Martin Henley, instructed by AM International Solicitors, has secured the reopening of an appeal, permission to appeal and the discharge of his client in extradition proceedings.
The appellant had already had permission to appeal the order of extradition to Poland refused, he was wanted on an accusation warrant for a moderately serious drug dealing allegation. There was a change of circumstances in that his daughter had been assessed as having Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
The reopening of an appeal has a high threshold in that the appeal is only reopened in cases of real injustice. The key to obtaining the reopening was the very detailed statements from Martin’s client and his partner, taken by instructing solicitors. In these statements, the parents set out their daily life with their daughter including the many behavioural problems that she exhibits. This detailed insight by the parents was important evidence which was corroborated by the observations of the daughter by professionals. An expert report by a neurodevelopmental psychologist then set out the damage that the daughter would suffer should the appellant be extradited and that her level of disability was a lifelong issue. With such a stark outcome, the court found that the public interest in extradition was outweighed, by some distance, by the family life considerations of the daughter and her parents.
The successful outcome was built on team work between the legal team and clients and a focus on the real issue in the case, the daughter and her ASD.