Barristers: Fighting For Justice

. In this first episode, criminal defence barrister Matthew Radstone faces a high-pressure battle to defend a cab driver accused of transporting cocaine worth £1m as part of a multi-national drugs conspiracy. With his client facing a 15-year prison sentence, can Matt convince the jury of his innocence? Leon-Nathan Lynch takes on a complex case of alleged carjacking at knifepoint. His client claims the robbery was staged for the insurance money, but his co-accused sings a different tune. With lives on the line and wildly differing stories, how do you defend when the basic truth is so up in the air?

Every year, over a million cases pass through the UK courts. And for the people in the dock, only one thing stands between freedom and a prison cell: defence barristers. From violent assault to international drugs smuggling and murder, this series follows some of the country's leading defence barristers as they fight for clients accused of the most serious crimes. In this episode, defence barrister Laurie-Anne Power and King's Counsel Paul Mendelle take on a complex gang murder case - the fatal stabbing of a teenager in north London. As the trial unfolds, they face the challenge of navigating conflicting evidence and the weight of the joint enterprise doctrine, which means that their client could be convicted of murder even if he did not deliver the fatal blow. Elsewhere, Leon-Nathan Lynch fights for a client at the Court of Appeal: a man arrested at gunpoint and now facing deportation to Sierra Leone for perverting the course of justice. And in a case with profoundly personal stakes, Tom Flavin defends a terminally ill man who's at risk of losing his driving licence; a ban that could prevent him from reaching the hospital for urgent cancer treatment. From life-changing sentences to desperate personal battles, this episode reveals the skill and determination it takes to defend when everything is on the line. 

Barrister Tom Flavin takes on a violent assault case, defending a man who's accused of biting off his cousin's ear during a fight at a party. Barrister Sheryl Nwosu and solicitor Antonia Charles represent a young man alleged to be part of a major county lines drugs operation. And in a case that pushes the justice system to its limits, King's Counsel Laurie-Anne Power defends a 15-year-old boy who's accused of murder. What does it take to defend a young man facing life behind bars?