Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2005

For a serious attempted sexual offence against a very young and vulnerable child, a community sentence may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the…

For a repeated failure to comply with notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, an immediate custodial sentence may be inevitable. Previous…

For offences involving counterfeit films, music and computer games, a custodial sentence may be necessary where the infringing activity is large-scale and…

A robbery sentence should not be based on a sentencing starting point drawn from a materially more serious armed robbery where no firearm was used. Where…

In a delayed historic-abuse prosecution, jury directions must be tailored to the particular prejudice which delay may have caused. A clear warning will usually…

Where an appeal relies on fresh evidence, the overriding question is whether its reception is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice. The statutory…

Evidence falling within the exclusions in Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 98 is not bad-character evidence and is admissible without passing through a…

Jurisdiction to make a restraint order exists where, at the time of the application, an investigation has begun into at least one post-commencement offence…

An extension period imposed under sections 227 or 228 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 begins when the custodial term fixed by the court ends. It does not…

A sexual offences prevention order requires a criminal court to be satisfied that it is necessary, not merely desirable, to protect the public or an identified…

A conviction will not be unsafe merely because potentially relevant material has been lost or further enquiries might have been possible. The appellate court…

Where accepted psychiatric evidence establishes that prolonged physical, emotional and sexual abuse materially reduced an offender’s ability to resist a…

Qualified or non-identification evidence may be relevant and probative where it supports other evidence, but the jury should receive a full and accurate…

In a joint cut-throat trial, evidence of one defendant’s bad character elicited by a co-defendant need not be excluded from the jury’s consideration of that…

For the purposes of Immigration Act 1971, a person entering the United Kingdom by land enters on crossing the land border. The special deeming rules for…

The principal purpose of a driving disqualification is, so far as possible, to protect the public. An extended period may be appropriate where an offender’s…

An initial aggressor, or a person acting from revenge, is not automatically barred from relying on self-defence. The decisive questions remain whether the…

Evidence of another person’s criminal propensity may be relevant even where that person is neither a party nor a witness, and the defence does not positively…

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, confiscation assumptions may be applied to property held during the relevant period after a qualifying course of criminal…

For the purposes of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, a vessel is used in navigation where it makes ordered progression on water from one place to another. It…

A complainant’s prior statement may be admitted under section 120(7) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where it is a complaint of conduct constituting the…

A restraining order made under Protection from Harassment Act 1997 must state its prohibitions in clear, precise and practical terms. A geographic restriction…

In sentencing offences involving false immigration-related documents, the court must assess the function of the document and the offender’s underlying…

On its ordinary wording, section 75 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 imposed an absolute bar on unauthorised third-party expenditure for public…

Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21 provides a broad and fact-sensitive framework for fixing minimum terms for mandatory life sentences. Starting points…

On a submission of no case to answer, the judge must stop the case only if the prosecution evidence, taken at its highest, could not properly support a…

A breach of a covert-surveillance code, or of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, does not itself make evidence inadmissible. The court must…

An anti-social behaviour order may be justified where anti-social conduct has caused alarm and distress and remains necessary to protect those affected. Good…

A guilty plea tendered after a jury has been sworn may be treated as a plea entered before the jury was sworn. The defendant’s protection lies in the freedom…

Where a conviction for murder depends substantially on disputed pathological evidence, fresh expert evidence which removes the main foundation for the…

For notification purposes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the equivalent sentence of imprisonment for a detention and training order is the period of…

To prove the common-law offence of escape, the prosecution must establish that the defendant was in custody, knew or was reckless as to being in custody, was…

A sentencing guideline for using a false passport, or possessing one with intent to use it, does not govern simple possession of a false passport under Section…

On an Attorney General’s reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a deferred sentence may be increased if it is unduly lenient. Large-scale…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, culpability rather than the fatal outcome is the dominant consideration. An immediate custodial sentence…

A conviction is unsafe where fresh evidence substantially damages the credibility of the complainant and that damage is inseparably connected with the central…

Deterrent sentences are appropriate for organised commercial trafficking and control of prostitution for gain. However, sentence must remain proportionate to…

A statutory time limit which prevents the commencement of a prosecution for unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 does not prevent a jury from…

Bad-character evidence is governed by the statutory gateways in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, not by the former common-law similar-fact rules. The specified…

For very substantial quantities of class A drugs, sentencing must reflect the quantity, purity and value of the drugs, their proximity to importation, and the…

A sentence for breach of an anti-social behaviour order must be proportionate to the actual seriousness and social impact of the breach. Persistent and…

A group comprising persons who are foreign may be a racial group for the purposes of section 28(4) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Hostility demonstrated…

The bad-character provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 require fact-specific decisions by the trial judge. An appellate court will rarely interfere with…

A defendant who has received a caution has no automatic entitlement to a good character direction. The trial judge retains a discretion whether to give either…

In manslaughter caused by a single punch, sentence must reflect both the death caused and the offender’s culpability. Where death is an unforeseeable…

When sentencing a breach of an anti-social behaviour order alongside associated offending, the court may assess the totality of the criminality. The sentence…

When sentencing breaches of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, the court may take account of the need to protect the public from recurrent disorderly conduct.…

In sentencing for facilitating unlawful entry into the United Kingdom, the court should assess the offending by reference to the nature and scale of the…

An indeterminate sentence for public protection requires a significant risk that further specified offending will cause death or serious personal injury…

Under European Convention Article 6, the inability to cross-examine a witness does not automatically make the admission of that witness’s statement unfair. The…

A conviction is unsafe where subsequent evidence materially supports a defence allegation that the police officer who led the investigation acted dishonestly…

Evidence of a statement made in a defendant’s presence can be admitted as a tacit admission only if a properly directed jury could find that the defendant…

For possession of indecent photographs of a child with a view to their distribution or showing under section 1(1)(c) of the Protection of Children Act 1978, it…

For confiscation under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a defendant who controls companies used to carry out a fraud may be treated as having obtained the…

A conviction is not quashed merely because related verdicts appear logically inconsistent. The decisive question is whether, having regard to the evidence, the…

In historic-abuse prosecutions, substantial delay does not by itself make a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must nevertheless scrutinise the case with…

A conviction is not rendered unsafe because a competent defendant, after receiving sound advice, elects not to advance diminished responsibility or provocation…

A defendant is ordinarily assessed in self-defence according to facts honestly believed, even if that belief was unreasonable. However, where the defendant’s…

For the restraint regime in Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant’s interest in property is not confined to an interest enforceable against…

Sentence for manslaughter committed by deliberate driving must reflect the exceptional danger and foreseeable harm created by the offender’s conduct. A…

Under Army Act 1955 section 96, a court-martial must determine its verdict by a majority of its members’ votes. That requirement does not prevent a judge…

Sentence for simple arson must reflect the offence’s grave consequences while giving proper weight to the offender’s plea, relevant antecedents, whether the…

A sentencing judge must not accept an artificial factual basis for a guilty plea. Where the papers suggest that the proposed basis may not reflect what…

Where a defendant disputes being the person seen by a witness, the case is one of identification even if the defendant admits being nearby. Under Code D, an…

A drug treatment and testing order will ordinarily be inappropriate for serious offending involving significant violence or threats of violence, since public…

An employer’s responsibility for an employee’s safety remains material when the employee is made available to assist another company. A third party’s positive…

Under section 6(3) of the Criminal Law Act 1967, unlawful wounding contrary to section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 is available as an…

In a prosecution for breach of an anti-social behaviour order, the prosecution may prove the order by a signed notice that accurately records the order made…

A lawful arrest does not depend on an officer immediately using the word arrest. Where an officer already has grounds to arrest, a short and reasonable inquiry…

Perjury will prima facie attract immediate imprisonment. That sanction is necessary to protect the integrity of the judicial process. A sentence of community…

On an Attorney General’s reference, exceptionally serious offending involving armed robbery, kidnapping and a forced entry into a victim’s home may require an…

On an appeal against sentence, the question is whether the sentence was manifestly excessive. A sentencing judge need not refer expressly to every item of…

Where a sentencing judge accepts a basis of plea that materially conflicts with the prosecution evidence and could substantially affect sentence, the conflict…

Under section 5(8) of the Criminal Law Act 1977, one of two alleged conspirators may be convicted although the other is acquitted. Different verdicts are…

A custodial sentence may not properly be suspended unless the material before the sentencing court supports the required exceptional circumstances. Personal…

An armed attempted robbery of a vulnerable small shop, intended to put those present in fear, ordinarily requires a lengthy custodial sentence. Sentencing…

A defendant who pleads guilty at the first available opportunity is ordinarily entitled to the full one-third reduction from the sentence that would have…

A community sentence for a serious armed robbery may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the gravity of threats with a large bladed weapon, the…

A sentence is unduly lenient where it falls below the least sentence properly open to the sentencing judge after allowance for all material aggravating and…

The reduced sentencing approach for low-level Class A drug supply applies only to a narrow class of offender: an out-of-work addict who supplies solely to fund…

Fresh evidence does not render a conviction unsafe merely because, on contestable assumptions, it makes the prosecution scenario unlikely. The appellate court…

When sentencing for an act tending or intended to pervert the course of justice, the court may assess the seriousness of the conduct which the offender sought…

An appellate court will not quash a conviction for inconsistent verdicts unless the verdicts are logically inconsistent. If that threshold is met, the court…

In a sentence appeal for multiple drug-supply offences, the court must assess both the appropriateness of the individual terms and the totality of the…

A guilty plea does not prevent a conviction from being held unsafe. The circumstances in which an appellate court will go behind such a plea are exceptional…

A false allegation of rape made to the police, amounting to perverting the course of justice, will almost inevitably require an immediate custodial sentence.…

Where a young offender has committed a serious specified offence and presents a significant risk of serious harm to the public, an extended sentence is…

For sentencing sexual activity with a child family member, the gravity lies in abuse of the relationship with the child. A fixed hierarchy borrowed from incest…

An interlocutory appeal under section 35 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 lies only from a preparatory-hearing ruling made for a specified…

For possession of a firearm, an intended purchase and an inspection of the bag containing it do not alone establish possession. Possession may commonly be…

For an offence of failing to surrender to bail, an intentional absence in defiance of a condition imposed by the court is a serious aggravating feature.…

Fresh expert evidence will not ordinarily be admitted on appeal where it could and should have been obtained for trial and there is no proper explanation for…

A confiscation order under Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 71 is mandatory once benefit and realisable assets have been determined, unless the statutory…

A robbery of a small shop or other vulnerable premises ordinarily requires a custodial sentence substantially higher than six months, even after credit for an…

A summing-up need not rehearse every detail of a lengthy and interrupted trial. It must fairly and clearly identify the essential issues and the parties’…

A driving disqualification must reflect the seriousness and danger of the offending, but should not, save in exceptionally severe cases, be so long that it…

A sentence which is plainly lenient need not be disturbed where the sentencing judge was entitled, on exceptional and well-supported personal material, to…

Where a mentally disordered offender qualifies for a hospital order, the court must decide whether that order is the most suitable disposal in all the…

A sentence for intentional grievous bodily harm inflicted in a frenzied and persistent attack with a potentially lethal weapon must reflect the gravity of the…

In an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence for single-blow manslaughter may be unduly lenient even where the blow was not sufficiently severe to make…

A person does not derive a pecuniary advantage merely because he has been knowingly concerned in an importation. Whether he has benefited is a question of…

A sentence for a violent robbery may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect gratuitous violence, particularly a kick to the victim’s face with a shod…

A notice abandoning an application for leave to appeal may be treated as a nullity only where it was not the product of the applicant’s deliberate and informed…

A criminal trial is unfair where the judge’s conduct gives the jury the impression that the judge favours the prosecution over the defence. A judge may…

A conviction may be unsafe where a trial judge’s repeated and unjustified personal criticism of defence counsel’s ability and integrity creates an appearance…

Police officers, Crown Prosecution Service employees and other persons involved in the administration of justice are not disqualified from jury service merely…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, the statutory gateway through which evidence of a defendant’s bad character becomes admissible is distinct from the use to…

Under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, competence is confined to whether a witness can understand questions and give answers that can be…

A fair trial does not require co-accused to enjoy equal tactical advantages. Where jointly indicted defendants advance conflicting cases, the trial judge may…

A jury is not necessarily discharged merely because the judge uses words of discharge. A prompt correction, while the jury remains assembled and before its…

Where breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order consists of no more than conduct which is itself an offence, the sentence for the breach should normally not…

A trial judge may leave a count to the jury where the prosecution evidence has serious weaknesses but its reliability remains capable of assessment by a…

An order under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 must be confined to the statutory terms, or words to the like effect. It cannot impose a…

A conviction is unsafe where fresh expert evidence materially undermines prosecution expert evidence that was crucial to the jury’s verdict. Where the fresh…

Documentary details of the circumstances of a defendant’s previous convictions are admissible only if the statutory hearsay conditions are met. The…

Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 1(3), requires an allegation of damage by fire to be charged as arson in substance. It does not require a magistrates’ court…

For the mandatory minimum sentence for specified firearms offences under section 51A of the Firearms Act 1968, exceptional circumstances exist where a…

Under section 51 A of the Firearms Act 1968, departure from the five-year minimum sentence requires real exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or…

Where indecent assaults are genuinely separate from unlawful sexual intercourse, including because they occurred on different occasions before intercourse…

A guilty plea ordinarily attracts a reduction in sentence. The fact that an offender was caught red-handed, or had little prospect of acquittal, does not alone…

A count alleging an act or series of acts intended to pervert the course of public justice is not duplicitous merely because it particularises several alleged…

Fresh evidence supporting a defence of diminished responsibility, which was not advanced at trial, will be received only where the statutory criteria and the…

Once the prosecution has established the benefit obtained from drug trafficking, the defendant bears the burden of satisfying the court that the amount…

A sentencing court must have regard to relevant Sentencing Guidelines Council guidance under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, although that duty does not require…

A conviction for murder may be quashed on appeal only if it is unsafe. A later prosecution arising from the same events, including a pragmatic acceptance of…

The scope of a joint enterprise depends on a subjective inquiry: whether the secondary party foresaw as a possibility the act which caused death. A difference…

Where a defendant advances provocation on the basis that he was ordinarily peaceable and non-violent, evidence of previous violence may be admissible to rebut…

A second retrial after two juries have failed to agree is not barred by law. Whether it should proceed depends on a dispassionate assessment of the interests…

A Drug Treatment and Testing Order must remain proportionate to the seriousness of the offending. The prospect of rehabilitation must not be given excessive…

Where a prosecution for unlawful sexual intercourse was time-barred under the former statutory regime, an alternative charge of indecent assault could not be…

An offender who commits a planned and sophisticated offence in furtherance of sincerely held moral beliefs is not thereby entitled to leniency. The moral…

For an adult convicted of a specified prohibited-firearm offence, Firearms Act 1968, section 51A requires a custodial term of at least five years unless…

Where there is evidence on which a jury could reasonably find both specific provoking conduct and a resulting loss of self-control, section 3 of the Homicide…

Where evidence from several complainants is relied on as mutually supportive, the jury must be directed to consider whether the witnesses may have collaborated…

Expert psychological evidence about memory is admissible only where it will assist the jury on matters outside ordinary experience. Evidence about childhood…

Supply of Class A drugs will ordinarily attract a significant custodial sentence for deterrence and public protection. Sentencing guidance does not, however…

Bad-character evidence must be assessed when the application is made and by reference to the particular statutory gateway relied on. An earlier refusal does…

Expert psychological evidence on a defendant’s intention is inadmissible where it concerns matters a jury can assess without specialist assistance. Borderline…

An antisocial behaviour order is a protective measure, not a routine element of sentencing. It should not normally be imposed merely to reinforce a driving…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 125, the threshold for withdrawing a hearsay case from the jury is no higher than the ordinary no-case standard. The…

Delay in prosecuting historic sexual allegations does not by itself justify a stay. A stay for abuse of process requires serious prejudice such that a fair…

Permission for additional expert evidence is not justified by a speculative possibility that an opponent may later call evidence requiring rebuttal. In a…

A preparatory hearing under Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, section 29 is available only where the statutory requirements of complexity or…

A drug treatment and testing order must remain proportionate to the offender’s criminality. Its rehabilitative value cannot outweigh the need for a custodial…

Robbery involving a mobile telephone ordinarily requires a custodial sentence unless exceptional circumstances justify another disposal. That approach applies…

In sentencing for death by dangerous driving, the court must select the appropriate culpability category under R v Cooksley [2004] 1 Cr App R(S) 1 and must not…

Guidance that sentences for young offenders convicted of rape should be significantly shorter than for adults is a broad starting point, not an invariable…

In sentencing substantial commercial supply of Class A drugs, the court should assess the quantity proved by the evidence and should not permit deliberate…

For a statutory conspiracy to commit money laundering, where the substantive offence requires that property is in fact criminal proceeds, suspicion is…

Where a defendant gives evidence against a co-defendant, the statutory protection against bad-character cross-examination is lost. Cross-examination about…

A common-law defence of necessity cannot legitimise continuing, unlicensed cultivation, possession, importation or supply of cannabis for alleged medicinal use…

Where a defendant relies on legal advice to explain a no-comment interview, a direction under Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 34 must…

Cultivation of cannabis for personal use ordinarily passes the custodial threshold because it involves calculated defiance of the law, even on a small scale.…

In sentencing a company for health and safety offending, a fine must reflect the gravity of the breach and provide effective deterrence. It must also take…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21 requires a structured sentencing exercise. The court must select the statutory starting point, weigh aggravating…

A criminal prosecution may be stayed for abuse of process even where a fair trial remains possible, but only in exceptional circumstances. The defence must…

When considering the safety of an historic conviction, the court applies the substantive criminal law in force at trial but assesses investigative and trial…

Evidence that a driver was adversely affected by drugs is relevant to whether the driving was dangerous. Evidence of very recent cocaine use, coupled with…

Sentencing for armed robbery requires an assessment of the robbery’s target, planning, expected proceeds, weapon, and the offender’s role. Indicative starting…

Evidence which is capable of rebutting an accused’s anticipated assertion may be relevant and admissible, and its admission will not be unfair merely because…

A road-rage context does not create a separate category of offence under Offences Against the Person Act, but it may materially aggravate an offence under…

Where attempted murder has aggravating features corresponding to murder of particularly high seriousness, sentencing levels may properly be increased to…

A criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order requires a demonstrable necessity to protect the public from further anti-social acts. It is not a routine component of…

A conviction is unsafe where material undisclosed information could have affected the jury’s assessment of an important prosecution witness and the appellate…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, the applicable culpability category and guideline range must be assessed with the harm caused and all…

Fresh evidence should be assessed by its likely effect on the safety of the conviction. In a case of difficulty, the appellate court will usually ask whether…

Article 6(1) primarily requires an independent and impartial tribunal. However, the independence and impartiality of a military prosecuting authority are also…

Sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving must reflect the offender’s culpability, preserve proportionality with offences involving intended violence…

A conviction is unsafe where the prosecution has not provided an adequate evidential basis for the critical factual preconditions of guilt. In particular…

Under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23, fresh evidence should not be admitted unless it is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice. The court…

A criminal anti-social behaviour order should be made only where it is demonstrably necessary to protect the public from further anti-social acts. It is an…

Deliberate police eavesdropping on privileged communications between a detained suspect and solicitor is categorically unlawful. It may render the ensuing…

Evidence of other conduct cannot be admitted merely to show that an accused has a propensity to commit the charged offence. A denial of the other conduct does…

A criminal conviction is unsafe where a solicitor’s conflict of interest deprives the accused of a fair opportunity to advance a defence. A solicitor who has…

A disagreement between reputable experts does not itself prevent a jury from deciding the issue. The observations in R v Cannings [2004] EWCA Crim 1 were…

At the second stage of confiscation proceedings under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, once benefit has been established, the defendant bears a persuasive burden…

For serious and sustained commercial trade-mark offending, immediate custody may remain necessary despite strong personal mitigation, including good character…

Questions about a complainant’s allegedly false earlier complaints of sexual assault are ordinarily directed to past statements, rather than sexual behaviour.…

A conviction is unsafe where fresh evidence and serious defects in the investigation, viewed cumulatively, create substantial anxiety about the reliability of…

Evidence of another person's bad character under section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 must have substantial probative value. An untested allegation…

Where the Full Court grants leave to appeal against sentence in an appellant’s absence and reduces the sentence, the appellant retains the right under section…

Where separate firearm conspiracies together constitute a single criminal enterprise, concurrent sentences may be appropriate if they adequately mark the…

An immigrant or non-British person may be a member of a racial group for the purposes of Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 28(4). The statutory definition…

An approved authorisation for intrusive surveillance under Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, read with the ouster in section 91(10) of the Police…

Verdicts on separate conspiracy counts are unsafe for inconsistency only where they are logically irreconcilable and cannot sensibly be explained consistently…

In sentencing for a single conspiracy to evade VAT, the court may assess the gravity of the fraud as a whole. It need not allocate the lost revenue between the…

A non-custodial sentence will ordinarily be plainly unduly lenient where an offender possesses an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence…

A defendant may, through counsel and on the defendant’s request, seek an advance indication of the maximum sentence that would be imposed on an immediate…

On a reference under section 36, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range reasonably open to the sentencing judge. The Court retains a…

Where the prosecution case depends on an inference of continuous participation in a joint offence, before-and-after sightings may be insufficient to leave the…

Where provocation is left on the evidence, Homicide Act of 1967, section 3 requires the jury to determine whether the provocation was sufficient to make a…

Section 34(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 applies only where an accused has been questioned under caution. A positive refusal to leave…

On an appeal against conviction founded on fresh evidence, the court must determine whether the evidence said to undermine the trial evidence is capable of…

A low assessed risk of reoffending does not, without more, constitute exceptional circumstances capable of displacing the statutory five-year minimum sentence…

A finding by the European Court of Human Rights that a pre-Human Rights Act criminal procedure breached Article 6(1) does not itself make a conviction unsafe…

On an Attorney General reference for undue leniency, a community rehabilitation order may be quashed where it fails to reflect the gravity of repeated violent…

Evidence of a defendant’s bad character is not admitted routinely. Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, previous convictions may establish propensity only…

Sentences for single-punch manslaughter cannot be fixed by treating such cases as a uniform category or by mechanically comparing individual aggravating and…

Defence counsel must present the accused’s case fearlessly, but must also avoid wasted time, repetition and prolixity. Counsel need put the important and…

A whole-life order for a mandatory life sentence under section 269(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 must be justified solely by the seriousness of the…

For an offence under Offences Against the Person Act 1861, section 20, consent to sexual intercourse does not itself amount to consent to the risk of HIV…

A recording made by a covert listening device of a face-to-face conversation is not an interception under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The…

A person who prepares and supplies a syringe of heroin for immediate self-injection may be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter where the evidence permits the…

The admission of an unavailable witness’s statement under sections 23 and 26 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 does not automatically infringe Article 6 where…

A breach of PACE Codes Code D does not itself require exclusion of identification evidence. Under section 78 of PACE, the decisive question is whether…

A trial judge may properly express firm views at sentence about evidence already heard. However, where the judge is to conduct a later fact-finding exercise…

A sentence for sustained sexual offending against children may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the cumulative aggravating features. Those features…

For a murder minimum term, the court must begin with the prescribed starting point under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21, but must then make an overall…

A conviction is unsafe where information withheld under public interest immunity is subsequently shown to have had potential relevance and value to the conduct…

A defendant may be sentenced only for offences proved by verdict, admitted, or clearly accepted for the court to take into consideration. A count cannot be…

A court’s summary contempt jurisdiction is not confined to conduct requiring immediate punishment to preserve a trial in progress. Urgency is relevant to…

When sentencing very young offenders for exceptionally grave and dangerous offending, the court must place their welfare at the forefront while also protecting…

On an Attorney General’s reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, the court may find a sentence unduly lenient without substituting a custodial sentence. The…

A court does not itself breach article 8 of the ECHR by admitting evidence that was obtained through an earlier unlawful interference with private life. The…

Where sexual-history evidence is relevant to a live non-consent issue, and satisfies the statutory conditions, section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal…

For confiscation under section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, an offender’s benefit is assessed when the property or pecuniary advantage is obtained. It…

When considering whether a sentence is unduly lenient, the court may assess the total sentence, including an extended licence period, rather than the custodial…

On a reference for an unduly lenient sentence, a non-custodial sentence may be quashed where it fails to reflect the seriousness of a large-scale and sustained…

Fresh evidence which exposes relevant non-disclosed material and materially undermines the credibility of a complainant central to the prosecution case may…

Sentencing for racially aggravated violence must reflect both the underlying violence and the separate seriousness of the racial hostility. For racially…

A person who stores Class A drugs for a supplier performs an important function in the distribution chain. Immediate custody will almost always follow, even…

On an Attorney-General reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, sentences for a planned armed robbery may be increased where they fail to…

A witness does not commit contempt merely by failing to assist the prosecution or by evading an anticipated request to attend court. Under Criminal Procedure…

A Hospital Order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is not appropriate unless the offender’s mental disorder is of a nature or degree warranting…

Where the existing approach to self-defence has received substantial criticism, the Court of Appeal may grant leave in a proper case so that an arguable…

An appeal against a confiscation order does not suspend either the order or the period allowed for payment. In the absence of contrary provision, time runs…

A refusal of leave to appeal is a determination of an application, not a decision on an appeal under Part 1 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. The House of Lords…

A jury must decide a criminal case solely on the evidence and argument heard in court. A juror must not obtain private material capable of bearing on the…

Where a defendant relies on an honest belief in consent, that belief is not an issue of consent under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section…

Where provocation is in issue, the jury must be able to consider all evidence relevant to whether this defendant lost self-control and to whether that loss was…

An anti-social behaviour order under Crime and Disorder Act 1998 may be made only where the statutory conditions, including necessity to protect others from…

Where a conviction depends upon a prosecution witness whom the Crown accepts can no longer properly be treated as a witness of truth, the conviction may be…

On a reference alleging undue leniency, the Court of Appeal retains a discretion whether to increase sentence. Even where a sentence is unduly lenient, it may…

A sentence for a serious dwelling-house robbery may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect aggravating features including the victim’s vulnerability, an…

For a murder committed before December 2003, the applicable mandatory-life-sentence Practice Direction permits a starting point of 15 to 16 years, subject to…

For confiscation under Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 74, a defendant’s instigation of a third party’s transfer does not alone make that third party’s…

Whether a jury needs a warning about unsupported allegations of sexual abuse, and the terms of any warning, are ordinarily matters for the trial judge’s…

A sentence for sustained sexual abuse of a child may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the prolonged and escalating nature of the offending, the…

Sentences for the expanded sexual offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 must reflect both the statutory maximums and the wide factual range covered by the…

In criminal proceedings, witness coaching or training connected with a forthcoming trial is prohibited because it creates a continuing risk of tailored or…

For sexual assault under Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 78(b) imposes two cumulative questions. The fact-finder must first decide whether the touching, by…

In assessing the seriousness of a drug runner’s role, the quantity of drugs supplied and the period of supplying them are more material than whether the runner…

Under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a defendant who jointly controls property obtained by a fraudulent company obtains the whole of that property for confiscation…

A court sentencing an offender for breach of licence under section 116 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 must normally give full credit…

A representation order for an appeal covers only work on grounds for which leave to appeal has been granted. It does not cover a renewed application for leave…

In sentencing for a section 18 offence against a baby, comparisons with child-manslaughter sentences require caution. Manslaughter may lack the specific intent…

In sentencing for street robbery, the usual range is not a fixed cap. A sentence above three years may be justified where aggravating features substantially…

Dangerous driving under Road Traffic Act 1988, section 2 A requires proof of two separate and demanding elements. The driving must fall far below the standard…

The totality principle may justify moderating the sentence for drug offences within an overall sentence. It does not justify concurrent sentences that fail to…

When fixing a murder minimum term, the court must use the statutory starting point and assess all aggravating and mitigating features. For a pre-18 December…

In a transitional mandatory-life case, the minimum term must not exceed that likely under the Secretary of State’s pre-December 2002 practice. The applicable…

A trial judge need not leave manslaughter as an alternative to murder merely because the evidence makes that verdict viable. The governing question is whether…

A sentencing court may use the slip-rule power in section 155 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 to add an ancillary order within 28 days.…

Where there is evidence of specific provoking conduct and evidence that it caused a loss of self-control, provocation should ordinarily be left to the jury.…

A compensation order is a restorative measure, not a punishment. It should not be made where its only practical means of satisfaction is the sale of a shared…

Directions about an alleged confession to a fellow prisoner must be tailored to the evidence. A detailed warning will usually be appropriate where a short cell…

For a conspiracy to commit a statutory money-laundering offence, the agreed conduct must amount to an actual offence if carried out. Under Criminal Justice Act…

In sentencing a corporate offender for serious fire-safety breaches, the court must assess culpability, the degree and scope of the risk, and the consequences…

When reviewing a historic conviction, the court must apply current standards of fairness to decide whether the conviction is safe. It must not assume that a…

An extended licence period under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 section 85 is a protective measure. Its length is directed to preventing…

Logically inconsistent verdicts do not automatically make a conviction unsafe. However, where convictions for statutory health-and-safety duties depend on the…

After a first prosecution has concluded, the Crown should not ordinarily commence a later prosecution arising from the same or substantially the same facts.…

The transitional provision in Criminal Justice Act 2003 Part 11 applies by reference to the beginning of the part of a criminal case in which the strict rules…

On a reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence may be left undisturbed even if it is capable of being characterised as unduly lenient. The Court…

For possession of ecstasy, the sentence must reflect the established sentencing range, the offender’s personal circumstances and the risks created by the…