In a [pdf] submission dated July 17, 2007, Principal Defender Vincent Nmehielle assigned new counsel to Taylor.  The new defense team consists of Lead Counsel Courtenay Griffiths and Co-Counsel Andrew Cayley and Terry Munyard.  The filing states that “Mr. Taylor requested the Principal Defender assign him Mr. Courtenay Griffiths, QC of the Bar of England and Wales as Lead Counsel to represent him to the finality of the case following consultations between Mr. Taylor, the Defense Office and Mr. Griffiths.” 

According to his law firm bio, Griffiths was born in Jamaica and raised in England, and specializes “in all aspects of criminal justice, including the criminal law, civil actions against the police and inquests.”  His criminal practice “ranges from fraud to terrorism, murder and serious public order to drugs.”  Of particular interest, the site notes that his criminal practice “has recently taken him to Sierra Leone where he was due to appear before the Special War Crimes Tribunal in that country.”