David Philpott – Partner specialising in Criminal Defence

David has a wealth of experience having been admitted as a solicitor in 1992. He has specialised in Criminal Defence work throughout his career and is a partner at Olliers. He joined the firm in 2008 from JMW Solicitors where he was a partner for 12 years. He has been a Duty Solicitor for more than 25 years and is also a Higher Court (Crime) Advocate.

David is a highly respected Magistrates Court advocate. He continues to appear before the court on a daily basis as he has for the last thirty years. He is very well aware that appearing before any court can be a very daunting experience whatever the nature of the allegation that a person faces. If you have been charged with an offence or have received a requisition to appear in court it is essential that you seek legal advice as soon as possible. If you require representation in connection with Magistrates Court proceedings please contact us.

Case Studies

Client A 2023– Following a chase client A was detained by a police officer and found to be in possession of a knife. A guilty plea was entered to that offence when they appeared before the court and the case was adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report by the probation service. The sentencing guidelines indicate that in all such cases the starting point is a custodial sentence. After considering all of the circumstances the court imposed a community order.
Client B 2023 – Client B was arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. The allegations arose from a domestic related incident. The client had not been arrested before. They were represented at the police station whilst in custody and advised in connection with the interview process. They followed the advice given and after interview the police confirmed that no further action would be taken in connection with this matter.
Client C 2023 – Client C appeared at court facing an allegation that they were in breach of the terms of a community order that had been imposed in 2017 for offences of dishonesty. Their circumstances had changed very significantly in the past six years. After considering the case the court imposed a financial penalty notwithstanding the fact that the order had been outstanding for such a lengthy period.
Client D 2023 – Client D appeared before the court in custody in connection with an allegation of driving with excess alcohol where the breath reading was more than four times the legal limit and the offence was committed whilst on bail for another alcohol related driving offence. Bail was granted and for the two offences the client was subsequently sentenced to a suspended sentence order.
Client E 2023 – Client E was convicted of a malicious communication offence relating to their contact with a police officer. A warrant was then issued for their arrest after they failed to attend court. Whilst outstanding on the warrant they were then arrested for a further offence of malicious communication relating to a former partner. They appeared before the court in connection with both matters and were granted conditional bail. Subsequently they were sentenced to a suspended sentence order.
Client A 2022 – Client A was charged with a number of offences relating to the possession and distribution of indecent images. Olliers had initially dealt with him when he was interviewed by the police. David represented him when he appeared in the Magistrates Court. He entered guilty pleas at the first hearing and the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report with all sentencing options remaining open including the possibility of the case being committed to the Crown Court for sentence. At the sentence hearing a community order was imposed.
Client B 2022 – Client B was one of a number of young people charged with offences arising out of an incident in which it was alleged that they had armed themselves with knives and driven to another area to seek revenge for an attack that had caused the death of a friend. The client appeared in custody at the initial appearance in the Youth Court. He was granted bail at that hearing. Subsequently he pleaded guilty to several offences and was sentenced to a referral order in the Youth Court.
Client C 2022 – Client C was arrested in 2020 in connection with an allegation of rape. This was an offence that was said to have taken place several years earlier. The police stated that there was DNA evidence that linked the client to the offence. There were a number of issues that arose during a lengthy police investigation including whether or not the client should participate in an identification procedure and also issues relating to police bail. After two years the police confirmed that No Further Action would be taken in connection with this matter.
Client D 2022 – Client D was convicted of offences in the Youth Court and an application was made for a Criminal Behaviour Order. The prosecution sought a number of conditions relating to who the client could associate with, areas that he should be excluded from and even his ability to travel by car. At the final hearing it was necessary to negotiate with the prosecutor and the officer who had led the investigation in order to ensure that an appropriate order was made by the court.

Recent Cases

David represents people in the Magistrates Court on a daily basis and these are some of the cases that he has dealt with in recent months;

Client IJ – sentenced for offences of arson and failing to attend court on two occasions. A community order was imposed.
Client FW – appeared at a Magistrates Court charged with attempted murder. A bail application was made and conditional bail was granted.
Client TT – arrested for an offence of endangering an aircraft. Represented at the police station in interview and cautioned for a far less serious allegation.
Client NO – charged with an offence of causing grievous bodily harm. Appeared before the court in custody and granted conditional bail.
Client CT – charged with a number of offences of burglary. One matter was admitted and after the case was further reviewed the other outstanding allegations were withdrawn.
Client ED – pleaded guilty to an offence of breaching a criminal behaviour order. A community order was imposed.
R v MR – client pleaded guilty to malicious communication offences relating to threatening phone calls and was sentenced to a suspended sentence order at the first hearing.
R v KI – sentence in respect of an offence of disqualified driving. The court imposed a non-custodial sentence despite relevant previous convictions.
R v LM – client appeared in custody having been charged with strangulation. Bail granted.
R v DI – admitted breach of a domestic violence protection and matter dealt with by way of a fine.
R v DD – client appeared in custody charged with threats to kill and possession of a bladed article. Case allocated to Manchester Crown Court and bail granted.
R v BE – prompt guilty pleas entered to a number of matters including assaulting an emergency worker and breaching a suspended sentence order and a short custodial sentence was imposed.
R v EF – client admitted a series of offences of theft committed at the same shop on successive days and a community sentence was imposed.

Membership of organisations or focus groups or mentoring

David is a member of the Manchester Law Society Crown and Magistrates Court Committee. He continues to mentor students at the University of Law in Manchester as he has done for many years.

Listen to David on The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast

In May 2020 David contributed to the Guardians Today in Focus podcast in relation to domestic violence ceases and how lockdown is changing the way domestic violence cases are being prosecuted. David featured having been court duty solicitor in the domestic violence court at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. You can listen to David by clicking here.

Read David’s book reviews in the Law Society Gazette

In February 2022 David reviewed Julian Hayes biography of disgraced former government minister John Stonehouse. The review of ‘Stonehouse; Cabinet Minister, Fraudster, Spy’ was printed in the Law Society Gazette and you can read what David had to say about the book here.

In February 2023 David’s review of Suzanne Stephenson’s short novel ‘Mr Perkins takes charge’ was printed in the Law Society Gazette. You can read David’s review here.