Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2006

Under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the trial judge must decide whether bad-character evidence is relevant to an important issue…

The dwelling exception in section 4A(2) of the Public Order Act 1986 is narrowly confined. The expression other living accommodation in section 8 takes its…

In appeals concerning historic allegations, a trial judge must carefully assess the quality of the evidence and the significance of inconsistencies before…

Under section 101(1)(g) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, an attack on another person’s character need not concern a prosecution witness. Admission of…

For causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit, sentence must reflect the offender’s level of culpability and all grave…

Fresh evidence supporting a new defence of diminished responsibility will be received on appeal only exceptionally. Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act…

An increase in the statutory maximum sentence requires sentencing guidance to be reconsidered. It principally permits substantially longer sentences for…

A conviction is unsafe where a material omission in disclosure, a necessary warning about suspect evidence, or a failure fairly to put the defence leaves the…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 115, an out-of-court representation is hearsay only if its maker had a purpose of causing another person to believe or…

Under section 29 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the Court of Appeal may direct that time served after sentence does not count towards sentence where a…

In sentencing connected conspiracies and separate serious offences, the court must ensure that the overall term properly reflects totality and relative…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, fresh evidence must be assessed for credibility, potential to support an appeal, admissibility, and any…

For a particularly young offender, a finding of significant risk of serious harm does not inevitably require an indeterminate sentence. The sentencing court…

Sentencing for unlawful-act manslaughter committed during a burglary must reflect the criminal venture and the totality of associated offending. It must not…

A court should defer sentence only where a non-custodial sentence is a proper and realistic possibility. A Crown Court sentencing serious violence is not…

For an offence involving the use of one false passport contrary to section 3 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, the applicable guideline ordinarily…

On an Attorney-General’s reference, a sentence may be increased only if it is unduly lenient: that is, outside the sentencing bracket properly open to the…

In an identification case, the trial judge must separately decide whether the evidence is of sufficient quality to leave to the jury and give a careful…

When sentencing distinct sexual offences which arise from a single course of Internet conduct, the court must apply the totality principle to the aggregate…

Where the statutory assumptions under section 72AA apply, a defendant may rebut an assumed criminal benefit only by showing, on the balance of probabilities…

In a sentencing reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, sentence for gross-negligence manslaughter involving a vehicle requires an…

Sentencing advocates for both prosecution and defence must assist the court to impose a lawful sentence. The prosecution must identify statutory limits on…

Where a defendant advances a basis of plea which the sentencing judge cannot accept, the judge may reject it without a further evidential hearing if it is…

Under the pre-amendment Criminal Justice Act 1988, a prosecutor’s minimum-amount notice was a procedural requirement. It did not ordinarily remove the Crown…

Under section 3 of the Homicide Act 1957, a judge must leave provocation to the jury only where there is evidence capable of showing specific provocative…

A conviction is not automatically unsafe because later information calls a prosecution expert’s standing into question. The appellate court must examine the…

On an application to vary a restraining order under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the court must balance the protected person’s continuing need for…

Where property is obtained through criminal conduct and is later sold, the benefit must not be counted twice. Under section 80 of the Proceeds of Crime Act…

On a review under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 22, the court must apply the Schedule 21 general principles, including its starting points. The Secretary…

A Crown appeal under section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is unavailable against a pre-arraignment dismissal of a charge under Schedule 3 to the Crime…

A discretionary life sentence is justified where the offending itself merits a very long sentence, the offender’s character or history shows a likelihood of…

For grave cruelty to a child involving repeated applications of severe force and multiple fractures, an immediate custodial sentence is justified. A suspended…

Where diminished responsibility is raised and drink or drugs also contributed to a killing, the jury must decide whether the defendant’s abnormality of mind…

Where a serious offence and a specified but non-serious offence are sentenced together, detention or imprisonment for public protection may be imposed for the…

A sentencing judge may find a significant risk of substantial harm for the purposes of imprisonment for public protection even where the current indecent-image…

A jury may use previous-conviction evidence only for an issue to which it has a real evidential bearing. Where it is admissible to show a propensity to degrade…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 139, a witness may refresh memory from an earlier document if the statutory conditions are met. The statute imposes no…

In confiscation proceedings under statutory assumption regimes, an unexplained cash offer for property may support a finding that a defendant has concealed…

The safety of a historic conviction must be assessed by current standards of fairness and in the light of all admitted fresh evidence. Where a vulnerable…

A custodial sentence was appropriate for theft of postal items by a postal worker. Such offending involves a breach of the employer’s trust and causes alarm…

In criminal proceedings, a properly authenticated foreign conviction may be admitted as bad-character evidence through the statutory gateways in the Criminal…

Although consecutive sentences involving an extended sentence under section 85 are not unlawful, their order may create release and licence-calculation…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 122(2), a written witness statement admitted as evidence should not accompany a jury unless there is a sufficient…

When fixing imprisonment in default of payment of a confiscation order, the statutory periods are maxima. The court should assess the amount of the order…

A ruling that a criminal trial remains fair despite missing records must address the records’ likely bearing on the live issues. The quality of…

Where the medical conditions for a hospital order are met, the court must still decide whether it is the most suitable disposal under section 37(2)(b) of the…

A court may postpone a fair and accurate contemporaneous report under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 only where this is necessary to avoid a…

Where prosecution material may undermine the prosecution case or assist the defence, it must be disclosed under the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act…

A conspiracy to commit money laundering requires an intention, or in an appropriate case knowledge, that the money is of illicit origin. Actual suspicion, and…

A sexual offences prevention order under Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 104 is a distinct protective and discretionary regime. Its availability does not…

For confiscation under section 71(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the defendant must have obtained the property in an ordinary and real sense. The special…

A conditional discharge is deemed not to be a conviction outside the original proceedings and any breach proceedings. An employment question asking whether an…

Deliberate and carefully planned acts which pervert an investigation into grave offending may rank at the very highest level of seriousness, particularly where…

Where the statutory assumption of dangerousness under section 229(3) applies, a sentencer may disapply it only if, having considered the specified information…

A breach of a video-identification code does not automatically make the identification evidence unfair under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 78.…

Imprisonment for public protection under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 depends on a prospective assessment of whether an offender presents a significant risk…

For offences under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, the prosecution must prove that the defendant intended some bodily harm or foresaw…

At a joint criminal trial, the jury must be directed that an accused’s police interview is not evidence against a co-accused. The direction is vital where the…

On an Attorney General reference, a sentence may be left undisturbed even where it is lenient and close to being unduly lenient. The court must exercise its…

A jury directing itself on recklessness must apply a subjective test and address the factual basis on which liability is alleged. A direction is unsafe if it…

For an offence of wilful neglect under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, the prosecution must prove the required culpable state of mind. A genuinely…

Where reliable fresh psychiatric evidence establishes that the conditions for a hospital order were met when sentence was passed, the Court of Appeal may admit…

Where fresh psychiatric evidence establishes that, at the date of sentence, the statutory conditions for a hospital order were met, the Court of Appeal may…

Non-disclosure by a person with a sexually transmissible disease does not, without more, vitiate the other person's consent to sexual intercourse under section…

Where a sentencing judge concludes that an offender has committed a serious offence and presents a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public…

Immediate custody for possession of a bladed article requires an individual assessment of seriousness. The general prevalence of knife-carrying does not itself…

Where imprisonment for public protection is imposed for a serious specified offence, the sentencing court must still dispose of every other offence before it.…

An indictment may properly be amended to add a count where the evidence supports it, the amendment creates no new issue or unfairness for the defence, and it…

A witness may be qualified to give expert evidence through practical experience of a specialised computer system, even without wider information-technology…

Possession in public of a loaded pistol intended to be made available for use calls for a significant deterrent sentence, irrespective of a statutory minimum…

On a reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 36, a sentencing judge’s adoption of too low a starting point does not inevitably require an increased…

On an appeal against sentence for multiple sexual offences, the court must assess the totality of the custodial term in light of the whole course of conduct. A…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the court must decide whether the sentence imposed, on the material before the sentencing…

A suspended sentence under section 118 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 requires both that custody would otherwise be appropriate and…

On a submission of no case to answer, including where the prosecution case is circumstantial, the question is whether a properly directed reasonable jury would…

Under section 116 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, fear is widely construed. A trial judge may find genuine fear from written material and need not normally…

Comparable sentencing decisions provide guidance but do not confine judicial discretion. On a sentence appeal, intervention is justified only where the…

A political motive does not excuse criminal conduct during a protest, but it is a relevant sentencing consideration. The court must give proper weight to that…

For causing death by dangerous driving, the seriousness of the offence must be assessed by reference to all proven aggravating features and the harm caused. A…

Sentence for breach of a protective order is for breach of the order itself. Proportionality requires the court to consider the seriousness of any underlying…

A conviction is unsafe where admissible fresh evidence materially undermines the reliability of the central prosecution witness and raises a realistic…

On an application to adduce fresh evidence, the court must consider the statutory matters in Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23, while retaining the…

Late prosecution evidence may be admitted despite non-compliance with a case-management order where it falls within the indictment and, after proper…

Money-laundering offences normally require immediate custody. Sentence must nevertheless reflect the particular gravity of the offending, including whether it…

A trial judge may control the extent of cross-examination, but should ordinarily permit relevant questions that test a witness’s account by reference to…

On an unchallenged basis of plea, a sentencing court may rely on the complainant’s account except to the extent that it conflicts with that basis. It may in…

An order of imprisonment for public protection under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires the sentencing court to make its own assessment of…

A defective direction under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 does not automatically make a conviction unsafe. The appellate court…

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, bad-character evidence tendered by a co-accused under section 101(1)(e) must concern an important issue between the…

Where several counts are tried together, evidence relevant to one count is bad-character evidence in relation to another and must pass a gateway in the…

Abusive outbursts when a criminal verdict is announced may amount to serious contempt in the face of the court. Threats directed at jurors are especially…

Sentencing for sexual activity with a child is highly fact-sensitive. Comparisons with sentences in earlier cases may assist, but they do not necessarily…

A defendant who pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity is entitled to full credit under the applicable sentencing guidelines even where the evidence is…

Evidence of a previous burglary may be admitted as propensity evidence under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 101(1)(d), notwithstanding its age and factual…

For sentencing an offence of doing acts intending to pervert the course of justice, the court must assess the seriousness of the underlying offence, the…

Evidence is admissible only if it is logically probative or disprobative of a fact in issue. That common-law requirement remains a condition of admissibility…

A conviction founded on disputed expert medical evidence remains safe where the jury received an adequate direction, were entitled to accept the prosecution…

On an Attorney General reference for undue leniency, the court must distinguish permissible mitigation and clemency from an unjustified reduction or suspension…

Questioning a complainant about other false allegations of sexual abuse is not questioning about sexual behaviour for section 41 purposes. It may therefore be…

An anti-social behaviour order under section 1C of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is preventative, not punitive. It requires both anti-social conduct and a…

An attack made in revenge against a person who has given evidence at a criminal trial is a serious offence. The need to protect witnesses and uphold their…

An appeal is determined for the purposes of Supreme Court Act 1981 section 55 when the decision has become binding on the judges who heard it. Where every…

Where confiscation proceedings have been validly postponed, a court’s breach of the prohibition on making a forfeiture order during that period does not…

In a prosecution for historic offending, delay alone does not justify a stay for abuse of process. Where there has been no prosecutorial misconduct, the…

A discretionary life sentence may be justified where the offending is grave, the offender is likely to commit similar offences, and the consequences for others…

Where the territorial reach of an offence of soliciting murder raises a difficult and controversial issue of statutory construction, it may properly be…

Under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23 gives the Court of Appeal an overarching discretion to receive evidence not adduced at trial where this is necessary…

A clinically indicated intimate medical examination may constitute an indecent assault if it is carried out in an inappropriate manner and used as a cloak for…

Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 does not make a trial unfair where a complainant’s statement about sexual experience formed part…

A court may make a Sexual Offences Prevention Order under Sexual Offences Act 2003 even though it has not found the significant risk of serious harm required…

Evidence of a defendant’s conduct after the charged incident may be excluded from the jury’s consideration as evidence of earlier aggression where, on any…

A finding in care proceedings does not determine whether a person is criminally responsible for the same events. The family court lacks jurisdiction to convict…

Under Youth Justice and Criminal Justice Act 1999, section 41 encompasses a complainant’s experience as the victim of sexual offending. However, a genuinely…

Under the transitional sentencing provisions in Criminal Justice Act 2003, a minimum term may properly be increased substantially above the applicable starting…

Where a defendant establishes a proper evidential foundation for alleging that pre-caution questioning breached Code C, the judge should permit the issue to be…

For conspiracy to launder money, suspicion of an illicit source is insufficient. Under section 1(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1977, the conspirator must know…

Under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, a conviction for a drug-trafficking offence permits a confiscation inquiry extending beyond the period of the offence…

For qualifying determinate sentences, Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 240 requires the sentencing court to direct, and state in open court, the days spent on…

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a previous fraud conviction may be admitted as bad-character evidence where it is significantly probative of whether the…

An extended sentence requires a finding of a significant risk that further specified offending will cause serious harm. A general risk of reoffending, or a…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, culpability remains the dominant consideration where the offender did not intend death or injury. The…

On an appeal against sentence, a severe custodial term will not be reduced unless it is manifestly excessive. The sentencing court may properly treat as…

A sentence of imprisonment for public protection may lawfully be ordered consecutively to another indeterminate sentence or a custodial period. That course is…

For an offence of transferring criminal property under section 327(1)(d) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the property must already be criminal property when…

For an automatic life sentence under section 109, the earlier serious offence must satisfy the territorial requirement in section 109(5). A military conviction…

For an offence under section 55(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, information discloses personal data if it forms part of personal data held on a database.…

For confiscation purposes, a temporary and unrealised increase in the market value of an offender’s shares is not a pecuniary advantage unless the offender has…

For an offence under section 93A(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, “suspecting” does not import a requirement of reasonable grounds, clear suspicion, or…

Where the statutory preconditions are met and a defendant has benefited from criminal conduct, the court must determine the recoverable amount and make a…

A person convicted of an offence of possessing information likely to be useful for terrorism should ordinarily expect a substantial custodial sentence. The…

A sentencing judge must impose the sentence considered right, rather than calibrate it to avert a possible Attorney General reference for undue leniency. Where…

An interlocutory appeal under section 9(11) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 is available only for a ruling which forms part of a preparatory hearing held for…

For a third-party costs order under Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, serious misconduct sets a higher threshold than conduct that is merely improper…

Partial-profile DNA evidence is not inadmissible merely because unreported alleles might, if present, exclude the accused and their exculpatory effect cannot…

The fixing and appellate review of a minimum term for murder is an evaluative exercise, not a mathematical calculation. The court must assess the specified…

A person who deliberately makes a false rape complaint commits a grave offence against the administration of justice. An immediate custodial sentence is…

On a submission of no case, the question is whether the evidence, taken at its highest, could properly support conviction by a jury. A summing-up must fairly…

For a corporate offence under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, a fine must reflect the offender’s fault, the consequences of the breach…

For an automatic life sentence, the ordinary starting point for the specified minimum period is one half of the appropriate notional determinate sentence. A…

A trial judge may comment robustly on the evidence and remind the jury of the parties’ submissions. The summing-up must nevertheless remain fair and impartial…

A sentence for breach of an anti-social behaviour order is not assessed solely by reference to the maximum sentence for the underlying substantive offence. The…

On an appeal against sentence, the general rule is that post-sentence material will not reopen a sentence that was proper when imposed. Section 11(3) of the…

An exemption for fishing vessels under 10 metres from the formal EU logbook and landing-declaration regime does not prevent a Member State from imposing…

For provocation under section 3 of the Homicide Act 1957, the objective question concerns the self-control expected of an ordinary sober person of the…

Social supply of cocaine, although non-commercial and confined to a private gathering, remains serious because obtaining drugs for others sustains their…

Evidence of a defendant’s unusual movements after an alleged offence may be admitted where it is relevant and probative. Its possible innocent explanation and…

An extended sentence may be imposed only for an offence included in the statutory list of specified offences. A sentence imposed for an offence outside that…

On a submission of no case to answer, the judge must take the prosecution evidence at its highest but assess it as a whole. The judge must take account of its…

In a joint-enterprise murder case involving weapons, liability must be directed to the weapon which caused death. A participant is guilty of murder only if the…

A jury must consider the prosecution evidence before considering an adverse inference from a defendant’s failure to testify. It may draw that inference only…

Where a statutory sentencing regime applies to a person of a specified age who is convicted, the relevant age is the offender’s age on conviction. It is not…

For a particularly young offender, the assessment of future dangerousness must give proper weight to the capacity to mature, change and respond to supervision.…

Where convictions for separate firearms offences arise from possession of a single collection of weapons, the sentencing court should consider whether they…

For offences committed when section 85 applied, an extended sentence for a violent offence required a custodial term of at least four years. The exception for…

When sentencing for contempt in the face of the court, a court must protect the administration of justice and jurors from genuine threats, intimidation and…

An order under section 116 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 may be made although an offender has already been administratively recalled…

False imprisonment covers conduct of widely differing seriousness. In an offence arising from a personal relationship, sentence must reflect the duration of…

A sentencing judge may consider an offender’s proven role within a drug-supply operation as relevant background to offences of supply. Where the offender…

A conviction is unsafe where a judge directs a jury to convict and thereby completely removes the issue of guilt from the jury. That is a significant legal…

A summing-up is fair where, viewed as a whole, it adequately reminds the jury of the evidence and each defendant’s case. It need not contain a separate…

Sentencing discussions and any indication of sentence must ordinarily be conducted openly, with both parties informed. Private communications are permissible…

Expert evidence based on childhood-amnesia research is admissible only in an exceptional case. It may assist where an adult gives an unrealistically detailed…

On an appeal based on fresh expert evidence, the court must ask whether a jury which knew that evidence might reasonably have reached a different verdict. The…

A sentence for conspiracy to murder must reflect the offender’s own culpability and mitigation. Where a co-offender instigated the conspiracy, had previously…

Where historic allegations materially prejudice the defence, the jury should be directed to the particular difficulties which delay has caused the defendant.…

Under Part 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Court of Appeal must quash an acquittal and order a retrial where there is new and compelling evidence and…

Where section 240 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 applies, remand time must be credited against a sentence unless the court considers it just to withhold that…

Where a renewed application for leave to appeal raises an arguable and apparently unresolved question about the directions required in a recognition-evidence…

Where fresh material, considered cumulatively with any material defect in the jury directions, leaves the Court of Appeal unable to be sure that a properly…

A breach of the identification Code does not itself make a conviction unsafe. The decisive question is whether the identification evidence remained capable of…

Where the evidence raises a live issue whether driving fell merely below, rather than far below, the standard of a competent and careful driver, the statutory…

Failure to surrender to bail is a serious breach of a court order. A failure relating to a plea and case management hearing may be less serious than absence…

An allegation of jury bias requires the appellate court to identify all material circumstances and ask whether a fair-minded and informed observer would…

An appellate court deciding whether a conviction is unsafe does not re-evaluate the prosecution case merely because the evidence contains matters capable of…

Where the viability of a criminal appeal depends on a vital witness’s present account, the appellate court may give focused case-management directions to…

Rape sentencing guidance must not be applied mechanically. The court must assess the offending as a whole, and exceptionally grave features may justify a…

Under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, an adverse inference from silence at interview is proper only where the jury reject any…

For an offence concerning an imitation firearm, the prosecution must prove that the defendant had an actual thing, independent of his body, whose appearance…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because the jury were not given the usual direction to consider each count separately. The question is whether, in the…

Where a judge treats a defendant as being of good character for the purposes of the trial, the defendant must receive the corresponding good-character…

A claimed right to personal autonomy, private life or religious observance does not provide a defence to offences involving controlled drugs under the Misuse…

Where relevant information was not reflected accurately in a Crown admission, the appellate court must determine for itself whether the conviction remains safe…

A procedural failure does not automatically invalidate criminal proceedings unless Parliament intended that consequence. The court must assess the purpose of…

Where the prosecution case depends solely, or decisively, on an out-of-court statement which the accused cannot test by cross-examination, its admission may…

Where fresh evidence materially undermines the apparent independence and credibility of a prosecution witness whose evidence was presented as corroboration…

Under Youth and Criminal Justice Act 1999, evidence of a complainant’s previous sexual behaviour may be admissible where it is relevant to an accused’s honest…

For a duty to ensure safety so far as is reasonably practicable, the likelihood of the relevant risk eventuating is a material part of the assessment. It must…

A criminal court may permit a witness to give evidence anonymously under its inherent jurisdiction. It must establish a genuine and justified need for…

A sentencing court must first identify the sentence which the new offence merits. It cannot increase that sentence merely because an administrative recall to…

Evidence of a previous conviction may be relevant to identification as a connecting circumstance without being evidence of a propensity to commit the charged…

Sentences for trafficking for sexual exploitation must reflect both the gravity of the conduct and the strong need for deterrence. The trafficking offences…

An extension of time to renew an application for leave to appeal sentence may properly be refused where there has been substantial delay and the proposed…

For offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, psychiatric injury may constitute bodily harm only if it amounts to a recognisable psychiatric…

Fresh psychiatric evidence may be received on a murder appeal to advance diminished responsibility only in exceptional circumstances. The defendant’s duty to…

For breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, the statutory defence of acting with a reasonable excuse is capable, in an appropriate case, of encompassing…

Where fresh psychiatric evidence, admitted in the interests of justice following a Criminal Cases Review Commission reference, establishes that an offender was…

Assaults on medical and ambulance staff will ordinarily require immediate custody because those performing public service are entitled to the courts’…

An appellate court may reduce sentences which create an unjustified disparity between co-offenders, even where each sentence is not independently manifestly…

Where bad-character evidence has been admitted, Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 107 imposes a mandatory safeguard. The trial judge must independently assess…

A breach of authorisation requirements for an undercover operation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and its Code of Practice is important…

Where evidence from different complainants is before the jury, the former similar-fact admissibility rules do not govern merely because one account may support…

For murders sentenced under the transitional Practice Statement, the stated starting points and examples of aggravating features are not exhaustive. A closely…

Organisers of a persistent conspiracy to import substantial quantities of Class A drugs, involving significant planning and the recruitment of couriers exposed…

A sentence may be lenient without being unduly lenient. On an Attorney General’s reference, the appellate court must consider the sentencing judge’s assessment…

A sentencing court must distinguish between arson with intent and reckless arson. The former attracts a higher sentencing bracket, although a deliberate…

In sentencing a young offender for importing a substantial quantity of highly pure Class A drugs, genuine personal mitigation, remorse, early admissions and…

A conviction for similar offending is not inadmissible on the issue of propensity merely because the offending occurred after the offence charged. Under the…

Conflicting accounts by prosecution witnesses ordinarily raise questions of credibility for the jury. A judge should withdraw the case only in the exceptional…

Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 5, creates an offence of rape of a child under 13 regardless of consent or of a defendant’s reasonable belief that the child…

Fresh expert evidence may be received under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23 where it is capable of belief and supplies a credible alternative explanation…

Where a defendant has both consumed alcohol and has a qualifying abnormality of mind, the question under Homicide Act 1957 is whether the abnormality…

Where expert evidence is proposed on a criminal appeal, counsel should place an advice on evidence before the Registrar before the hearing and seek an…

A sentencing court must mark very serious sexual offending by custody, but it need not deal with the case mechanistically. Where a young offender has…

Where a disputed basis of plea could materially affect sentence, the prosecution must make the discrepancy clear to the sentencing court. The court must then…

A secondary party to a joint burglary is liable for murder only if the killing fell within the scope of the joint enterprise. Scope is assessed subjectively…

In a case which plainly requires a significant custodial sentence, prison overcrowding cannot justify reducing the term. It may be relevant only where the…

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant with a criminal lifestyle bears the burden of displacing the statutory assumptions. The burden is not…

A warning about possible contamination of a complainant’s evidence is required where the evidence or the defence case raises a realistic possibility that an…

The six-month limit for postponing confiscation determinations must be observed wherever reasonably possible, but it does not require an unduly strict…

Police operational categories, including trace, interview and eliminate classifications, do not alter the distinction in Code C between suspects and…

Where expert evidence creates a central and apparent conflict with eyewitness evidence, the trial judge must place that conflict fairly and clearly before the…

A discretionary life sentence requires both a very serious offence and good grounds for believing that the offender may remain a serious danger to the public…

A procedural defect in confiscation proceedings does not automatically invalidate a confiscation order. The question is whether Parliament intended invalidity.…

Under section 16(4) of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the discretion to increase the amount recoverable under a confiscation order is unconfined, although it…

Where the trial judge becomes ill after the jury has retired, another judge may properly make himself available to receive the verdict. That limited step does…

In preliminary criminal proceedings, a trial judge may use case-management powers to require written submissions, limit their length, and dispense with oral…

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, bad-character evidence which has been properly admitted may be used only for matters to which it is relevant. Prior guilty…

A discretionary life sentence may be appropriate where the offending is exceptionally serious and the offender’s character and conduct show that the point at…

For possession of a substantial quantity of cannabis with intent to supply, the pre-existing custodial sentencing guidelines continued to apply after cannabis…

An anti-social behaviour order made on conviction under Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 1C, requires specific findings that the offender committed…

In sentencing for benefit fraud, the court should assess the total sum dishonestly obtained and the duration and repetition of the offending. A custodial…

An appeal against a recommendation for deportation may be allowed where a subsequent decision by the Home Office not to act on the recommendation has overtaken…

Under section 109 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, life imprisonment is the normal sentence for a second serious offence. The sentencing…

Fresh material disclosed after trial warrants intervention only where it creates a real doubt about the safety of the conviction. Where the material might have…

Where a criminal count is supported by several separately particularised alleged breaches, the jury must be directed that they must unanimously be sure of at…

Prison overcrowding may be relevant where the choice between custody and a community sentence is genuinely marginal, because overcrowding can impede…

An appellate court should assess alleged disclosure failures, evidential irregularities and improper questioning in the context of the trial as a whole. An…

For a bomb-hoax offence, immediate custody may be unavoidable and substantial even where the offender has personality disorder and limited intellectual…

Where a defendant is convicted of attempting to obtain services by deception in the course of seeking refuge, sentence must reflect the actual circumstances…

Later disclosure that police involved in an investigation are seriously discredited does not itself make a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must assess…

Under the unamended confiscation regime in Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a person may obtain criminal property although he has no beneficial…

For possession of indecent computer images under section 160(1), custody or control of the computer alone is insufficient. The prosecution must prove that the…

Under the bad-character gateway in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, convictions in the same statutory description or category are not automatically admissible to…

A sentencing judge must first determine the custodial term warranted by the offending. The judge should then consider whether suspension is lawful and…

Where a defendant raises self-defence, the prosecution must disprove it. The jury should receive a clear direction to that effect in the context of the issue…

A sentencing court may recommend deportation under Immigration Act 1971 where the offending and available material show that the offender’s continued presence…

A defendant who meets the statutory conditions for a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1983 is not presumptively entitled to one. The decision remains…

For confiscation under section 76 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, evasion of excise duty constitutes a pecuniary advantage and therefore a benefit. A…

In sentencing for blackmail, the court must place the offending at the appropriate point on the sentencing scale. The gravity of deliberately coercive and…

A trial may proceed in an absent defendant’s absence only where the court exercises its discretion with great care and secures a trial that is as fair as the…

A criminal trial need not be aborted because a defendant deliberately disrupts it. Where responsibility for the disruption is manifest, and the jury can fairly…

In confiscation proceedings under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, expenditure within the statutory six-year period is presumed to have been met from…

A sentence for repeated rape and indecent assault of a very young child may be unduly lenient where it fails to reflect the gravity of the abuse, the…

The court did not determine the certified question of law. It certified a question concerning liability for manslaughter arising from an affray, where a victim…

For common-law contempt by prejudicial publicity, an intention to disrupt proceedings cannot substitute for an act amounting to publication. The prosecution…

Under section 225(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a sentence of life imprisonment or imprisonment for public protection requires a significant risk of…

A court may not direct a prison term for offences committed during licence to begin only after the expiry of the recalled earlier sentence, where that…

Fresh evidence will not assist an appellant unless it is capable of belief. Where that threshold is met, the appellate court must then consider whether the…

A permanent stay for abuse of process arising from delay is exceptional. The judge must assess whether, in all the circumstances, a fair trial remains…

Dangerous driving under Road Traffic Act 1988 section 2A is not established merely because the driver was intoxicated. The prosecution must prove dangerous…

Where fresh evidence is received on a criminal appeal, the Court of Appeal must evaluate it against the evidence as a whole and decide for itself whether the…

Where fresh evidence that should have been disclosed materially supports a defence case and may have affected the jury’s verdict, it should be received under…

For confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant without a criminal lifestyle benefits from particular criminal conduct only if property was…

When considering whether a sentence is manifestly excessive, the court must assess the offending as a whole. A prolonged course of sexual assaults, two rapes…

A conviction may be unsafe where later-discovered police misconduct, if available at trial, might reasonably have affected the jury’s decision. The governing…

Section 120 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides a freestanding statutory route for admitting a complainant’s prior complaint as evidence of its truth. It…

For the transitional provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, criminal proceedings mean the trial at which factual issues are determined. The new…

For the defence under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, a defendant who raises sufficient evidence of refugee status bears only an evidential…

Under section 2 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the appellate question is whether a conviction is unsafe, not whether the accused is guilty. In a difficult…

A trial judge has an independent duty to ensure a fair jury trial and may discharge the jury even if neither party seeks that course. The question is whether…

Satisfaction of the condition in section 116(2)(c) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is only the first stage in deciding whether hearsay from an overseas…

Deliberate, sustained and grave violence must receive a custodial sentence that properly reflects its seriousness, deters comparable conduct and maintains…

When sentencing after mixed verdicts, the court must proceed on the factual basis necessarily established by those verdicts. It may not sentence on allegations…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, proposed fresh evidence must appear capable of belief. Where evidence was available at trial, the absence of…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, the court should use the relevant culpability category and starting point, while avoiding double counting…

Where section 240 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 applies, the sentencing court must direct that qualifying remand custody counts as time served unless a…

A sentence may be lenient without being unduly lenient. On an Attorney-General’s reference, the court must assess the whole of the offending and mitigation…

Robbery of a small shop using an imitation firearm is a serious offence which ordinarily requires a substantial custodial sentence. Sentencing must reflect…

A discretionary life sentence is justified where an offender is likely to pose a serious danger to the public for an indeterminate period. The assessment may…

A conviction entered following a guilty plea may nevertheless be unsafe where exceptional later-disclosed material shows that the prosecution case was…

In a conspiracy trial, out-of-court acts or declarations of a conspirator may be admitted against an absent alleged conspirator only if the judge is satisfied…

Where offences sentenced separately could properly have been dealt with alongside earlier offending, the later sentence must reflect the proper incremental…

A jury must be directed accurately on the distinct elements of murder and unlawful-act manslaughter. The objective requirement that sober and reasonable people…

An imperfectly expressed passage in a summing-up does not make a murder conviction unsafe where the jury has otherwise received the material medical evidence…

For a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence that is merely lenient is not enough. The Court of Appeal may intervene where the…

For the propensity gateway in section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the question is whether previous convictions have the capacity to establish a…

For confiscation under Criminal Justice Act 1988, benefit is the value of property obtained through or in connection with the offence. It is not confined to…

Under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, dangerousness requires a significant risk both of further specified offending and of consequent serious…

For a drug courier, seized controlled drugs cannot be given a value for confiscation merely by using their unlawful wholesale value. The relevant market value…

Expert opinion is admissible where it is founded on proved facts and provides scientific information outside ordinary judicial or jury experience. It is…

When imposing a return-to-custody term under section 116 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, the court must credit custody already served…

An anti-social behaviour order must be necessary to protect a victim or the public from further anti-social conduct. It is not justified merely because an…

For possession of criminal property, the prosecution must prove that the property represents a benefit from criminal conduct. Profits from legitimate trading…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a finding that a sentence is unduly lenient does not automatically require an increase. The court must separately decide…

For the exemption in section 1(6)(a) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, a person has a right to control a private telecommunications system…

When fixing the punitive minimum term for a discretionary life sentence, including whether to exclude early release altogether, the court must assess the…

On a reference concerning an unduly lenient sentence, the Court may exceptionally refuse to substitute immediate custody where unusual procedural circumstances…

For sustained offences of obtaining money by deception from elderly and vulnerable householders, the duration of the offending, the sums obtained, the…

For confiscation under section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, an offender benefits when he obtains criminal property. Money received into an account…

A direction on lies or silence must be tailored to the evidence and to the defence case. A general warning is insufficient where the prosecution relies on…

For unlawful act manslaughter, the dangerous unlawful act must subject the deceased to a foreseeable risk of physical harm and that harm must cause the death.…

A discretionary life sentence combined with a hospital and limitation direction under section 45A of the Mental Health Act 1983 may properly be imposed on an…

Under section 114(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a trial judge must consider the listed factors and any other relevant matters when deciding whether…

Exceptionally, the Court of Appeal may prefer an enlarged Judicial Committee decision to an earlier House of Lords decision where all the Law Lords who sat…

Article 3 is not engaged merely because a person suffers severe symptoms from an illness or injury unconnected with state action, and believes that a…

An extended sentence and extended licence period will not be reduced as manifestly excessive where the offender’s persistent pattern of sexual offending and…

Private surveillance does not become police surveillance merely because the police know of it and use its fruits. It must have been initiated or encouraged by…

Where an appellant is substantially unsuccessful but succeeds on a discrete costs issue, an appellate costs order should reflect the real extent and…

When deciding whether the statutory maximum is an appropriate sentencing starting point, a court should assess the worst type of offence that ordinarily comes…

A finding that an offender presents a significant risk of serious harm does not, by itself, justify a life sentence under section 225(2) of the Criminal…

In sentencing for possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, the court must assess the circumstances of the threat, the…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the question is whether the total sentence, viewed with proper regard to the trial judge’s…

In sentencing for manslaughter following the violent shaking of a young child, the court must give proper weight to all mitigating features, including the…

In sentencing for voyeurism, custody may be justified although images were not circulated where the offender abused a position of trust and the offending had a…

A sentence for persistent cruelty to a child is unduly lenient where it fails adequately to reflect prolonged and serious ill-treatment, including physical…

For the licensing scheme under the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995, food is ready to eat if it can be consumed without further treatment or…

When sentencing an offender under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 116, the court should first fix the proper sentence for the new…

In an unduly lenient sentence reference, the court must assess the seriousness of the offending and give plea credit which reflects both its extent and timing.…

An appeal against an order restricting public access to criminal proceedings under Criminal Procedure Rules 2005, r 67.2, must be determined without an oral…

Witness competence depends on functional ability, not age. A witness must be able to understand questions and give answers that can be understood. Where a…

A technical failure to discharge a legal aid certificate after defence representatives withdraw does not itself require a conviction to be quashed. The…

In an Attorney General reference for unduly lenient sentences, the proper sentence must reflect the full gravity of a concerted and prolonged attack on a…

An indeterminate sentence for public protection under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm from…

For confiscation under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a person who imports contraband cigarettes and evades duty obtains a pecuniary advantage equal to the evaded…

Accomplice evidence may be admitted although the witness has an incentive to assist the prosecution, provided that its potential unreliability is fairly…