Legal giant Dr Courtenay Griffiths KC ‘leaves indelible mark’

LONDON:

Well-known defence barrister, Dr Courtenay Griffiths KC, who made a name for himself by taking on a number of high profile cases in representation of the black community in the UK, passed away last week at 69 years old.

‘Legendary’ is how the Jamaica-born legal giant has been described by his peers who paid tribute on news of his passing.

Griffiths who was born in Kingston, Jamaica but grew up in Coventry, England was best known for his work in the defence of Winston Silcott in the Broadwater Farm Riots case in 1987, the Damilola Taylor murder trial in 2002, as well as internationally when he took on the Charles Taylor ‘Blood Diamonds’ trial at The Hague in 2007.

Griffiths, who once said of his career that he was inspired by Jamaica’s first Premier Norman Manley QC, was a graduate of the London School of Economics and was called to the Bar in 1980. In 1998, he was appointed as Queen’s Counsel (now called King’s Counsel), one of the first black lawyers to achieve the prestigious award identifying the country’s most pre-eminent and senior lawyers.

Among those paying tribute to him was Jacqueline McKenzie, human right and immigration lawyer.

She said: “I am saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Courtenay Griffiths KC... There are a few people I owe my career in law to and Courtenay was very much near the top of the list, such was his grace with time, advice and even some chiding.

“I last saw him in July 2019 when we were both panellists at a colloquium organised by the British Foundation of the University of West Indies, at the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission, on the Windrush scandal and hostile environment.

“Courtenay was ill then, but sharp, funny and as delightful to be with as ever. We said we’d talk more about the Windrush scandal and how it had come to be, but sadly we never did.

“Through his practice at Garden Court and 25 Bedford Row Chambers, he acted in major criminal and human rights cases, in the UK and overseas, and leaves an indelible mark of greatness on our profession, and on the world.”Laurie-Anne Power KC, a barrister at Griffiths old office at Bedford Row Chambers, said: “He epitomised brilliance, intellect and fearlessness in equal measure.

“He considered it his duty to open doors and provide opportunities to those who might not otherwise have them. He was unapologetic about changing the landscape of the bar. As an advocate, there was simply no one better.

“He commanded the attention of anyone and everyone in the courtroom. But behind the advocate was a gentle, kind, selfless man who loved the law.”

Amina Graham, a barrister at Hare Court Chambers said: “I worked with him during my time at the Special Court for Sierra Leone where he represented Charles Taylor. Courtenay was a formidable advocate and an inspiration to so many. He demonstrated the importance of representation for me in my pursuit of a career at the bar.”

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

In 2005, Griffiths was given an honorary doctorate from Leeds Metropolitan University. He spent most of his career at Garden Court and 25 Bedford Row chambers, and also sat as a recorder – a part-time judge. In 2012, he was honoured by the Association of Jamaican Nationals in Birmingham.

In 2020, Griffiths received an outstanding achievement award at the Legal 500 Awards and was given a lifetime achievement award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards in 2018.

During a June 2020 interview with Paul Gilroy, director of the University College London’s Sarah Parker Remond Centre, Griffiths gave an insight into the reasons he went into the legal profession.

He said: “Because we have lost our recollection of what happened with the Sus laws on black people in the 1970s and 1980s, we have lost what had triggered off the race riots in Brixton, Bristol, Manchester and Liverpool in the early 1980s. It was like several decades of the way we were treated as black youngsters growing up in this country.

“Yes I’m a QC now, but I recall being stopped as a youngster in the precincts in Coventry by police officers when I hadn’t done anything; and they took me into a small hall in the middle of the precinct in Coventry and basically threatened me; and I hadn’t done anything, it was just the way I was dressed and the colour of my skin.

“And that’s the way things were. And it was in the early 1980s that black youngsters decided to confront that through riot. And it’s the reason why I decided I wanted to become a criminal defence advocate, because that’s where I thought ‘now I’ve qualified, it’s gonna be too difficult for you to arrest me’, so I can curse you in court in a way in which I couldn’t do out on the street. And I enjoyed it.

“But, the only difference is that things have changed. Back then when I started out in 1980, police officers fitted up black people in court, like Winston Silcott in the case surrounding the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, which I was involved in. They fitted him up. It was common practice to attribute certain admissions to black defenders when they were arrested.

“The Police and Criminal Evidence Act passed in 1984 whilst (Margaret) Thatcher was the Prime Minister. That’s changed things, surprisingly, so that nowadays it’s very difficult to come across a police officer who has fitted it up in the way it used to happen back in the 1960s-’70s and 1980s.”

Dr Courtenay Griffiths leaves behind wife Angela and sons, Adam and Marcus.