The discovery of messages of a sexual nature sent by a lawyer to a female client, who claims he failed to properly prepare and present her case after she declined his advances, has resulted in the Court of Appeal overturning her conviction.
The woman, 33, whom the Compass is not naming, was convicted in September 2022 of unlawful wounding for stabbing her co-worker during a fight at a beauty salon where they worked.
Two months later, she was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
In June 2023, she appealed her sentence on the grounds of incompetence and sexual harassment by her attorney Keith Myers.
Myers is said to have signed a sworn affidavit refuting the allegations.
‘Inexplicable’ messages
During the brief appeal hearing on Friday, 19 April, the woman’s new attorney, Simon Csoka, KC, read out parts of the WhatsApp conversation between Myers and his client.
In one excerpt, Myers told the woman he missed her, to which she replied she missed him too. The conversation continues with her telling him she was going to bed, to which he responded, “lucky man”.
The court heard the woman, who did not respond until the following day, is said to have asked Myers what he meant, to which he replied, “if it was me I would have kissed and kissed you”.
The messages, read by Csoka, reveal that Myers picked up the woman and took her on an outing for a couple hours. After dropping her off, he began messaging again, in which he referred to a cat emoji, the court heard.
In another message, presented to the appeals court, the woman told Myers, “You have me under the impression that if [I] didn’t come and see you, you wouldn’t provide me with the help I need, smh (shake my head) I looked into myself this is not what I want to do.”
In response to this message, Myers replied, “I thought we liked each other… honestly, honestly, you don’t have to spend anytime with me if you don’t want.”
“These messages were sent two days before arraignment,” explained Csoka.
“These messages are inexplicable in any form of professional conduct,” replied Court of Appeal President Sir John Goldring.
An uncontested appeal
Scott Wainwright, assistant deputy director of public prosecutions, told the court that in light of the revelation of the messages, the prosecution felt it would be inappropriate to oppose the appeal.
“Whilst there are criticisms that could be made in the cross examination, the respondent is not in a position to act upon grounds where the applicant asserts that her case was not properly prepared, presented and acted upon,” said Wainwright.
He added, “As to the allegations contained in the grounds as it relates to inadequate presentation of documents by counsel, that would explain scant file notes and an absence of disclosed information by trial counsel.”
Set free
After serving six months of her sentence, the woman was released on bail pending her appeal – a matter the appeals judges took into consideration.
“You are cleared of all charges and free to go,” Goldring told her, adding that a full written judgment would be provided before the end of the current appeals court sitting.
Myers, who was present at the hearing, made no response.
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