Jerry Hayes was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1977 and specialises in leading high profile criminal cases.

Jerry was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Harlow between 1983 and 1997. He served on the Health and Heritage Select Committees and was Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Environment. He was also Chairman of a number of Private Bill Committees. Jerry introduced a number of Acts including the Sexual Offences Act, the Nurse Prescribing Act and the Video Recordings Act.

Since his return to practice, Jerry Hayes has been leading counsel for the defence in a number of high profile cases involving murder, drugs importation, people trafficking and fraud.

. The most recent are:

• R v L [2010] - represented the youngest of two brothers accused of raping their sister
• R v Lyon - where a House of Commons clerk was accused of downloading paedophile images.
• R v Wells - murder by strangulation.
• R v McMemamin - a movie star accused of air rage
• R v Dulgieru - the largest people trafficking case ever brought to trial
• R v Julian Clark - manslaughter by kicking
• R v McGing - a courts martial where a serving soldier was accused of killing an Iraqi boy in Basra
• R v Van Overveld - an importation of 80 kilos of heroin
• R v Tishane Bernard - a gangland execution
• R v Carlton Ashman Samuels - a murder and two attempted murders by stabbing
• R v John Sharpe - a banking fraud

Jerry’s combination of experience in politics, election law and criminal defence makes him ideally qualified to act in cases of election fraud. He represented the Birmingham councillors in the landmark postal ballot fraud in the first Election Court convened outside London in 100 years. He also appeared as leading counsel in the Administrative Court in Hemming v The Department of Constitutional Affairs. This was the highly publicised challenge the lawfulness of the Postal Vote Regulations during the 2005 General Election.

During the rest of 2009 Jerry will be leading another two murders and an importation of £254 million of heroin. 

Reported Cases include:

• R v Hay (1983) 77 Cr App R 70 CA
• R v Julian Ayodeji (2001) 1 Cr App R 106
• AG Ref Nos 13-18, R V Sharon McKeown & others Times 17th August 2004
• R v Marcus CA Times 3rd December 2004