Iles v R.

A youth may be committed for trial on a grave crime under Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, section 24(1)(a). Where that occurs, section 24(1A)(b) also permits the committal of another indictable charge capable of joinder in the same indictment.

That route does not enlarge sentencing powers. A young offender should not receive a more severe sentence than an adult would face for the joined offence. An extended sentence of detention under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 228(2A), requires an appropriate custodial term of at least four years. A court must not reach that threshold by imposing a manifestly excessive term.

A youth court had no power to impose sentences of detention on an offender under 18. The convictions remained, but lawful detention and training orders were substituted.

The appellant was 16 when he damaged and attempted to set fire to a school. He also committed violence, threats and weapons offences while on police bail. The Youth Court committed him for trial on arson and criminal damage. At the Crown Court, the judge imposed an extended sentence of four years' detention with a three-year extended licence for the indictment offences. Sitting as a youth court, he also imposed detention sentences for the remaining offences.

The appellant sought leave to appeal against sentence out of time. The Criminal Appeal Office identified that criminal damage was not a specified offence for an extended sentence. Further issues arose concerning the lawfulness of the committal for criminal damage, the Youth Court sentences, and whether other offending could be used to produce the four-year custodial threshold for an extended sentence.

1. Appeals allowed. The court granted leave, treated the application as the appeal, and quashed both Crown Court sentences. The extended sentence was wrong in principle and manifestly excessive.

2. Under Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, section 24(1)(a), the appellant was properly committed for trial on arson, a grave crime for the purposes of section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. The court held that section 24(1A)(b) also permitted the justices to commit the indictable criminal-damage charge because it could be joined in the same indictment. The court therefore recalled its earlier order quashing that committal.

3. Committal under section 24(1A)(b) did not enlarge the available sentencing powers. The court considered that it would be wrong to impose on a young offender a sentence more severe than that applicable to an adult, comparing P v Leeds Youth Court [2006] EWHC 2527 (Admin).

4. An extended sentence under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 228(2A), was available only if the appropriate custodial term was at least four years. The court left open whether offending dealt with by the Youth Court could be used in identifying that term. Even if it could, a four-year term was manifestly excessive given the appellant's age and the offences. The court substituted 2 years 6 months' detention for arson under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 91, with 128 days' remand credit. It imposed no separate penalty for the criminal damage.

5. Sitting as a Divisional Court, the court held that the Youth Court had no power to impose detention sentences because the appellant was under 18 when convicted. It did not quash the convictions. Under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 43(1), it substituted concurrent detention and training orders of eight months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and four months for each of possession of an offensive weapon, threats to kill and affray. No separate penalties were imposed for the remaining Youth Court offences.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Granted leave to appeal against sentence, allowed the appeal and substituted a determinate sentence of 2 years 6 months' detention for arson. It made no separate order on the criminal-damage count.

• Divisional Court: In the same proceedings, quashed the unlawful Youth Court sentences and substituted lawful detention and training orders. It recalled its earlier order quashing the committal of the criminal-damage charge.

• Crown Court at Coventry: On 8 October 2010, HHJ Ross imposed an extended sentence of four years' detention with a three-year extended licence for the indictment offences, and imposed detention sentences when sitting with justices as a Youth Court.

• Youth Court: Committed the appellant for trial on arson and criminal damage, and dealt with the remaining offences for sentence.