Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2014

An appellate court may set aside a finding that an accused person was unfit to plead only if the finding was wrong when made. Later evidence of recovery or…

Evidence of a complainant’s alleged misconduct is not admissible under section 100(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 unless it has substantial probative…

An apparently clear jury verdict returned in open court cannot ordinarily be impeached by evidence about the jury’s deliberations or reasoning. The court may…

A defendant who does not plead guilty at the earliest opportunity may properly receive less than full credit for the plea. The assessment of appropriate credit…

A trial judge may leave a sexual allegation to the jury despite substantial inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence where the central allegation has…

For an offence under section 28E of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, a preliminary ruling may properly leave the factual question whether the defendant…

When fixing a minimum term for murder, the court must assess all relevant circumstances and apply statutory guidance without treating it as rigid. A young…

Contextual evidence may be admitted where it assists the jury to understand the relevant relationship or conversation and has probative value. A trial judge…

Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 does not require reading down to exclude recklessness. The offence is compatible with Article 10 where recklessness is…

The statutory exemption for possession of a prohibited short-barrelled firearm is available only where possession accords with the firearm certificate…

A challenged passage in a summing-up must be read in the context of the directions as a whole. A clear and correct earlier direction on the real issue may…

Low-level gunshot-residue findings are not automatically inadmissible or irrelevant merely because current forensic guidance attributes no standalone…

Where a defendant freely elects, after full and balanced legal advice, not to give evidence at a Newton hearing, the sentencing judge may resolve factual…

The ancient requirement that a murder victim be under the Queen’s peace concerns jurisdiction and, insofar as it remains an element of murder, may concern the…

There is no absolute rule preventing prosecuting counsel from making a closing speech merely because an accused is unrepresented. The controlling question is…

Evidence of a defendant’s earlier possession of indecent images of children may be admitted as bad-character evidence where it is relevant to whether a…

A jury remains the ultimate decision-maker, but it may not reject uncontradicted and substantively unchallenged expert evidence on a matter requiring…

A judge should not normally give a jury a written factual chronology of the judge’s own creation. If a written exposition of the facts is thought necessary, it…

In confiscation proceedings, a defendant subject to the criminal-lifestyle provisions must convincingly displace the statutory presumptions and provide a…

A criminal trial may fairly continue where a vulnerable complainant cannot complete cross-examination because of acute distress. The decisive question is…

A Watson direction should be given only in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort after a prolonged retirement following the majority direction. A…

For confiscation under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant obtains rental income where it comes within his ownership, disposition or control. This remains…

A compulsory pre-classification regime for video works is compatible with article 34 TFEU where it is non-discriminatory and justified under article 36 by the…

Historic sexual offences are sentenced under the legislative regime and sentencing guidance current at the date of sentence. The court may make measured…

A deprivation order under section 143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 is not a forfeiture order. It deprives an offender only of the…

Evidence available at trial, but not obtained without a reasonable explanation, will not ordinarily qualify as fresh evidence under the Criminal Appeal Act…

In confiscation proceedings, the valuation of benefit is a fact-driven exercise. Benefit from illegal drugs is assessed by reference to the illicit market in…

A whole life order is reserved for the few exceptionally serious murders where, after considering all aggravating and mitigating features, just punishment and…

For sentencing under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, the court should begin with the notional sentence for the terrorism intended to be carried out. It…

A sentencing court cannot make a substantive variation to a sentence after the 56-day limit in section 155 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act…

Time spent in custody after recall on licence cannot automatically be credited against a later sentence where it has already been served under the recalled…

Delay and lost records do not of themselves make a criminal trial unfair. The court must distinguish speculation about what missing material might reveal from…

Legal professional privilege concerning a document does not itself determine whether the document is admissible in criminal proceedings. The court must…

Fresh evidence concerning police misconduct does not make an historic conviction unsafe merely because an officer belonged to a discredited squad. The…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act, a defendant benefits where property is obtained as a result of, or in connection with, criminal conduct. Benefit is a statutory…

Where the evidence supports an obvious and viable lesser alternative verdict, the trial judge should ordinarily leave it to the jury despite the parties’…

A second prosecution for different offences arising from substantially the same facts is prima facie oppressive, but it is not automatically an abuse of…

A child or other vulnerable witness is competent where the statutory criteria are met. Competence depends on the individual witness’s ability to understand…

In a no-case submission, the judge must decide whether the prosecution evidence, taken at its highest, could permit a properly directed jury to convict. The…

On a submission of no case to answer, the question is whether the prosecution evidence could properly support a conviction. It is insufficient that the defence…

A loss of time order under Criminal Appeal Act 1968 may properly be made where an applicant, despite clear warnings, renews a totally unmeritorious application…

A serious crime prevention order under section 19 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 may supplement, rather than duplicate, an offender’s licence conditions. The…

The traditional no-case-to-answer test requires the judge to ask whether, taking the prosecution case at its highest, a properly directed jury could properly…

Fresh psychiatric or psychological evidence does not render guilty pleas unsafe merely because the defendant has personality disorders, psychopathy, or a…

Section 104(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 concerns only bad-character evidence relied on to show a co-defendant’s propensity to be untruthful. It does…

Open justice is a fundamental common-law safeguard. A departure in criminal proceedings, including a hearing in camera, requires a fact-specific necessity and…

Where an appeal challenges an apparently inconsistent good-character direction, the decisive question is whether the inconsistency could have affected the…

Serious aggravating features may justify a sentence outside the guideline range applicable to an individual offence. Where repeated offending is reflected by…

A conspiracy requires a shared unlawful purpose. It does not require every conspirator to know every product, participant or means by which the common design…

A court may regulate the route by which otherwise relevant hearsay is introduced. Where a third party’s alleged confession is tendered through a further…

DNA found on an article may be capable of proving possession of that article where possession, rather than presence at a particular place and time, is the…

Hearsay comprising a co-participant’s confession which also implicates the defendant may be admitted under section 114(1)(d) where, after considering the…

Where a criminal representation order has been made for proceedings, a representative cannot recover private payment for work connected with those proceedings…

Under section 17 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, a private prosecutor may recover from central funds only costs that reasonably compensate for…

For conspiracy to possess criminal property, the conspirator’s mental element is not the same as that for the substantive possession offence. Where the…

Between States party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, immunity ratione materiae…

An undercover operation does not amount to entrapment merely because police officers provide an opportunity to offend. A stay for abuse of process requires…

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has extra-territorial effect in relation to money laundering. Its provisions, particularly section 340(11)(d), show that converting…

Where a serving police officer sits on a jury, the tribunal’s impartiality depends on the circumstances. If police evidence is challenged and is important, the…

Where the sentence announced by the judge differs from the Crown Court record, the order is determined by the judge’s announcement. The record should be…

Rent or housing benefit received from an unauthorised use of land is not benefit from criminal conduct under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 unless the conduct…

In sentencing drug conspiracies, offence-specific guideline weights may provide an entry point but do not determine sentence. The court must assess the…

For offences facilitating a breach of immigration law, sentence must reflect the full gravity of conduct which circumvents immigration controls. A deterrent…

For sentencing under section 1A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the levels of offending in the guideline for causing death by dangerous driving may provide…

For an offence of being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug under section 4(3)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, “supply” is a broad expression. It…

Alleged misdirections in a summing up must be assessed in the context of the summing up as a whole. Clear written directions and a route to verdict may show…

Newly instructed lawyers advancing a criminal appeal must make sufficient enquiries to establish the facts underlying the proposed grounds. Where a ground…

Under Mental Health Act 1983 section 45A, the discretionary power is to give a hospital direction and a limitation direction together. The serious-harm…

On a Registrar’s reference under section 20 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, an application for leave to appeal may be summarily dismissed where its grounds…

Expert evidence may assist a jury only on a defined matter outside ordinary knowledge and where a sound evidential foundation exists. It is inadmissible if it…

Where confiscation and compensation orders are made in the same proceedings, and the court believes that the defendant cannot satisfy both in full, section 13…

A foreign conviction may be proved under section 73 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 without reading into that provision a requirement that the…

For an offence under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc, Act 1974, the prosecution need prove exposure to a material risk, not that the…

On a Crown appeal under Criminal Justice Act 2003, a no-case ruling must be assessed by reference to the evidence at the close of the Crown case, rather than…

Where a court postpones an enquiry into an alleged contempt, it must strictly observe the procedural safeguards in Criminal Procedure Rules 2013, Part 62. The…

A tribunal’s criticism of an expert witness’s objectivity in unrelated proceedings is not evidence of bad character unless it establishes misconduct, including…

Fresh evidence on a criminal appeal must be assessed under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, s 23. Evidence which is capable of belief does not afford a ground for…

Fresh evidence concerning the credibility of a Crown witness will not render convictions unsafe where it adds nothing of significance to the substantial…

In a criminal trial, directions must make clear that the prosecution bears the burden of proof and that the jury may convict only if sure of guilt. A direction…

Irregularities in a child’s Achieving Best Evidence interview do not require exclusion under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 unless…

Questions about a complainant’s previous false sexual-assault complaints are not barred by Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 section 41. However…

In sentencing for manslaughter by diminished responsibility where a discretionary life sentence is appropriate, the court may use Criminal Justice Act 2003…

Where undisclosed material materially undermines a central witness’s account, the appellate court must assess whether the jury’s overall view of that witness…

Where the criminal-lifestyle assumptions under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 apply, transfers to a defendant are treated as benefits of general criminal conduct…

On a conviction appeal based on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must determine whether the conviction is safe. It must assess the force of the new material…

The supplied text contains only a notice that the judgment has been withdrawn pending possible criminal proceedings. It provides no legal reasoning, findings…

For an offence under section 16 of the Firearms Act 1968, the jury must be sure that the defendant possessed a firearm with intent that life be endangered.…

A restraint order under section 40(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 requires evidence enabling the judge independently to find reasonable cause to believe…

Further hearsay evidence is not automatically barred because the prosecution has already read an agreed witness statement. Where the witness is unavailable and…

Where evidence of a separate incident is materially capable of supporting a defendant’s account of self-defence or undermining the complainant’s account, the…

Hearsay may be admitted under section 116(2)(d) where the prosecution has taken all reasonably practicable steps to secure an absent witness. The inquiry is…

For manslaughter by loss of control, the 2005 sentencing guideline remains relevant but must be applied with allowance for later developments. These include…

An indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection may properly be imposed under the transitional sentencing regime where the offender was…

Fresh evidence from a convicted co-offender should not be admitted under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 when it is incapable of belief and its…

Where a robbery sentencing guideline requires the court to assess the presence, use and nature of a weapon, a sentencing judge must follow that direction under…

On a reconsideration under section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, legitimately acquired assets may be available to satisfy a confiscation order. The…

Section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 contains no implied exemption for people seeking asylum. It may apply where a person facilitates an asylum seeker’s…

A defendant who pleads guilty at a plea and case management hearing on a basis which the prosecution wrongly accepts will ordinarily receive the credit…

A criminal court cannot determine a challenge to an enforcement notice by treating it as an application to stay a prosecution where the alleged abuse depends…

A simple-majority finding of guilt by a Court Martial under section 160(1) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 is compatible with Article 6. The differences between…

A stay of criminal proceedings for abuse of process is a remedy of last resort. A stay for inability to receive a fair trial requires that a fair trial be…

The definitive drug-offences guideline applies to conspiracy to supply as well as substantive supply offences. Its role descriptors and quantity categories are…

A juror is not disqualified merely because professional experience gives that juror knowledge or expertise relevant to the subject matter of the trial. In the…

A life sentence under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 225 is mandatory where the statutory conditions are met. The assessment of whether the offence is…

Where a defendant absconds before conviction but is later convicted in absence, the Crown Court cannot make a confiscation order under section 6 alone because…

A conviction founded on recognition evidence will ordinarily remain a matter for the jury where the identifying witnesses knew the defendant and the alleged…

A trial judge should leave alleged inconsistencies in a complainant’s evidence to the jury unless, taking the prosecution case at its highest and allowing for…

For an offence under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, grievous bodily harm means really serious bodily harm. It need not be permanent…

Section 108(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 applies only where the offence charged was committed or alleged to have been committed when the defendant was…

In single-punch manslaughter, sentence must reflect both the offender’s culpability and the catastrophic but unintended consequence of death. Culpability…

Where fresh expert evidence is relevant and has probative value on disputed facts or the interpretation of an accused’s conduct, a conviction is unsafe if the…

For diminished responsibility, substantially impaired requires more than an impairment that is merely trivial or minimal. The impairment must be real or…

A police officer’s later recognition of a person in an image does not fall within the recognition procedure in Code D where the officer was not asked to…

Evidence of prior incidents may be admissible under gateway (d) of Criminal Justice Act 2003 where, cumulatively, it is capable of showing a propensity to take…

Sentencing for knife and offensive-weapon crime must maintain a sharp focus on preventing further offending and reducing the carrying of knives through…

A trial judge must give a summing-up that enables the jury to decide the real issues fairly. Where an accused has not given evidence, the judge need not…

For the bad-character gateway in section 101(1)(d), the decisive question is whether the proposed evidence is relevant to a real and important issue. The…

On a fresh-evidence appeal, the decisive question under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, s. 23 is whether the conviction is unsafe in the light of all the evidence.…

An appeal after a guilty plea may exceptionally be entertained where the admitted facts could not in law establish the offence charged. A defective indictment…

A sentence for deliberately evading United Kingdom controls on international arms trading must reflect the nature, quantity and value of the weapons, the risk…

An order which grants a receiver enforcement powers takes effect when made, even if its exercise is stayed pending another proceeding. The time for appealing…

A trial judge may give supplementary directions after a break in a jury’s deliberations, especially to refresh the jury’s recollection of central issues. The…

Where the prosecution has advanced an assault charge on a specified factual basis, a judge may leave a different route to conviction only if doing so does not…

An application for leave to appeal may be summarily dismissed under section 20 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where it is plainly frivolous or vexatious and…

A prosecution should ordinarily disclose and adduce, before the close of its case, evidence on which it relies as probative of guilt. A departure from that…

Evidence of an alleged victim’s demeanour after an incident will usually be too tenuously relevant to assist a jury and should ordinarily not be admitted. It…

Previous convictions may be admitted to prove propensity under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 101(1)(d), where they have real probative force as a unified…

A defective certificate of committal does not invalidate committal for sentence where the magistrates’ court had jurisdiction to commit the offender. However…

Under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, evidence of a complainant’s sexual behaviour may be relevant to an accused’s belief in consent, although…

Fresh evidence will not render a conviction unsafe unless, viewed against the evidence at trial as a whole, it creates a realistic possibility that the jury…

Unsubstantiated police intelligence from unidentified or generally described sources will not satisfy the substantial-probative-value requirement in section…

A conviction is not rendered unsafe by a formal defect in a summing-up where the undisputed issue was correctly identified and the defect could not have…

In confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the court determines the central confiscation question by a different standard of proof from…

In confiscation proceedings involving a criminal lifestyle, a required assumption under section 10 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 must not be made where the…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because fresh material might invite a challenge to a complainant’s credibility. The appellate court must assess the…

A confiscation order under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 must be limited to a proportionate amount under Article 1 of Protocol 1. Gross turnover may properly…

Evidence said to demonstrate a complainant’s dishonesty must be assessed rigorously in its context before it is admitted to undermine credibility. Vague and…

An irregular disclosure concerning a jury’s progress does not, without more, render convictions unsafe. The question of apparent bias is objective: whether a…

On an application to adduce fresh evidence in a criminal appeal, the Court of Appeal must decide for itself whether the evidence makes the conviction unsafe.…

Fresh evidence may render a conviction unsafe if, viewed with the trial evidence, it might reasonably have led the jury to return a different verdict. Under…

Where an adult charged with an either-way offence indicates a guilty plea, the statutory plea-before-venue procedure treats the proceedings as a summary trial.…

A represented defendant who enters an unequivocal guilty plea faces a high hurdle in seeking to have it vacated. Ordinary stress arising from prosecution…

Under section 20 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the Court of Appeal may summarily dismiss an appeal or application that is frivolous or vexatious and can be…

In an appeal concerning historic sexual offences, newly available material renders a conviction unsafe only where it could realistically have made a material…

A court may try an absent defendant where, after a cautious and individual assessment, it concludes that the defendant has deliberately waived attendance and…

Under Indictments Act 1915, section 5(1), a trial indictment may be amended where a count is defective because it does not accord with the evidence, unless the…

The supplied material contains no judgment reasons or holdings from which a legal principle can be stated.

For offences involving possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, especially in a gangland setting, public protection, deterrence and punishment…

Primary forensic evidence obtained by a reliable method may be admitted even where the expert cannot provide an evaluative opinion. In a circumstantial case…

An agreement to sell equipment which may be used unlawfully does not itself constitute statutory conspiracy. However, an agreement to supply equipment with the…

A challenge to the admission of hearsay evidence may merit full appellate argument where the alleged error concerns the judge’s evaluation of the statutory…

A co-defendant will normally have to challenge another defendant’s evidence if it is said to be false. The purpose is to give that defendant a fair opportunity…

This was a case-management decision. Where an appellant proposes to advance fresh grounds supported by potential new witness evidence, the court may postpone a…

A defence which necessarily alleges that a complainant fabricated a detailed account of serious offending is an attack on that person’s character. It is not…

On a submission of no case to answer, the prosecution evidence must be taken at its highest. The issue is whether a properly directed jury could draw the…

A sentencing court may not depart from sentencing guidelines on the basis of local prevalence merely because of judicial experience. Proper evidence of…

A sentencing court may include a local-deterrence element only where proper evidence establishes that the relevant offence is particularly prevalent in that…

Following the abolition of imprisonment for public protection, Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 225 must be construed within the new statutory scheme. A life…

For confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the value of drugs obtained is their market value in the hands of the defendant at the time of…

A trial judge may address a possible third party’s involvement where that possibility has been actively canvassed during the hearing. The direction may make…

Previous convictions for robbery which include limited violence may be relevant to the issue of coincidence where a defendant alleges mistaken identification.…

An offender’s employment as a teacher does not aggravate offences involving indecent images of children merely because the offender worked with children. There…

An absconding defendant does not automatically lose the right to seek permission to appeal. A court may infer a lawyer’s actual or implied authority from all…

Untested hearsay, even where decisive, is not automatically inadmissible. Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must identify a statutory gateway…

For an offence under section 22A(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, interference with a driver alone does not amount to interference with a motor vehicle. The…

For negligent performance of duty under Armed Forces Act 2006, section 15(2), the standard is objective. It is that of a reasonable serviceman with the…

A second application for leave to appeal against conviction is ordinarily impermissible after the first application has been refused or the appeal dismissed.…

For confiscation arising from fraudulent evasion of tobacco duty, participation in a joint enterprise does not itself establish a recoverable benefit. Under…

An owner who resumes a use which an enforcement notice required to cease permanently may commit the offence under section 179(2) of the Town and Country…

Credit for a guilty plea depends on whether the defendant indicated a willingness to plead at the first reasonable opportunity. That opportunity does not…

For the partial defence of loss of control under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the trial judge must make a commonsense assessment of the whole evidence…

For confiscation under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant obtains a pecuniary advantage where criminal conduct relieves him of a liability he would…

A whole life order is compatible with Article 3 where it represents just punishment for an offence of exceptionally high seriousness. The statutory power of…

Under section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, an intent to commit an offence ordinarily requires an intent to commit every essential element of it. An…

An intention to kill necessarily includes an intention to cause really serious injury. Counts of attempted murder and of causing grievous bodily harm with…

For misconduct in public office, an employee’s status depends on the position held, the nature of the duties, and whether performing them fulfils a…

For face-to-face offences of encouraging or assisting suicide, seriousness should be assessed by reference to harm and culpability under section 143 of the…

For sexual offences, the substantive assessment of capacity to consent is the same in civil and criminal jurisdictions. It is informed by the definition and…

For the offence of knowingly permitting the operation of a regulated facility without an environmental permit, knowledge is required of the relevant waste…

For fraud by abuse of position under section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006, the prosecution must prove the relevant position, its dishonest abuse, and the required…

Where an earlier confiscation order expressly determines benefit from general criminal conduct, a later confiscation court must accept that determination as…

For the transitional confiscation regime under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the relevant question is whether the defendant was found guilty of an offence…

Under section 101(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, convictions for making or possessing indecent images of children may demonstrate a sexual interest in…

Under section 106(14) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the length of sentence specified in Schedule 3 must be disregarded when deciding whether an offence may…

Severance under section 5(3) of the Indictments Act 1915 remains governed by the Ludlow discretion. A separate trial is required only where a special feature…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 240 ZA, a day spent on remand cannot count towards a sentence if the offender was also detained in connection with…

When deciding whether to lift or vary a child offender's anonymity order under Children and Young Persons Act 1933, the court must balance the public interest…

Hearsay from a witness absent through fear is not automatically admissible. Under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 116(2)(e), the court must establish that…

In sentencing for a Class A drug-supply conspiracy, the court may assess the aggregate quantity involved across multiple transactions. It must nevertheless…

A private prosecutor may initiate confiscation proceedings under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Confiscation is part of sentencing and therefore part of the…

A challenge to a jury summing-up requires a proper evidential basis. In a short trial, a judge need only remind the jury of the gist of the evidence. An…

In sentencing a corporate offender for environmental offending, the court should assess culpability and actual or potential harm before considering the…

In an appeal concerning a historic conviction, alleged defects in police procedure, trial directions, disclosure and later evidence must be assessed against…

Evidence consisting of sexually explicit text messages is not hearsay when it is adduced only to prove that the messages were sent, rather than the truth of…

Evidence of criminal-gang membership or association may be admissible under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where it is relevant to a real…

A corporate fine for health, safety or environmental offending must reflect the statutory purposes of sentencing, the seriousness of the offence and the…

A conviction under section 3ZB of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires more than an uninsured driver’s involvement in a fatal collision. The Crown must prove an…

Expert medical evidence may be admissible on the first limb of self-defence where a psychiatric condition is capable of establishing the state of affairs which…