddied the waters well and seemed to eventually get a rapport with the jury," says Urry. Impressive career Despite the talk of a stiff English attitude, the 46-year-old QC was actually brought up in South Wales. She did not harbour a burning passion for law, at least at the outset. She opted for a law degree at Birmingham University because she felt it was a "good basis for a career".
She has acted in the Bristol heart surgeons case at the General Medical Council, the BSE Inquiry and the Cleveland Child Abuse Inquiry, and a 1989 case involving the sale of kidneys by Turkish nationals being operated on in Britain. In 1992 she was made a Queen's Counsel and since 1998 has sat as a recorder in criminal and civil cases. But unlike many of her contemporaries, Miss Davies does not plan to devote the rest of her life to work. Recently she told an interviewer that in 10 years time she would like to be back in Brazil, without a telephone. Wherever she finds herself, she will probably be best remembered as the lawyer who defended one of Britain's biggest serial killers.
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31 Jan 00 | The Shipman files
31 Jan 00 | The Shipman files
31 Jan 00 | The Shipman files
31 Jan 00 | The Shipman files
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