Miriam Smith

Miriam acts for requested persons and judicial authorities in extradition proceedings, both at first instance and on appeal. She has experience in matters involving complex areas of law, expert evidence and country thematic issues having acted in cases raising complex technical challenges to extradition and human rights arguments including prison conditions, trafficking, fair trial rights, and rights to family and private life. Miriam has been appointed to the CPS Extradition Panel at Level 2. 

Miriam has significant experience in public inquiries, both for Core Participants and as inquiry counsel. She is currently instructed as junior counsel to the Afghanistan Inquiry. 

For nearly six years Miriam was junior counsel instructed by the Metropolitan Police Service in the Undercover Policing Inquiry. She was also junior counsel instructed by the National Police Chiefs Council in the Covid-19 Inquiry. Miriam acted as part of the Inquiry teams in the Lampard Inquiry and Brook House Inquiry. 

Miriam has appeared in coronial proceedings, representing families of the deceased and institutional interested persons. She has been involved in cases involving medical and psychiatric treatment and deaths in state custody, and has experience of making successful submissions on the engagement of Article 2. 

Miriam provides advice and representation in Parole Board hearings and associated judicial review claims. She has acted successfully in factually complex parole cases and for prisoners many years over tariff. 

Before her career at the Bar, Miriam volunteered at Prisoners’ Advice Service for two years. She advised prisoners on a wide range of prison law matters, including the merits of potential civil claims and judicial review claims, and assisted with legal advice clinics in prisons in London. Accordingly, Miriam is very familiar with the wide-ranging issues faced by prisoners during their time in custody and has experience of matters such as adjudications, categorisation reviews and the imposition of licence conditions and their respective means of challenge. 

Miriam acts in judicial reviews and appeals in quasi-criminal matters. She has advised on challenges relating to the disclosure of criminal convictions and has appeared before the Upper Tribunal in an appeal against inclusion in the children’s barred list. Miriam has acted successfully for the victims of crime and their family members in several criminal injuries compensation cases, both on appeal to the First-tier Tribunal and in judicial review proceedings before the Upper Tribunal. She acted in a novel criminal injuries case concerning the scope and interpretation of the test for applying to re-open an award of compensation, successfully securing permission to appeal from the Upper Tribunal to the Court of Appeal despite not acting below. 

As a member of the Centre for Women’s Justice Legal Reference Panel, Miriam also provides advice and assistance on a pro bono basis to female victims of physical and sexual violence seeking to challenge decisions not to prosecute by the police or the CPS under the Victim’s Right to Review Scheme. She successfully challenged one such decision prior to the issue of judicial review proceedings.            

Professional Appointments

• CPS Advocates Panel Grade 2
• CPS Specialist Extradition Panel Grade 2
• CPS Specialist Proceeds of Crime Panel Grade 2