Drew St'Clair

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Drew St'Clair, a barrister called in 2001, prosecuted a road traffic case at Willesden Magistrates Court on 10 November 2021 where Person A was a vulnerable female defendant and domestic abuse victim. He obtained her personal contact details in his professional role and used them to pursue a romantic interest, contacting her by phone and WhatsApp, causing fear and distress (Charges 1-5, found to be misconduct of a sexual nature/harassment). He also offered no evidence in her case without obtaining CPS instructions (Charges 6-7). The Tribunal found the conduct intentional but no express finding of dishonesty was made. He was suspended 26 months on Charges 1-5, fined £1,000 total on Charges 6-7, ordered to pay £2,670 costs, and his practising certificate suspended with immediate effect.

Duties found breached:

• No conflict between current clients
• No taking unfair advantage
• No unlawful discrimination or harassment
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct was intentional
• Breach of a position of power or authority as prosecutor
• Significant likely impact on public confidence
• Previous disciplinary findings (though old and different, noted unwillingness to admit them; misleading claim of unblemished record)
• Lack of awareness/insight into professional boundaries
• Failure to self-report (left to CPS to report)
• High level of professional experience (called 2001)

Mitigating factors:

• Early admission to the CPS
• Genuine remorse
• Co-operation with the investigation
• Voluntarily took remedial steps (online course)
• Conduct not persistent (limited to 3 contact attempts over 24 hours)
• Character references (little weight given)