Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2018

Evidence which concerns the alleged facts of the charged offence is outside the statutory definition of bad character and is admissible on ordinary principles…

Where several deaths result from a single act of dangerous driving, the sentences for the deaths must be concurrent. Multiple deaths substantially aggravate…

Where a defendant has an unrecognised learning disability that makes them vulnerable to leading and adversarial questioning, the trial process must make proper…

A prior incident for which an offender has received a police caution may properly aggravate sentence for a later offence where it demonstrates increased…

Personal mitigation and prospects of rehabilitation can be important in sentencing, but they cannot justify a departure from the applicable guideline range…

Where a jury is given a transcript of contentious ABE interview evidence, the trial judge must protect the defendant’s right to a fair trial. A transcript…

For a threshold offence under Sexual Offences Act 2003, notification requirements arise only when the prescribed sentencing condition is met. Section 132…

Under section 3 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968, substitution of an alternative conviction requires both that the jury could have convicted of that offence on…

Entrapment concerns abuse of state power and the integrity of the criminal justice system. Undercover agents may provide an unexceptional opportunity to commit…

For the offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect by the donee of a lasting or enduring power of attorney under Mental Capacity Act 2005, the prosecution must…

Peaceful protest does not confer immunity from imprisonment. Sentence depends on the offence, the harm caused, culpability and the offender’s circumstances.…

An offender’s eighteenth birthday is not a sentencing cliff edge. When sentencing a young adult, the court must assess the offender’s actual maturity, insight…

A criminal court may proceed with a trial in a defendant’s absence, but must exercise that discretion with great caution, particularly where illness makes the…

A trial judge may ask questions to clarify evidence, but must remain a neutral umpire in an adversarial criminal trial. The judge must not take over the…

After finding an offender dangerous under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the sentencing court must follow the statutory sequence. It must first decide whether…

Before making a criminal compensation order, the court must enquire into, make findings about, and take account of the offender’s means. The order must be…

A participant in a continuing violent joint enterprise may be guilty of manslaughter where he intentionally assists or encourages unlawful violence intended to…

A sentencing court must follow an applicable guideline unless it is contrary to the interests of justice to do so. If it departs from a guideline, it must…

For a leading participant in a highly organised Class A drug-importation conspiracy involving quantities far above 100 kilograms, a custodial starting range of…

A trial judge must leave a legally available lesser alternative offence to the jury only where it is a realistic verdict on the evidence, properly reflects the…

In sentencing for converting criminal property, the assessment of harm under the applicable sentencing guidelines is not confined to the monetary value…

Hearsay identification evidence is not inadmissible merely because the maker cannot be questioned about the circumstances of the identification. Its…

Where confiscation proceedings are postponed, section 15(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 prohibits the sentencing court from making a compensation order…

A conviction will not be unsafe merely because appellate counsel would have conducted the trial differently. An appeal founded on trial counsel’s incompetence…

For an attempt under section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, the prosecution must prove both an act that is more than merely preparatory and an…

A campaign of moped-enabled handbag robberies may properly be sentenced under the guideline for street and less sophisticated commercial robberies, even where…

A co-accused’s guilty plea which falls within section 74(1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 may be admitted as evidence that a conspiracy existed.…

A draft indictment uploaded to the Crown Court Digital Case System is, under the post-2009 scheme, a preferred indictment. Once the statutory requirements are…

For an offender under 18 convicted of a specified offence, an extended sentence under Criminal Justice Act 2003 may be imposed where there is a significant…

A summing-up is not unfair or biased merely because it reviews the prosecution evidence at greater length, comments on the limited value of an exhibit, or…

In gross negligence manslaughter, the knowledge available and the risk of death must be assessed objectively and prospectively at the time of the alleged…

A detention and training order must be for one of the periods prescribed by section 101(1) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. A court…

Where an offender is committed to the Crown Court for sentence under section 6 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, the Crown Court remains…

The totality principle requires the court to assess whether the overall sentence is proportionate to the whole offending. It does not require concurrent…

A trial may continue after highly publicised terrorist events if the trial judge, applying the fair-minded and informed observer test, is satisfied that clear…

In a sentence appeal, the question is whether the overall sentence is manifestly excessive, not whether a shorter sentence could also properly have been…

A failure to investigate or retain potentially relevant digital material does not, by itself, make a criminal trial unfair. Whether communications evidence is…

For a dangerousness assessment under section 229, the risk inquiry is not confined to the specified offences charged. The court may assess the risk of future…

In a judge-alone confiscation variation hearing, a judge may fairly ask limited questions to clarify a witness’s account, even where the prosecution has not…

Where remand time cannot count towards a new sentence because the offender is serving an earlier sentence, the Court of Appeal may reduce the new sentence to…

A summing up is assessed as a whole. It should identify the issues, give the relevant legal directions and provide an appropriate summary of the evidence. A…

Under section 101(1)(f) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, a defendant gives a false impression where voluntary evidence goes beyond a denial and presents a…

A conviction founded on a guilty plea to an offence which has been repealed is invalid because the offence is no longer known to law. The Court of Appeal must…

A disclosure failure does not of itself render a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must assess whether the undisclosed material could have been deployed…

A defendant’s account that the complainant committed a sexual assault does not require the jury to treat the defendant and complainant identically. Where the…

Where a complainant’s previous convictions were admitted because of an attack on the character of proposed defence witnesses, their relevance may fall away if…

For unlawful wounding under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, the mental element is subjective. The prosecution must prove that the…

For reckless arson, sentencing must reflect the substantial danger created by a premeditated retaliatory fire at premises known to be occupied, especially in a…

A sentence for assault occasioning actual bodily harm may be placed in the highest guideline category where the harm and culpability justify it. However…

In sentencing a participant in a group assault, the court may treat the violence as a joint assault where the offender did not distance himself from the acts…

When sentencing for numerous offences, the principle of totality requires a sentence that reflects all the offending and is just and proportionate. A court…

Where sentences for serious but distinct offences are imposed consecutively to an existing sentence, the sentencing court must give sufficient weight to the…

In sentencing sexual offences, a factor used to place offending in a guideline harm or culpability category should not ordinarily be counted again as an…

Evidence of a prosecution witness’s good character is generally inadmissible when tendered solely to show that the witness is truthful and should be believed.…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because best practice for examining a vulnerable witness was not followed in every respect. The appellate court must assess…

Land is excluded from theft under section 4(2) of the Theft Act 1968 unless an express statutory exception applies. The exception for a person authorised by…

In sentencing for robbery, the offender’s individual culpability must be assessed separately from that of a co-offender. Where the harm is more than minimal…

A trial judge must leave the partial defence of loss of control to the jury only where there is sufficient evidence on each statutory component. The judge must…

For possession of a prohibited firearm, the statutory minimum sentence is not a ceiling. Sentence must reflect the firearm’s capability, the offender’s access…

A serious medical condition, even where custody is especially difficult, does not automatically justify a reduced sentence. A further reduction as an…

In sentencing for possession of a prohibited firearm, the court must assess the relevant sentencing factors and the totality of the offending. A substantial…

For drug-driving offences, the Sentencing Council’s Drug Driving Guidance is not a binding sentencing guideline. It should nevertheless be used where helpful.…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction should be refused where the proposed grounds amount to jury points already rejected at a fair…

Local prevalence may aggravate a sentence only exceptionally. The court must assess the individual offence by its own harm and culpability. It requires focused…

Where visual identification evidence is poor, the judge must withdraw the case unless there is other evidence capable of supporting its correctness. A fleeting…

A trial judge must remain a neutral umpire in the adversarial criminal process. Judicial comments or interventions which indicate an adverse view of a…

In sentencing for child neglect with tragic consequences, the court must reflect any material difference in the culpability of co-offenders. A custodial…

Evidence of bad character is admissible under the false-impression gateway only where the defendant has made an assertion apt to mislead the jury. The…

In sentencing for the manslaughter of a baby or young child, the sentence must reflect the gravity of an unlawful act causing death. The appropriate range…

In sentencing grave human-trafficking offending, apparent agreement to travel does not prevent a finding of the highest harm where vulnerable victims were…

An alternative count of attempt may lawfully be added to an indictment where it reflects a statutory alternative to the completed offence and causes no…

A sentencing court may depart from a definitive guideline under section 125 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 only where the interests of justice require it. A…

An accused who wishes to give evidence must receive a full and fair opportunity to do so. Where genuine illness during trial makes testimony unsafe or…

A defence under section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 requires force directed to preventing an actual crime or threatened crime. A mistake that conduct is…

Under the Definitive Guideline for Drugs Offences, an offender’s role must be assessed from evidence that supports the relevant indicators of culpability. The…

At the highest end of sexual-offence sentencing, the appropriate starting point depends on a careful assessment of all the facts. Cases attain the utmost…

In sentencing for causing death by careless driving, a legal speed limit does not identify a speed that is safe or non-careless in all conditions. Culpability…

Sentencing for perverting the course of justice requires an assessment of the seriousness of the underlying matter, the persistence of the conduct, and its…

A Lucas direction is usually required where a jury may treat a statement which it is sure is a lie as evidence of guilt, but the lie may reasonably have an…

An extended licence period under section 226A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is protective, rather than a further measure of punishment for the seriousness…

For robbery in a dwelling, production of a knife to threaten violence placed culpability in Category A under the Sentencing Council robbery guideline. Where…

Proper planning of work at height under regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 is a strict requirement. A failure to plan for suitable…

For sentencing an offence under section 5 of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, the child-cruelty guideline may provide the closest comparative…

For digital images, possession requires both custody or control, so that the accused can access the material, and knowledge that a relevant image or group of…

For child sexual-activity offences, penetration places harm within category 1 under the applicable sentencing guideline. Culpability must then be assessed in…

When sentencing a historic offence, the court must determine whether a custodial sentence was legally available when the offence was committed. A statutory…

A custodial sentence is not completed when an offender is released halfway through it on post-custodial licence. Accordingly, time spent on remand equivalent…

For offenders aged 15 to 17, sentencing should reflect their reduced culpability. The Sentencing Council guideline gives a rough indication that the…

An appellate court may inspect undisclosed material itself to decide whether disclosure was required and whether a conviction is safe. The appointment of…

On a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal will not interfere where the sentencing judge was entitled to assess the gravity of serious glassing injuries under…

A failure to comply with Part 48 of the Criminal Procedure Rules does not automatically invalidate a contempt finding. The appellate court must determine…

A victim of trafficking has no blanket immunity from prosecution. The decisive question is whether the offence was integral to the trafficking and whether…

The entrapment jurisdiction developed in R v Looseley applies to seriously improper conduct by state agents. It cannot be applied without modification to…

In dangerous-offender sentencing, the court must first determine whether the offender presents a significant risk of serious harm before deciding whether the…

A sentence is not unduly lenient merely because it is lenient. Under the Sentencing Council assault guidelines, harm and culpability must be assessed…

The theft sentencing guideline may properly treat theft by a trusted carer from a vulnerable adult as high culpability because of the grave breach of trust.…

A prosecuting authority must act fairly, independently and objectively when deciding whether to prosecute. A prosecution may amount to an abuse of process…

Where separate counts of causing death by dangerous driving arise from one incident of dangerous driving, sentences should generally be concurrent. Multiple…

A community order for a serious robbery may be unduly lenient where it does not sufficiently reflect high culpability, substantial psychological harm, relevant…

Where a communication is relied on to prove the truth of its contents, the court must identify the relevant matter to be proved and ask whether the maker…

For historic sexual offending, a sentencing court may use the current definitive guideline for the modern equivalent offence, but must make a measured…

Under section 76(5) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, a mistaken belief is attributable to voluntarily induced intoxication where it is the…

For repeat domestic burglary subject to the statutory minimum under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, the sentence must remain proportionate to…

An agreed confiscation order will not ordinarily be set aside merely because the representation was open to criticism. Exceptional circumstances require a…

A sentence may exceed the range in a guideline directed to a single burglary where the offender is sentenced for a particularly serious conspiracy involving…

A criminal conviction is unsafe if the accused has been denied a fair trial, regardless of the apparent strength of the prosecution case. Apparent juror bias…

For infanticide under section 1(1) of the Infanticide Act 1938, a mother’s failure to recover fully from childbirth need not be the sole cause of a disturbed…

In sentencing a prolonged campaign of child rape and sexual abuse, the court must assess the seriousness of each offence under the applicable guideline, then…

Sentencing a child or young person requires an individual, child-focused assessment. Offence seriousness is the starting point, but the court must give proper…

Where a judge introduces an unadvanced defence into a summing-up, subjects it to adverse comment, and gives an unheralded direction permitting adverse…

A sexual offence committed within a domestic relationship is not less serious because of that relationship. Personal autonomy applies equally within and…

In sentencing serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a court may use the structured culpability-and-harm approach in health and…

Fresh alibi evidence cannot found an arguable challenge to the safety of a conviction unless it is capable of belief. Where reliable prosecution material…

Under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1996, section 41 strictly restricts cross-examination of a complainant about previous sexual conduct, sexual…

Evidence relating to one count may be cross-admissible as bad-character evidence where the jury are first sure of that count and are also sure that it…

A sentence for an attempted offence will ordinarily be lower than the sentence for the completed offence. The appropriate reduction depends on the…

Where an offence falls fairly within a sentencing-guideline category, mitigation may justify movement down to the bottom of the category range but will not…

For historic sexual offending, the offender is sentenced under the regime current at sentence, but the statutory maximum available when the offence was…

Fresh expert evidence of a later diagnosis must be assessed by reference to the offender’s condition at the time of the offence and its likely effect on…

Where an accused’s purpose and knowledge in encouraging support for a proscribed organisation are in issue, evidence of earlier statements, associations and…

For a sophisticated and organised robbery targeting occupied homes, the applicable sentencing guideline is the guideline for robbery in a dwelling. Its highest…

For possession of prohibited firearms and associated ammunition acquired together and stored in the same place, consecutive sentences must not circumvent the…

An order for costs against a prosecutor under regulation 3 requires an unnecessary or improper act or omission. A failed prosecution, including one which fails…

Previous convictions should not be admitted merely to bolster a weak prosecution case. However, evidence of propensity may properly be admitted under section…

A trial judge has a discretionary evaluative decision whether late prosecution disclosure requires the jury to be discharged. The decisive question is whether…

A criminal behaviour order under section 22 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 is not a routine consequence of conviction. The court must…

Leave to introduce a complainant’s previous sexual behaviour under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section 41(3)(c)(ii), requires a degree of…

For trafficking by arranging or facilitating travel within the United Kingdom under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act…

An attempted robbery committed in a victim’s home is properly sentenced under the dwelling robbery guideline. Lawful entry and the absence of a break-in do not…

A violent sexual assault without any elevated culpability factor could properly fall within category 1B of the applicable sentencing guideline. The aggravating…

A challenge to an agreed confiscation order requires compelling grounds. The applicant must provide evidence capable of showing that the order rested on a…

Evidence of a defendant’s bad character under the false-impression gateway must address a genuinely false or misleading impression and must go no further than…

A summing-up is not unsafe merely because some directions could have been clearer. The appellate court must assess the directions and trial as a whole…

For a third qualifying drug-trafficking offence, the court must impose the statutory minimum sentence unless particular circumstances relating to the offences…

For a sophisticated commercial drug operation involving quantities far above the highest guideline category, sentencing may properly move outside the guideline…

For deemed participation in a prison mutiny under section 1(4) of the Prison Security Act 1992, the prosecution must prove both that a mutiny was in progress…

A final determination of an appeal, including an application for leave to appeal, will be reopened only where reopening is necessary to avoid real injustice…

Evidence of drug use may be admissible even where expert evidence excludes any direct pharmacological effect at the time of the alleged offence. It may be…

Evidence of a complainant’s previous sexual experience does not, without more, support a defendant’s asserted reasonable belief in consent. Under Youth and…

The principle of totality requires an aggregate sentence that properly reflects the relationship between multiple offences. Consecutive sentences may be…

A postponement order under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 is exceptional and requires a structured assessment. The court must ask whether fair…

Leave to appeal may be granted where an arguable issue arises as to whether a court martial board was properly constituted. The court may defer consideration…

An extended sentence requires the statutory test of dangerousness to be satisfied and a further assessment of whether the danger can properly be met by a…

When consecutive custodial terms produce an aggregate determinate sentence that is excessive for the total offending, the totality principle requires the…

Where a driving disqualification is imposed on an offender serving a custodial sentence, Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 section 35B gives the court discretion…

Duress of circumstances is raised only by evidence capable of showing that the accused acted from a reasonably based fear of death or serious injury. It cannot…

For Class A drug-supply offending, the sentencing court may adopt the guideline starting point indicated by the offender’s culpability and the harm caused…

A submission of no case to answer may properly be rejected where the prosecution evidence, viewed cumulatively, permits a jury to infer the defendant’s…

The fact that offending is charged as a conspiracy does not of itself aggravate sentence. Its organised, wide-ranging character may properly increase…

The recommended reduction for an offender aged 15 to 17 is not a mechanical entitlement. A sentencing judge may select a lower reduction where the offender’s…

An indeterminate public-protection sentence requires an individual and reasoned assessment that the offender presents a significant risk of serious harm from…

When sentencing a serious assault, the court must assess harm and culpability at the first step of the applicable guideline, then consider aggravating and…

In sentencing for possession of cocaine with intent to supply, a court may treat social supply at a large music festival as an aggravating feature. The…

A sentencing guideline must be followed unless departure would be contrary to the interests of justice. A court may exceptionally decline to alter a sentence…

A sentence is unduly lenient where it falls outside the range which a judge, properly applying the relevant sentencing factors, could reasonably regard as…

For drug-supply sentencing under the definitive guideline, conduct facilitating individual street transactions may properly be treated as street dealing and…

In assessing whether deficiencies in a summing-up render convictions unsafe, the court must consider the omissions in the context of the issues actually raised…

An application for permission to appeal may be dismissed summarily under section 20 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where it is frivolous and can be determined…

The speciality rule under the Extradition Act 2003 regulates the offences for which an extradited person may be dealt with. It does not regulate the evidence…

Section 13 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 does not confer Criminal Division jurisdiction over an order made under CPR 70.2A to enforce a prior…

In deciding whether exceptional circumstances justify departure from a statutory minimum sentence, the court must assess all relevant circumstances…

Sentencing guideline categories must be applied flexibly. The sentencing court must select a sentence within or across the relevant ranges that proportionately…

For a third qualifying Class A drug conviction, Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 110 requires the statutory minimum sentence unless…

For the burglary sentencing guideline, deliberate targeting requires more than choosing a dwelling because it is likely to contain valuable and saleable…

Where the only misuse of a counterfeit identity document is to obtain employment and earn a living, the offence is likely to fall at the lowest end of the…

A consensual confiscation order will not ordinarily be reopened on appeal merely because the defendant later alleges defective legal representation. Relief may…

In sentencing for attempted murder, exceptionally serious aggravating features may justify a sentence above the highest range in the applicable guideline. This…

A sentencing judge may exceed the top of a guideline range where the case is of particular gravity, but should give clear and compelling reasons for doing so.…

An application for leave to appeal against conviction requires an arguable ground. Speculative criticism of a police investigation, or criticism of witnesses…

For theft of a bank-account credit balance, the prosecution must prove an appropriation of the account-holder’s chose in action. A dishonest act which merely…

An offence of outraging public decency by public masturbation is not materially less serious than comparable exposure merely because the naked penis is not…

A late or corrective arraignment does not render a criminal trial unsafe where the defendant has consistently denied guilt and no injustice has resulted. The…

A sentence exceeding the statutory maximum for the offence of which an offender was convicted is unlawful and must be quashed and replaced with a lawful…

For the mandatory minimum sentence under section 51A(2) of the Firearms Act 1968, a court must first address the four firearms-related questions in Avis and…

When sentencing an offender who was under 18 when the offence was committed, the court must give real weight to youth, emotional and developmental maturity…

A sentence should remain within the applicable guideline range unless the aggravating features justify departure. Similar previous convictions may aggravate a…

In sentencing for robbery, a court may place the offence in the highest harm category where the offenders knowingly target a vulnerable victim and cause…

A term of imprisonment imposed for default in payment is a distinct penal enforcement order, rather than part of the confiscation order requiring payment. The…

A sentence imposed on a young offender will not be manifestly excessive where the judge applies both the relevant offence guideline and the guideline for…

The propriety of questions or comments in a criminal summing-up depends on their effect on the fairness and balance of the summing-up as a whole. Their form is…

In sentencing a participant in a drug-supply conspiracy, the court must assess that offender’s own role and the period and transactions in which they were…

A sentencing judge may rely on a jury’s necessary findings when assessing the seriousness of associated offending. A guideline feature capable of aggravating…

For confiscation purposes, a person who takes delivery of excise goods for commercial resale, or who has actual or constructive control of goods intended for…

Before alleged earlier complaints of sexual assault may be deployed as false allegations rather than as evidence of a complainant’s sexual behaviour, the…

In a sentence appeal, the court must assess the definitive sentencing guidelines in light of the offender’s role, culpability and harm. It must also give…

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order may be made only where it is necessary to protect the public, or a member of it, from sexual harm by the defendant. Mandatory…

A guilty plea does not bar an appeal where the defendant irrevocably admits the alleged facts but challenges whether, in law, those facts constitute an…

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant’s benefit is the total value obtained from criminal conduct, not the net profit after expenses or payments to…

Under the rape sentencing guideline, a court must assess harm and culpability independently and consider the cumulative impact of the applicable factors.…

On a reconsideration under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 section 22, the court must ask whether varying a confiscation order would be just in the general sense…

An offender who runs his own drug-dealing business performs a significant role, even where the business is small. Its scale should instead be reflected…

Where exceptionally serious serial offending falls outside the direct provision of sentencing guidelines, the court must assess culpability, actual and…

A sentencing court may place a leading participant in a Category 1 drug conspiracy at the top of the applicable guideline range where the scale, wholesale…

In a DNA-evidence case, a very strong match may establish a case to answer even where the DNA was recovered from articles at the crime scene. The court must…

Where a sentencing judge has correctly selected the applicable sentencing category and range, the judge may impose a sentence at the top of that range to…

Sentencing for breach of sex-offender notification requirements must reflect the actual gravity of each breach and its connection with the protective purpose…

In sentencing for an offence contrary to section 20 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861, the categorisation of harm must reflect both the force and…

A trial judge may refuse to discharge a jury following a late and unverified third-party confession where there is a substantial risk that the intervention is…

Evidence of remarks made on arrest may be admitted where the trial judge is entitled to regard a remark as spontaneous, or to conclude that its admission…

In a cut-throat criminal trial, intelligence amounting to bad-character evidence may be admitted under section 101(1)(e) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where…

On a committal for sentence under section 6 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, the Crown Court may not impose more than six months for an…

A conviction appeal will fail where the proposed grounds do not identify a material legal error or an unsafe verdict. A direction on dishonesty is not required…

Where there is no definitive sentencing guideline for false imprisonment, sentence must reflect the circumstances which determine its seriousness. Relevant…

A pre-sentence report is not required merely to repeat mitigation which a defendant can provide through an advocate. Its proper function is to assist with a…

A finding of dangerousness must rest on a prospective assessment of the risk of further specified offences. Historic offending may be a powerful indicator, but…

A sentencing judge may properly consider an agreed basis of plea, but it cannot bind the court. Sentencing remains a judicial function. The sentence must…

Sentence for assisting an offender should reflect the nature and extent of the principal offender’s underlying criminality, the nature and extent of the…

Where money-laundering offences are part and parcel of the underlying fraud and add nothing to the offender’s overall culpability, consecutive sentences may…

An appellate court will refuse leave to appeal sentence where the individual terms and overall sentence are just and proportionate, the sentencing judge has…

In sentencing a drugs conspiracy, an offender may properly be placed in the significant role category where the evidence establishes awareness and…

In sentencing domestic burglary under the Sentencing Council Definitive Guideline for Burglary, the court may treat substantial harm to the victim, relevant…

Charges may properly be tried together as a series of offences of a similar character where their wider factual and legal features disclose a sufficient nexus.…

On an appeal against conviction, the court must determine under section 2 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 whether the conviction remains safe in the light of…

In a homicide case, the question of legal causation is ordinarily for the jury. The defendant’s unlawful conduct need not be the sole, main, or substantial…

For Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 section 78(1), consideration for a transfer must be objectively evidenced, attributable to the transfer, and capable of monetary…

On a criminal appeal based on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must evaluate the evidence itself in the context of the whole trial case. The decisive…

A defendant relying on section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 bears an evidential burden only. Once evidence raises any element of the defence, the…

A life sentence, although a sentence of last resort, is justified where exceptionally grave sexual offending, very high culpability and a significant…

For a qualifying third dwelling-house burglary, Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 section 111 requires a minimum term of three years unless…

A conviction is unsafe where a juror obtains and communicates prejudicial extraneous material about the defendant, and the court cannot be sure that it had no…

An abuse-of-process stay is exceptional. The two established bases must be kept distinct: a defendant can no longer receive a fair trial, or it is unfair for…

On an appeal against sentence, Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 11(3), requires the court to compare the practical severity of the substituted sentence with…

In serious commercial Class A drug offending outside the indicative quantities in the sentencing guidelines, the guidelines remain a valuable touchstone. A…

A sentencing court dealing with a mentally disordered offender must first consider whether a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, the applicable guideline level depends predominantly on the standard of driving and the degree of risk…

An uncommunicated concern expressed by jurors does not render a conviction arguably unsafe unless the circumstances cast a real doubt on the safety of the…

For an offence under section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, sentence must reflect the offender’s background and motivation, the explosive substance’s…

When imposing a custodial sentence, a court must address each stage of the Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences Definitive Guideline, including…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because a forensic decision carried risk. The question is whether counsel’s decision fell outside the range reasonably open…

A writ of venire de novo is a remedy available to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) when, on an appeal against conviction, it determines that a…

Consent is not a defence to violence causing actual bodily harm or more serious injury unless the conduct falls within an established special exception…

Leave to introduce a complainant’s previous sexual history under section 41(5) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 requires evidence about…

Historical guidance against sending a jury out late in the afternoon, particularly on a Friday, was founded on the former requirement that deliberating jurors…

A renewed application for an extension of time and leave to appeal against conviction may be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable merit.…

A defendant is not entitled to enhanced credit for a guilty plea merely because the indictment was amended shortly before trial. The question is whether the…

This amendment gives procedural guidance for criminal courts on open justice, case management, vulnerable witnesses and appellate advocacy. Access to…

Where a juror has introduced extraneous material into deliberations, the Court of Appeal must investigate the material and assess its effect on the fairness…

On a submission of no case to answer in an attempted rape prosecution, the judge must determine whether the evidence is capable of enabling a jury to infer…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a confiscation order will ordinarily be required once the recoverable amount is established. The proportionality…

Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 lawfully and proportionately criminalises the intentional or reckless dissemination of material which directly or…

A deferred sentence is a sentence for the purposes of section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and may be referred as unduly lenient. Deferred sentencing…

An appellate court will not interfere with a sentence where the sentencing judge considered all material matters, excluded irrelevant matters and imposed a…

Late service of evidence does not justify exclusion under Police and Criminal Evidence Act section 78 where the defence had adequate prior notice of the…

A criminal trial judge need not follow prescribed wording, but must give clear, accurate and necessary directions on the burden and standard of proof. The jury…

An immediate custodial sentence may be appropriate for acquiring or possessing criminal property where the offender plays a crucial role in a serious and…

Drug dealing and the laundering of its proceeds may overlap factually, but they remain distinct forms of criminality that must be separately marked in…

A sentencing court must give effect to statutory minimum terms for firearms offences while also applying the totality principle. Where a separate offence is…

Under the tainted-gifts regime, a confiscation order must include the statutory value of gifts made after the relevant day. Where the value at the date of the…

A jury should be directed to the principal limitations of hearsay evidence: the absence of demeanour evidence, the absence of an oath, and the inability to…

For causing serious injury by dangerous driving, a sentencing court may use the causing-death guideline as a guide to culpability and harm. However, where…

A sentencing judge may find a defendant dangerous for the purposes of section 226 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 despite an absence of previous violence. The…

For an offence of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, a case involving incitement rather than causing, with no physical contact…

In a sentence appeal, the question is whether the custodial term was manifestly excessive when assessed against all aggravating and mitigating circumstances.…

A secondary party to murder must intend to assist or encourage the principal’s intentional killing or infliction of really serious injury. Foresight that such…

Where the prosecution appeals a ruling that there is no case to answer and has nominated an additional ruling, the appellate court should first determine…

In sentencing for bringing drugs or mobile telephones into prison, a court should have regard to the relevant drugs guideline but must not apply it…

Previous convictions for carrying knives may be admitted to prove a propensity to commit knife-related offending where they are sufficiently similar to the…

An appeal based on inconsistent verdicts succeeds only where the appellant demonstrates that no reasonable jury, properly applying its mind to the evidence…

For an adult convicted of a serious specified offence, the dangerousness assessment under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 229(3) requires consideration of…

For confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a fraudulently obtained remortgage is not materially different from a fraudulently obtained acquisition…

Where an appeal against convictions for breaching a non-molestation order raises an arguable issue about whether the order was validly made, the Court of…

Under the sexual-offences sentencing guideline, offending falls within harm Category 1 where the extreme nature of one or more Category 2 factors, or their…

A sentence for category 1A rape may properly exceed the ordinary guideline range where the offending is exceptionally severe, including a prolonged campaign of…

In sentencing for sexual activity with a child, a significant disparity in age may place the offence within culpability Category 1A under the Sexual Offences…

On an appeal against conviction, the sole statutory question is whether the conviction is unsafe. Where fresh evidence emerges, the appellate court must assess…

A trial judge’s decisions on severance and on discharging a juror are discretionary. An appellate court will not intervene where the judge reasonably assessed…

When fixing a minimum term for murder, the court must assess the seriousness of the offence and ensure that aggravating features not already reflected in the…

Evidence of jury deliberations will ordinarily not be received after verdict. The rule protects the integrity and finality of collective jury decision-making.…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because the trial judge should have directed the jury to focus on the date on which the prosecution had presented the alleged…

For aggravated burglary, an article is a weapon of offence only if it falls within the statutory definition. An ordinary knife, hammer or crowbar is not…

A sentencing court may find a defendant dangerous under section 226 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where the evidence establishes a significant risk of…

When sentencing an organisation for a health and safety offence, the court must apply the Sentencing Council guideline by assessing culpability, harm…

not stated in the judgment.

Where a drug sentencing guideline identifies high purity as an aggravating factor but gives no numerical threshold, the sentencing judge may assess purity…

Expert psychological evidence has no automatic admissibility on an issue of intent. Its relevance depends on the particular issues and facts, and on whether it…

Where a sentencing judge correctly applies the applicable guideline, including its assessment of harm and vulnerability, and imposes a sentence within the…

The seriousness of dangerous driving must be assessed by reference to the circumstances of the individual offence. Dangerous driving undertaken to evade the…

Where the elements of an offence of making indecent images of children have been admitted by agreed facts, a later challenge to the number or classification of…

A finding that an offender is dangerous remains open where the evidence shows an entrenched sexual interest in children, predatory offending and a continuing…

A renewed application for permission to appeal against conviction will fail where proposed fresh evidence does not provide an arguable basis for challenging…

In an appeal founded on alleged incompetence of trial counsel, a conviction is not unsafe merely because a different tactical choice might have been made. The…

A Court Martial must treat imprisonment and dismissal as distinct sanctions. A suspended term of imprisonment does not automatically justify dismissal. Where…

A causing-death-by-dangerous-driving offence may properly be placed in the highest sentencing category where the driving shows a deliberate and flagrant…

An appellate court will not disturb a jury’s verdict merely because an applicant repeats factual challenges that were fully explored at trial. Where the…

Sentencing for kidnapping is fact-specific. The court must assess the whole course of detention, including its duration and circumstances, violence, planning…

In sentencing, the court must base its assessment of an offender’s role on admissible evidence properly advanced against that offender. Evidence introduced by…

Where identification evidence, clothing similarities, proximity and timing provide a proper evidential basis on which a reasonable jury could identify the…

When sentencing for associated offences at the same time, a court may apply the principle of totality by taking their criminality into account when fixing the…

A renewed application for leave to appeal sentence will fail where the sentencing judge has carefully assessed the offender’s role and guideline category, the…

Sentences for a professionally organised conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration law must reflect both the scale of the operation and each offender’s…

Sentencing within a guideline category is not a mathematical exercise. The position of the proceeds figure within a category’s monetary band does not require a…

In a rare appropriate case, evidence on separate sexual counts may be cross-admissible both to rebut coincidence and to establish propensity. The question is…

An appellate challenge to sentence is unarguable where the sentence is justified by the correct application of the relevant sentencing guideline, even if the…

A sentencing guideline requires an evaluative judgment about the appropriate culpability category; it is not to be interpreted as though it were a statute. A…

Evidence of a non-defendant’s bad character is not admissible as important explanatory evidence unless, without it, the jury would find it impossible or…

An offence of perverting the course of justice will ordinarily require an immediate custodial sentence. A suspended sentence requires sufficient exceptional…

A sentencing judge should not reduce or remove credit for a guilty plea solely because the defendant gave false evidence to assist another defendant at trial.…

On a submission of no case to answer, the decisive question remains whether the prosecution evidence, taken at its highest, could properly support a conviction…

On an appeal against sentence, the court assesses the case in the round. A disputed sentencing-category assessment will not justify intervention where the…

Serious disability, grave illness, terminal illness and old age do not exempt an offender from immediate custody. Save for the very rare Article 3 case, a…

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has a strictly limited implicit jurisdiction to reopen a final criminal appeal. Apart from a true nullity, reopening…

An appellate court will be slow to permit a very late challenge to an agreed confiscation benefit figure. An agreement made by properly instructed and…

A conviction for wounding with intent under section 18 requires proof that the defendant intended to cause really serious injury. Recklessness as to injury is…

For sentencing under Offences against the Person Act 1861, a sustained or repeated attack can establish the greater-harm limb of the applicable guideline even…

After a single judge has considered an application for leave to appeal, an appellant who seeks to rely on genuinely fresh grounds must obtain permission to…

The Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to order venire de novo is statutory and is confined to trials on indictment. It does not permit the court to declare a…

In sentencing for manslaughter by loss of control, the sentencing guideline for manslaughter by provocation remains applicable. The court must, however…

Where a foreign-law code governs a financial benchmark, the English court must determine the applicable foreign-law principles from expert evidence. The…

An appellate court may uphold a finding of dangerousness and the use of an extended sentence, yet reduce the sentence where the aggregate custodial term is…

An appellate court will not interfere with a sentence merely because a sentencing judge made an inappropriate reference to a co-defendant’s basis of plea.…

For a category 1A sexual assault, aggravating features and additional concurrent criminality may justify a starting point at the top of the applicable…

Litigation privilege requires litigation to be in progress or reasonably contemplated, a sole or dominant litigation purpose, and adversarial rather than…

A trial judge must leave the partial defence of loss of control to the jury only where there is sufficient evidence of each statutory component. The judge must…

When sentencing an adult for historic sexual offending committed while the offender was young, the court must assess age and immaturity as matters going to…

For sentencing purposes, attaining 18 does not create a sharp divide between youth and adulthood. An offender’s youth, maturity and development may remain…

A finding that an offender is dangerous may be justified by the nature and circumstances of the index offence, including extreme and uncontrolled violence…

A defence of duress requires a threat which, on the defendant’s reasonably believed facts, gives good cause to fear death or serious injury, and which would…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 78, evidence is compelling where it is reliable, substantial and highly probative of the case against an acquitted person.…

Under section 22(4)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, variation of a confiscation order after a fresh calculation of available assets is discretionary. The…

In sentencing for repeated sexual offences against children, the court must impose a total sentence reflecting the overall criminality, including multiple…

A finding of dangerousness does not require an extended sentence. Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court retains discretion to impose a determinate…

Sentencing for encouraging support for a proscribed organisation under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 must reflect seriousness, assessed through…

Evidence of an earlier threat involving a firearm may be admissible where it provides important explanatory context, demonstrates motive, or bears on an…

Sentences for intentional and repeated terrorism offences will ordinarily be immediate custodial sentences. Seriousness depends on culpability and actual…

Where a sentencing judge adopts a starting point and gives full credit for a prompt guilty plea, the custodial term must accurately reflect that reduction. An…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, a court must follow the sequential custodial-sentencing process and weigh the relevant guideline…