Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2004

A sentencing guideline that ordinarily calls for custody for serious street robbery does not prevent a court from imposing a community sentence where…

An acquittal prevents a defendant from being tried or punished again for the same offence. It does not conclusively establish factual innocence or resolve…

Expert psychiatric evidence is potentially admissible where it concerns a recognised mental condition outside ordinary experience and may assist the jury to…

In contact sports, criminal proceedings should be confined to conduct sufficiently grave to be properly categorised as criminal. Participation implies consent…

Interference with a juror in the performance of public service is a grave attack on the criminal justice system. Custody, sometimes for a substantial period…

Unauthorised disclosure by a public servant of confidential information held for public purposes is a serious sentencing matter. Sentencing must reflect the…

Where equally culpable co-defendants received different sentences solely because one lacked the others’ mitigating good character, a later reduction of that…

A sentencing court should not treat a non-custodial sentence imposed for a separate offence as justifying a similar disposal for a serious drug offence where…

Under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section 41(5) may permit specific evidence of a complainant’s sexual behaviour which rebuts or explains…

Section 51 A of the Firearms Act 1968 imposes a five-year minimum custodial term on an adult convicted of a qualifying firearm offence unless there are…

A sentencing court must assess sentence on an accepted basis of plea, even where it prompts serious concern. Prosecutors and judges should scrutinise written…

In fixing a confiscation order, the court must use a reliable professional valuation of property at the date of the confiscation hearing and must deduct the…

Separate offences may properly attract consecutive sentences. The aggregate sentence must nevertheless comply with the principle of totality. A substantial…

For the new offence of battery with intent to commit a sexual offence, established sentencing guidance concerning sexual offending continues to assist…

An appeal against conviction succeeds only where an identified trial error renders the conviction unsafe. The exclusion of potentially relevant expert evidence…

For isolated adult shoplifting without threats or violence, imprisonment is a sentence of last resort and is almost never appropriate for a first offence.…

Questions about a complainant’s previous statements concerning sexual experience fall within section 41 unless the defence unequivocally alleges, on an…

On a reference alleging undue leniency, the appellate court must sentence on the factual basis properly available at the original hearing. It cannot draw an…

For gross negligence manslaughter, the existence of a duty of care is normally for the jury, once the judge has decided that there is evidence capable of…

Where a restraining order uses ordinary English words, the court decides whether the words bear an ordinary or special meaning. If they bear their ordinary…

Where a defendant with a spent conviction relies on positive character evidence, the trial judge must first decide whether the conviction is, or reasonably…

For confiscation under section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a person who participates in an importation which fraudulently avoids customs duty may…

A sentence for manslaughter by gross negligence arising from driving need not be approached as causing death by dangerous driving under another label. Its…

For tobacco brought into the United Kingdom by sea, importation is a finite event occurring when the ship enters the limits of the port. The excise duty point…

Where an offence of obtaining leave to enter by deception has been completed on entry, and the statutory conditions for the refugee defence are not satisfied…

A hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 remains discretionary once its statutory conditions are met. The absence of a causal connection…

For an automatic life sentence under section 109(5)(h) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, it must be established that the offender…

A guilty plea obtained after erroneous legal advice should be set aside only where the error goes to the heart of the plea and shows that it was not a genuine…

A video-identification procedure that deliberately evades the safeguards in Code D may be so unfair that its admission renders the resulting convictions…

A sentence may be lenient without being unduly lenient. On an Attorney General’s reference, the appellate court must assess both the proper sentence and…

For misconduct in public office founded on dishonest pursuit of personal advantage, an honest public purpose does not preclude liability where dishonesty…

Before sentence, a trial judge has a judicial discretion to permit a defendant to change an unequivocal guilty plea. The discretion requires an objective basis…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the stated considerations are not conditions precedent to receiving fresh evidence. The court must assess all…

Evidence of a complainant’s recent complaint may support the complainant’s credibility, including through the complaint’s contents, but it is not independent…

Under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a jury must first decide whether an accused could reasonably have been expected to mention…

Robbery committed by a gang against vulnerable users of public transport ordinarily calls for a deterrent custodial sentence. This applies to young offenders…

Sentencing indications for false-passport offences must be read by reference to the statutory offence charged. Possession of a false instrument with intent…

Under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23, proposed fresh evidence should be refused where, even if heard at trial, it could not reasonably have affected the…

Sentencing for violence within a domestic relationship requires an assessment of all the facts. Good character and public service may properly mitigate…

An entrapment claim requires an overall assessment of whether State agents created crime by luring the defendant into offending, rather than merely providing…

A prosecution for historic sexual allegations should be stayed for delay only where, after considering all the circumstances, a fair trial is no longer…

An adverse inference under section 34 must be based on a defendant’s failure to mention an identified fact later relied upon. The jury must be directed on…

In sentencing for possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply, the court should give effect to Parliament’s classification. It should not treat one…

Where the Crown tenders a defendant’s mixed interview or statement, the jury must consider both its incriminating and exculpatory parts when deciding where the…

Where the prosecution seeks the five-year minimum sentence for possession of a prohibited weapon under Criminal Justice Act 2003, it should charge an offence…

On an Attorney-General’s reference, a sentence may remain undisturbed even if it is capable of being characterised as unduly lenient. The court must exercise…

A community sentence may be unduly lenient for sustained sexual abuse of young children within a family. Sentencing must reflect the breach of trust, the…

A local authority considering a criminal prosecution for strict-liability consumer-protection offences must give careful effect to its own enforcement policy.…

A trial judge may treat a defendant with spent convictions as a person other than of good character and may take those convictions into account on credibility.…

Serious robbery in a public place calls for a robust custodial response. Where the offence involves a weapon or threats of a weapon, group offending, excessive…

A jury must be unanimous on every ingredient of an offence. A Brown direction is required only where there is a realistic risk that jurors may aggregate…

Purported recognition evidence is not inadmissible merely because it is weak when viewed alone. Under Turnbull [1977] QB 224, the court must assess the quality…

Under Juries Act 1974, section 18, a verdict is not unsafe merely because a juror was disqualified from service. The court will interfere only where direct…

At the no-case-to-answer stage, the prosecution evidence must be assessed as a whole. Weak identification evidence may properly be considered with independent…

Sentences for a grave aggravated burglary and a later conspiracy to pervert the course of justice must reflect the full seriousness of both offences. Where the…

Sentencing for a violent group robbery must reflect the vulnerability of a lone victim, the use of shod feet, violence beyond that needed to steal, and any…

On a reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court of Appeal may replace an unduly lenient sentence with one that properly reflects the offender’s…

Expert psychological evidence is admissible in principle on a defence of duress where it supports a finding of mental impairment, such as significantly…

Under the amended confiscation regime in Criminal Justice Act 1988, once the statutory conditions are met and benefit has been determined, the court must make…

Defendants jointly charged should ordinarily be tried together. Severance is exceptional and is required only where a fair trial cannot otherwise be secured.…

Where drug-trafficking cash is used to acquire property, the required assumptions under Drug Trafficking Act 1994 may treat the acquired property, rather than…

Earlier sentencing guidance for attempted murder does not remain an appropriate guide where the established tariff for carrying and using firearms has…

Where an offender crosses a statutory age threshold between the offence and conviction, the sentencing court must begin with the sentence likely to have been…

Earlier sentencing decisions concerning indecent assault involving digital penetration are no longer authoritative for the distinct offence of assault by…

An anti-social behaviour order may be made in response to persistent driving offending where it is necessary to protect the public from further anti-social…

An authorised solicitor’s pre-trial letter offering a plea to a lesser offence may be used in cross-examination as a previous inconsistent statement relevant…

Proceeds of Crime Act 1995, section 16(5), prevents the Crown from dividing convictions in one set of proceedings between the pre-commencement and…

The Stewart sentencing guidance for benefit fraud remains applicable. Its monetary threshold should be adjusted for inflation: where custody is necessary, a…

For causing death by dangerous driving, the sentencing starting point must reflect the offender’s culpability under the applicable guideline. Driving through…

For a murder committed during the relevant transitional period, the specified period must be assessed under Amendment No 8 to the Consolidated Practice…

For an Attorney General’s reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is not complete while confiscation and compensation remain to be decided. An…

A failure formally to ask an accused person whether a breach of bail is admitted does not necessarily invalidate a conviction under Bail Act 1976, section…

A sentence for wounding with intent is unduly lenient where it fails adequately to reflect a planned, wholly unprovoked group attack using weapons against an…

When sentencing grave sexual offences committed by a professional against patients, the court must assess the harm caused, the offender’s culpability, the risk…

The seriousness of blackmail depends substantially on its particular circumstances. Deliberate targeting of a person known to be highly vulnerable, coupled…

A trial judge should remind jurors not to discuss the case with anyone outside the jury. An omission is an irregularity, but it does not automatically make a…

For the witness-intimidation offence under section 51(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, an act intimidates where it puts the victim in…

For an offence under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971, recklessness requires the defendant’s awareness of the relevant risk and an unreasonable…

An anti-social behaviour order may be imposed alongside a custodial sentence and licence conditions only where it is demonstrably necessary to protect the…

Under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the court must determine benefit and the amount realisable as distinct questions. Once benefit is established, the…

The Court of Appeal’s power to substitute a sentence or order under section 11(3) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 remains subject to the statutory conditions…

Fresh and credible expert evidence may render a conviction unsafe where it shows that an accused person's unrecognised cognitive condition materially affected…

A sentence for manslaughter involving sustained and forceful violence against a vulnerable and defenceless victim must give proper weight to the gravity of the…

On an Attorney-General’s reference for an unduly lenient sentence, the word “case” in sections 35(3) and 36(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 permits the…

A finding that a sentence is unduly lenient does not require the Court of Appeal to increase it. In exercising its discretion under Criminal Justice Act 1988…

A sentence for sustained and sophisticated fraud involving the supply of workers not entitled to work in the United Kingdom, forged immigration documents, and…

A finding that a sentence is unduly lenient does not require the court to increase it on an Attorney General’s reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988…

For voyeurism involving covert filming of an adult family member, custody is not automatically justified. Sentencing must reflect the seriousness of recording…

Recognition evidence does not become inadmissible hearsay merely because a witness learned the recognised person's name through repeated, uncontradicted use…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 41, restrained assets cannot be released to meet legal expenses incurred in taking advice about, or applying to vary…

For an unemployed Class A drug addict who supplies solely to fund their own addiction, holds no stock, and makes only a few retail supplies to undercover…

In confiscation proceedings under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, statutory assumptions may be made where their conditions are met. A defendant who seeks to…

A confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 cannot stand where the relevant drug-trafficking offence began before that Act came into force. The…

A direction under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 must identify the facts allegedly withheld, explain the limited adverse…

Unauthorised access by a police station reception officer to confidential police information did not pass the custodial threshold where the searches were…

In sentencing persistent public-nuisance offending involving hoax emergency calls, the court may give decisive weight to the protection of the public.…

Trade Marks Act 1994 section 92 creates the substantive trade-mark offence. Its partnership provisions govern the procedure and partner liability where a…

Deliberate theft and deception directed at elderly and vulnerable people is among the most serious forms of non-violent offending. The harm includes fear…

A persistent drug importer may receive a sentence substantially above the level normally indicated by the quantity involved where the offender’s record…

The prosecution may call a witness who may prove hostile and may ordinarily wait to see whether the witness does so. The trial judge must balance the public…

A Newton hearing is appropriate only where a defendant’s factual basis for a guilty plea raises a disputed fact which may materially affect sentence. The judge…

For an appeal against conviction, Supreme Court Act 1981, section 55 requires a court of at least three judges to make a final determination. Agreement between…

Evidence identifying a motor vehicle or registration mark does not automatically require the special warning applicable to disputed eyewitness identification.…

Fresh evidence of police misconduct does not automatically make an earlier conviction unsafe. The appellate court should ask whether the evidence, if available…

An adverse inference under sections 34 or 36 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 cannot itself establish a case to answer. Where silence followed…

When a court makes an order under section 116 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 after an offender has committed a further offence…

Conspiracy to defraud does not require proof that lies were told to the intended victims. A participant may be convicted where the evidence establishes knowing…

Where a defendant controls a company as his alter ego and uses it as a vehicle for fraud, the court may lift the corporate veil. It may then treat the benefit…

An aggravated burglary involving a premeditated group attack in the victim’s home, a weapon, repeated violence, serious injury, damage and profound harm to the…

A conviction for a qualifying sexual offence remains effective for notification purposes where the offender receives a conditional discharge. Under section…

In an appeal against sentence, the decisive question is whether the sentence is manifestly excessive. A severe sentence will not be reduced where the gravity…

A sentencing court may lawfully impose a custodial sentence on the same occasion as a hospital order with an unlimited restriction order. However, the court…

For a section 18 offence, grievous bodily harm may properly be described to a jury as serious bodily harm. The addition of “really” does not impose a separate…

Before making a prosecution-costs order against an undischarged bankrupt, a court must expressly consider both the debtor’s liabilities to creditors and the…

Where a violent offender makes a sustained and unprovoked attack on a vulnerable and unconscious victim, persists despite intervention, and causes permanent…

For the purposes of Criminal Law Act 1967, section 3, a crime is an offence in domestic law. A rule of international law may form part of English law, but it…

A conspiracy is complete upon the making of an agreement. Under Criminal Law Act 1977, section 1, an agreement may be to commit one or more offences. An…

For a sustained and grave group assault causing serious physical and psychological harm, youth, guilty pleas and personal mitigation may reduce sentence but…

On an Attorney General’s reference, the court must first decide whether the sentence was unduly lenient. It must then exercise its statutory discretion as to…

When increasing an unduly lenient sentence for wounding with intent, the court must ensure that the sentence for that offence properly reflects its…

For a premeditated retaliatory wounding committed with a weapon and causing serious injury, a post-trial starting point of five years’ imprisonment may be…

On an Attorney General's reference, the Court of Appeal should intervene only where the sentence is manifestly insufficiently severe, ordinarily because an…

For manslaughter following a guilty plea accepted on the basis of no intent to kill or cause serious injury, about five years’ imprisonment will often be an…

A defendant of good character who has given evidence is ordinarily entitled to a clear direction on both distinct aspects of good character: its relevance to…

When sentencing for public nuisance constituted by nuisance telephone calls, the court may have regard to the statutory maxima and available protective orders…

Fresh psychiatric evidence may be received under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where it is credible and could have had a significant effect at…

For a mandatory life sentence, the minimum term is the period the court considers appropriate for seriousness, namely punishment and deterrence. Public…

A serious and organised retail conspiracy to supply heroin may properly attract a sentence at the top of the range for retail distribution where it involves…

A non-custodial sentence may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the gravity of concerted robberies and attempted robberies involving a realistic…

A trial judge may authorise witness anonymity after balancing the witness’s safety against the accused’s ability to prepare and present the defence. A voir…

A firearm robbery will ordinarily require a substantial custodial sentence to deter such offending and protect those running small businesses. Sentencing is…

Incitement requires conduct intended to urge, encourage or otherwise influence another to commit an offence. The ordinary meaning of incite may be conveyed by…

For causing death by dangerous driving, custody will normally be required because of the gravity of the offence and the need to deter dangerous driving. A…

Sentencing for sustained sexual abuse of children must reflect the victims’ ages and number, the nature and frequency of the misconduct, any breach of trust…

For violent robbery in a victim’s home, the central concern is the victim’s vulnerability, rather than age alone. Targeting a vulnerable person living alone…

Where credible psychiatric and psychological evidence, unavailable at trial, opens a substantial defence which the jury did not consider, a murder conviction…

A sentence may be lenient without being unduly lenient. On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the appellate court must assess the…

A sentence for rape may be lenient without being unduly lenient. Rape is always a grave offence, but it carries no fixed minimum sentence. The sentencing court…

On a conviction appeal, the overriding question is whether the conviction is safe when assessed by contemporary standards of fairness. Those standards will…

A Watson direction is rarely necessary and must not place pressure on jurors to agree with a view they do not truly hold. Any invitation to engage in give and…

Expert evidence interpreting CCTV footage may be admissible even where the expert has used laboratory equipment and examined material in a way that cannot be…

For aggravated vehicle taking under section 12A of the Theft Act 1968, whether an event is an accident depends on the statutory context. The term can include…

For a specimen count alleging repeated offending, the required jury direction depends on the nature of the charge, the prosecution and defence cases, and the…

For the calculation of the maximum period of return to prison under section 116 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, an extended sentence…

This short judgment records the dispositions of six Attorney General sentencing references. The court declined to interfere with the sentences imposed on four…

A prosecution failure to disclose material held by an investigating authority may require a conviction to be quashed where the material was relevant to…

Material must be disclosed where it assists a defendant to present a tenable case in the best possible light, or could lead to further enquiries that might…

A sentence for wounding with intent may be unduly lenient where it fails adequately to reflect a savage, unprovoked and repeated weapon attack on an innocent…

In sentencing for conspiracy to convert criminal proceeds, the sentence must reflect the basis on which the offender was convicted and sentenced. Where it is…

Where witnesses identify a participant only by clothing, and there is no dispute about visual identification of the suspect, a Turnbull direction is…

A conviction for historic sexual offending is not unsafe merely because the defendant faces delay, lacks contemporaneous records, or can do little more than…

A conviction is unsafe where the prosecution’s case depended on expert evidence which can no longer safely be relied upon. Where, without that evidence, there…

A fitness-to-stand-trial issue must be determined by a jury under section 4 of the Criminal Procedure Insanity Act 1964 only where a real question of fitness…

When considering an appeal against sentence, the court assesses the totality of the consecutive terms. It will not interfere unless the overall sentence is…

A defendant who denies murder need not identify or prove the person who committed it. However, the defendant is entitled to adduce relevant and potentially…

Video lip-reading evidence is capable of being admissible as expert evidence. It must satisfy the ordinary requirements for expert opinion evidence.…

A Crown Court may, during a preparatory hearing in a serious and complex fraud trial, make ancillary orders to give effect to a public-interest-immunity…

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section 41 protects complainants from questioning which, in substance, investigates their sexual behaviour or…

A sentence for a serious indecent assault on a child may be unduly lenient where the sentencer gives excessive weight to the offender’s personal circumstances…

Under Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 23 makes documentary hearsay admissible where its maker is unfit to attend trial. It does not impose a separate…

Where sentencing and recall calculations contain errors, the court should consider the sentence that would have been imposed had the true position been known.…

Evidence of a complainant’s contemporaneous complaint is admissible where it is sufficiently consistent with the complainant’s trial evidence to be capable of…

A judge may permit witnesses to give evidence behind screens where the statutory conditions are met and the quality of their evidence is likely to be…

A detained suspect’s statutory right to legal advice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 may be delayed only on the strict conditions in section…

Sentencing for deliberate and repeated breach of an antisocial behaviour order must reflect Parliament’s public-protection response to persistent conduct which…

In an identification case, weaknesses in a complainant’s identification evidence do not require withdrawal from the jury where other evidence is capable of…

In an identity case, evidence of one offence may be used on another count where the circumstances provide sufficiently cogent probative support for a…

A restraining order under Sex Offenders Act 1997, section 5A, requires material showing that it is necessary to protect the public from serious harm. The court…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence may be unduly lenient without being increased. The court must separately exercise…

A sentence for deliberate, repeated wounding with a broken bottle to an innocent victim’s face and head may be unduly lenient where personal mitigation is…

In an Attorney-General’s reference for undue leniency, serious domestic violence must not be treated as less grave because it occurs within a family setting.…

A secondary party who assists preliminary steps towards a later offence must intentionally assist the perpetrator, rather than intend to hinder or obstruct the…

A sentence for wounding with intent may be unduly lenient where the offender deliberately arms himself with, and uses, a broken bottle to make a retaliatory…

Where the evidence permits more than one adult to be the perpetrator of serious injury to a child, the existence of competing possible perpetrators does not…

A witness statement prepared for a criminal investigation and admitted because its maker is said to be afraid is subject to the stricter leave requirement in…

A sentence for wounding with intent may be unduly lenient where a planned attack with a knife is carried out in the victim’s home, after the victim has been…

When applying the statutory assumptions in confiscation proceedings, the court must stand back and make an independent assessment of whether their application…

For an offence under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, grievous bodily harm may be inflicted without an assault or direct physical…

A substantial delay between the alleged offence and complaint does not itself make a resulting conviction unsafe, even where the complainants were children.…

In an Attorney General reference, a sentence for a planned, night-time aggravated burglary and robberies committed by a group armed with knives must reflect…

A defendant of previous good character is ordinarily entitled to a direction on both credibility and propensity. A defendant with a minor or irrelevant…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, exceptionally bad driving caused by hypoglycaemia may fall within the highest culpability category where…

Organised international trafficking of young women for prostitution is exceptionally grave criminality. Sentences must mark its degrading nature, the coercion…

A reverse legal burden does not inherently breach Article 6(2). Its compatibility depends on substance, not drafting form. The prosecution must ordinarily…

A judicial indication of sentence does not prevent the Attorney General from seeking review of an unduly lenient sentence. The indication remains material when…

On an Attorney-General reference, a sentence may be unduly lenient without requiring an increase. The court must consider the public interest and the…

For the purposes of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, interception requires the making available of communications by interference with, or…

For an offence under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, the prosecution must prove that the offending sign was used as an indication of trade origin.…

When sentencing an offender for offences committed during the unexpired part of an earlier sentence, a court exercising its power under section 116 should…

The common-law offence of misconduct in public office requires a public officer, acting as such, wilfully to neglect a duty or wilfully to misconduct himself…

For affray, a jury must decide whether the defendant used or threatened unlawful violence towards another and whether the conduct would cause a person of…

For an adverse inference under section 34(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the prosecution need not prove every interview question…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because cross-examination was lengthy or contained isolated improprieties. The appellate court must assess their real and…

When sentencing for conspiracy to murder, the court should assess the offender’s role and responsibility and have regard to guideline minimum terms for murder.…

A third party which co-operates closely with an investigation does not thereby become a prosecutor for disclosure purposes. The prosecution must nevertheless…

For an offence of offering to supply a controlled drug under section 4(3)(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the offence is complete when the defendant makes…

A sentencing court dealing with possession of indecent images of children must have reliable information about the quantity of images at each seriousness…

Fresh evidence of a defendant’s severe intellectual disability may render a conviction unsafe where it materially affects the jury’s assessment of knowledge…

An irregular judicial indication concerning plea and sentence does not by itself invalidate a guilty plea. The appellant must show that the irregularity caused…

Replaying video-recorded evidence-in-chief after a jury has retired is exceptional because it can disturb the evidential balance of a criminal trial. The judge…

A conviction following a naval court-martial is unsafe where the tribunal breached article 6(1) because its Judge Advocate lacked the necessary appearance of…

On a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the Court of Appeal has the powers it would have on an ordinary appeal. It may revisit a point decided…

In a spontaneous joint enterprise, its scope must be determined from each participant’s knowledge and conduct. A participant is not liable for murder unless…

An appeal based on inconsistent verdicts succeeds only where the appellant establishes both an inconsistency and that no reasonable, properly directed jury…

A trial judge must accurately identify and fairly present the defendant’s actual defence. Where the evidence only incidentally raises self-defence, a direction…

A jury may treat a defendant’s lies as supporting the prosecution case only where the lies are proved or admitted, relate to a material issue, and are not…

Under Drug Trafficking Act 1994, section 4(4), the required assumptions must be assessed by reference to each holding, transfer of property, or expenditure. A…

A judicial indication of sentence in private discussions with counsel is irregular, but it does not automatically invalidate a later guilty plea. The appellate…

A court has a residual discretion to permit withdrawal of a guilty plea where refusal may cause injustice. The discretion is exercised sparingly and usually…

Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 does not permit evidence of a complainant’s prostitution merely because it may be given a date…

For the purpose of a child-disqualification order, a qualifying sentence of imprisonment includes the whole term of an extended sentence. It is not confined to…

For soliciting to murder, the prosecution must prove that the defendant intended to solicit or encourage an unlawful killing. A claimed limitation to killings…

Whether a suspect should have been cautioned under Code C depends on the investigating officer’s knowledge and the facts of the individual case. Routine…

Where material information about participating informants, their handling and the reliability of prosecution evidence has not been disclosed, the resulting…

When an offender has been administratively recalled to custody after licence revocation, time served on recall which cannot be credited under statute against…

Under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, exclusion of an interview is a discretionary assessment for the trial judge. Voluntary…

An accused person’s admission about how he spells a name is not rendered inadmissible under section 76(2)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984…

Under section 116(2)(a) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, a period ordered on revocation of a prisoner’s licence begins on the date of…

A restraining order under section 5A(2) of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 requires material showing that the order is necessary, rather than merely desirable, to…

A travel restriction order under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 must serve its statutory purpose of preventing or reducing the risk of…

An undisclosed conviction of a prosecution witness does not itself make a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must assess whether the conviction was…

The fraud exception prevents legal advice privilege from attaching to communications made to further or facilitate crime or fraud. At the preliminary…

A prosecution is not necessarily an abuse of process because an earlier investigation produced a decision not to prosecute. The court must assess the later…

Evidence of an earlier consistent complaint may be admitted to rebut an allegation of recent fabrication where the defence case raises a real inference that…

A criminal investigation that has been closed is not thereby put on hold. Where a later investigation is a distinct investigation to which the new statutory…

In a recognition case, an identification parade is not necessarily required where the witness knew and could recognise the suspect. Even if a parade should…

A jury must deliberate free from improper pressure. A conviction may be unsafe where there is good reason to think that pressure or exhaustion, rather than…

Under Terrorism Act 2000, section 11 criminalises belonging to a proscribed organisation while the defendant is within the United Kingdom. Foreign membership…

An anti-social behaviour order under Crime and Disorder Act 1998 section 1C requires a demonstrable necessity to protect the public from future anti-social…

Confiscation proceedings under Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1993, remain an extension of sentencing but employ the civil…

Evidence is admissible if it has a sufficient evidential link to the accused and the alleged offence. The strength of that link and the weight of the evidence…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, proposed fresh evidence must be assessed for credibility, potential effect on the appeal, admissibility and…

An accused may be treated as adopting another person’s answer to a police question only if the jury first decides that the circumstances called for a response…

Where the prosecution cannot prove that an accused personally joined a group assault, joint-enterprise liability for causing grievous bodily harm with intent…

Under section 5A(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 1997, a restraining order may be made only where the court is satisfied, on material before it, that the order…

Under section 23(2)(d) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, fresh expert evidence should be received where the interests of justice require a reassessment of…

Where a witness, without just excuse, disobeys a witness summons, section 3 of the Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965 creates a statutory…

A conspiracy count is bad for duplicity only if, properly construed from the count and any particulars, it charges two or more conspiracies. Duplicity is a…

Where several infant deaths in one family remain unexplained, their rarity does not establish that they were caused by deliberate harm. Excluding known natural…