Music Based Evidence

The Youth Justice Legal Centre is delighted to welcome Keir Monteith KC and Tom Copeland (Garden Court Chambers) for a timely and practical Masterclass on one of the most contentious evidential issues in youth criminal cases: the use of music, lyrics, videos and alleged “gang” evidence in prosecutions involving children and young people.

Prosecutors rely on drill music, rap lyrics, music videos and social media content in serious youth cases — often as evidence of alleged gang affiliation, intent or criminal propensity. For children’s lawyers, these cases raise significant evidential, strategic and advocacy challenges.

This session will provide practical guidance for criminal practitioners, drawing on real-life case studies to examine how this evidence is used in practice — and how it can be effectively challenged in court.

What the Masterclass will cover:

• How and why music is used in criminal prosecutions
• What counts as “gang evidence” — and how it is framed by the prosecution
• Real-life case studies illustrating how music-based evidence arises in practice
• Recent legal developments and emerging case law
• Practical defence strategies to challenge and rebut music-based evidence
• An update on the Art Not Evidence campaign and its ongoing work

This is an essential session for criminal solicitors, barristers and youth justice practitioners representing children and young people in serious criminal cases.

You’ll leave with:

• Practical advocacy tools you can use in live cases
• Insight from real cases and how these arguments play out in court
• Up-to-date legal analysis from leading practitioners in this field