Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2019

Low-value shoplifting which is triable only summarily cannot lawfully be added as a theft count on a Crown Court indictment merely because it is related to…

Fitness to plead is assessed by reference to a defendant’s capabilities in the particular proceedings. The test is indivisible. A defendant is unfit if unable…

Where intentional penetration is disputed in a rape trial, a route-to-verdict document must clearly require the jury to decide that essential element. Previous…

When sentencing an offender with a mental disorder or learning disability, the court must assess its effect on culpability at the time of the offence and its…

For the partial defence of loss of control, the trial judge must assess all the evidence and decide whether a properly directed jury could reasonably conclude…

For sexual communication with a child, the offence is complete when the sexual communication is made. Sexual activity need not occur. In sentencing an…

On an appeal against conviction based on fresh evidence, the central question is whether the evidence might reasonably have affected the jury’s verdict.…

Where a jury verdict permits more than one factual interpretation, the sentencing judge must determine the factual basis to the criminal standard. If the judge…

Save for administrative matters unconnected with the trial, communications from a jury must ordinarily be disclosed in open court. Counsel should normally be…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence should not be altered merely because it is lenient. Intervention is justified only where the sentence falls…

In sentencing for causing death by careless driving, a court may place an offence in the middle culpability category where a driver of a large commercial…

A finding by the Strasbourg Court that a criminal trial breached European Convention on Human Rights article 6 does not automatically make the resulting…

On an appeal based on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must decide whether the conviction is unsafe. In a case of difficulty, it is ordinarily appropriate…

Where dishonesty bears its ordinary meaning and there is no evidence that a defendant held an idiosyncratic view of it, the jury needs no separate direction…

Secondary liability in a joint enterprise requires proof that a defendant intended, by presence or other conduct, to assist or encourage the principal…

There is no general rule that a prosecution relying on an Assisting Offender must await completion of every investigation into that offender and every person…

An offence under section 92(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 requires deliberate unauthorised use of an infringing registered mark for gain or with intent to…

Where a defendant’s basis of plea is disputed, the sentencing court should not reject it without a Newton hearing unless the proposed basis would be immaterial…

When sentencing for a third Class A drug-trafficking offence, a court should first determine the guideline sentence without reference to the statutory minimum.…

Where consent does not provide a defence to the intentional infliction of serious injury, genuine consent remains relevant to sentence. It may reduce the harm…

A summing-up must fairly and adequately identify the parties’ cases, the major issues and the evidence on which they rest. It must give assurance that the…

A judicial intervention must be assessed in its factual context and by its effect on trial fairness and the safety of the verdict. A judge must remain a…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction will be refused where none of the proposed grounds is arguable or casts doubt on the safety of the…

Inadmissible opinion evidence about whether a complainant consented does not make a conviction unsafe where acceptance of the witnesses’ admissible factual…

Statements deployed to show their falsity do not engage the hearsay gateway in section 114(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Their admission instead turns…

A geographic restriction in a restraining order may extend to an entire town where that is necessary and reasonable to protect victims and children from a real…

The sentencing slip rule permits correction of a material error of fact or law, including a material misapplication of sentencing guidelines. Its exercise…

A procedurally compliant application to reopen a concluded criminal appeal must be referred by the Registrar to the full Court of Appeal. The Registrar has no…

A defendant of absolute good character who gives evidence is entitled to a direction addressing both credibility and propensity. Whether an omitted direction…

A sexual harm prevention order imposed following conviction for a Schedule 5 offence requires a distinct finding that the order is necessary to protect the…

Offences of arranging or facilitating travel for exploitation under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 are…

In sentencing for non-domestic burglary, multiple features of high culpability may justify an upward adjustment from the guideline starting point before…

When fixing a minimum term for murder under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21, a sentencing judge may treat a material connection between the killing and…

Disclosure errors do not render a conviction unsafe or require a stay for abuse of process where the errors are cured in time for a properly informed and fair…

Where no offence-specific sentencing guideline applies, the court should assess culpability and harm, have regard to the statutory maximum, and use analogous…

When sentencing a threat to kill, the court must apply the relevant guideline category and give proper cumulative weight to material aggravating features. In a…

In sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter, a case does not fall within the lower culpability category where the offender knew that the victim was frail and…

Where a jury verdict permits more than one factual interpretation, the sentencing judge may determine the factual basis to the criminal standard. The defendant…

In sentencing for an offence of grievous bodily harm with intent, an offender’s conduct after the act causing the serious injury may establish the separate…

When sentencing an offender who was a child when the offence was committed, the court should start with the sentence appropriate at that date. It must give…

In sentencing for gross negligence manslaughter, the culpability categories in the applicable guideline must not be applied mechanically. Where the facts fall…

Where a potential defence under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is generated by a defendant’s circumstances or instructions, legal…

A drug rehabilitation requirement may properly be used instead of a short or moderate custodial sentence only where there is a sufficient prospect that it will…

The totality principle requires sufficient allowance for the effective aggregate custodial term produced by sentences for closely connected offending. A…

An adjournment may be refused where it would cause substantial further delay and an unrepresented applicant can fairly present the application in person.…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, the sentencer must address the four stages in the Sentencing Council’s guideline. The presence of…

Where separate drug-supply offences are committed weeks apart, the imposition of consecutive sentences is not erroneous merely because the offences are…

A criminal conviction is not unsafe merely because relevant material is disclosed late or the trial is interrupted, where the defence has a proper opportunity…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial term, the court must weigh the factors against suspension against those favouring it. Immediate custody is not…

A persistent and serious breach of a non-molestation order, involving an assault and causing very serious distress, may properly be categorised as Category 1A…

Where a drug-importation sentencing guideline fixes a starting point and range for an offence category, a quantity above that used for the starting point does…

Gang-association evidence may be admissible as bad-character evidence where it is relevant to an important issue, including whether a defendant’s association…

For sentencing under section 29 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the guideline for grievous bodily harm with intent may be used by analogy, but it…

Blackmail sentencing is fact-specific. In the absence of a definitive guideline, the court should assess the money obtained relative to the victim’s means, the…

Where the material terms and commercial purpose of a contractual charge are undisputed, its enforceability as a penalty is a question of law for the judge. The…

When sentencing for unlawful-act manslaughter, the court must honour the jury’s verdict. Where the defendant neither intended to kill nor to cause grievous…

For confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a defendant who obtains property through criminal conduct benefits by its full value. This includes…

For a first relevant bladed-article offence falling within category A culpability and category 2 harm, the applicable sentencing-guideline starting point is…

Fresh evidence admitted under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 will not make a conviction unsafe unless it materially assists the appellant or…

A judge advocate must use Rule 26 of the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009 to ensure a procedurally comparable means of applying to dismiss an…

Where sentencing for multiple grave offences is structured through a lead sentence and aggregation, the resulting sentence must still reflect the applicable…

An applicant seeking an extension of time to appeal must comply with the applicable time limits or provide good reasons for non-compliance. The longer the…

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order must be necessary to protect the public from sexual harm, proportionate to the identified risk, and framed in terms that are…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence for possession of indecent images of children, the sentencing court must give proper weight to the…

For an offence under section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the actus reus is objectively established when a person has a bladed or pointed article with…

Whether withdrawal of defence counsel makes a criminal trial unfair depends on the trial as a whole. The assessment includes the issues’ nature and complexity…

Under section 42(7) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a restraint order must be discharged if proceedings have not begun within a reasonable time. The…

In assessing culpability under an applicable sentencing guideline, an offender’s presence with others does not make a sole assault a higher-culpability group…

When considering suspension of a custodial sentence, the court must first fix the appropriate custodial term and then decide whether suspension is appropriate.…

Late service of relevant prosecution evidence does not, by itself, make a trial unfair. The court must assess the prosecution’s responsibility for the delay…

Under the health and safety sentencing guideline, the court may assess the extent of harm and culpability when selecting a fine within the applicable Step Two…

A suspended sentence order comprising terms for several offences is, in law, a single suspended custodial term. A court dealing with a breach cannot activate…

Fresh evidence will not justify an extension of time or an appeal against conviction unless it meets the criteria in section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act…

When sentencing an attempt, the court must assess the guideline category by reference to the harm intended or foreseeably risked if the offence had been…

Expert psychological evidence concerning an accused’s suggestibility, compliance and vulnerability to influence is not admissible merely because it describes…

Sentences for outraging public decency need not be assessed by close analogy with exposure guidelines where the offending is planned, prolonged and…

A submission of no case to answer is properly rejected where the evidence, taken at its highest, could enable a properly directed jury to be sure that the…

When sentencing a mentally disordered offender, a court must consider all available disposals, including a hybrid order under section 45A. Rehabilitation does…

Where a jury irregularity arises, the controlling question is whether the fairness of the trial can be preserved. A judge must establish the basic facts and…

A defendant may seek to withdraw a guilty plea at any time before sentence. The discretion exists even for an unequivocal plea, but is exercised sparingly and…

When sentencing an offender who has committed serious offending while suffering from a severe mental disorder, the court must balance the need for treatment…

Where several serious offences form a course of domestic abuse, concurrent sentences for associated offending may be appropriate. However, the lead sentence…

A counsellor’s evidence in a criminal trial will ordinarily be factual evidence, not expert opinion. It may establish the context of counselling, the timing…

In sentencing, attaining 18 years does not create a cliff edge. The court must assess an adult offender’s actual maturity and culpability, including the…

When a court imposes a sentence consecutively to an earlier sentence, the totality principle requires the aggregate sentence to be just and proportionate. That…

An extension of time to renew an application for leave to appeal against conviction may properly be refused where the proposed grounds lack merit. Fresh…

Where an offender was under 18 when committing an offence but has crossed the age threshold before sentence, the court should begin with the sentence likely to…

A defendant who pleads guilty at the plea and directions hearing should receive the reduction prescribed by the applicable Sentencing Council guideline. The…

Under Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, a criminal behaviour order may be varied or discharged only by the court which made it. A sentencing…

A sentencing judge should explain any decision to impose a sentence below the applicable guideline range. Personal mitigation, including youth, absence of…

A sentencing court considering dangerousness must obtain a pre-sentence report under section 156(3)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, unless it properly…

An appellate court will refuse leave to appeal a determinate sentence where, viewed as a whole, it is neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle.…

For a child convicted of murder, the 12-year starting point under Schedule 21 requires a free-standing sentencing assessment. Aggravating and mitigating…

Where qualifying curfew credit is due, the sentencing court must direct under section 240A that the appropriate period counts as time served. An omitted…

“Grooming” is not a term of art and may encompass a wide range of conduct. A sentencing judge may find grooming where an adult gradually gains a child’s trust…

A breach of a procedural condition in Road Traffic Act 1988 section 7 does not, without more, make a consensual blood specimen inadmissible. Automatic…

A sentencing court must distinguish an offender’s actual role and personal mitigation from those of co-defendants. A defendant who facilitates contact between…

An ex parte notification hearing in a criminal trial is permissible only in exceptional circumstances. Its source is the court’s inherent jurisdiction to…

A sentencing court must assess aggravating harm by reference to the chronology of the charged offending. Harm occurring before the charged period cannot…

When sentencing an offence under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2007, the seriousness or potential scale of the anticipated offence is relevant, but it is…

Draft sentencing guidelines which have not come into force are irrelevant to sentencing. Sentencing must instead be guided by the applicable authorities. For…

The Armed Forces Act 2006 permits a Court Martial board to comprise suitably qualified personnel from any Service. It does not require every lay member to be…

Where offending is repeated, involves different victims, or comprises distinct types of crime, consecutive sentences may be necessary to reflect the offender’s…

In sentencing for Class A drug supply, the court may assess harm by considering both the drugs recovered and cash shown to derive from drug dealing. The…

The Court of Appeal’s criminal jurisdiction is statutory and, under section 1 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, is confined to an offence on indictment. A…

For possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, immediate custody will be appropriate in most cases, including for an offender at the bottom of the…

A prosecutor may rely on an accused’s changed defence under Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 even where the accused does not give evidence. The…

For an offence under section 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007, liability may arise where an accused believes that one or more specified offences will be…

In sentencing for multiple offences, the court must impose a total sentence that is just and proportionate to the offending as a whole. That duty applies…

For secondary participation in murder, foresight may evidence intention but cannot replace proof that the secondary party intended to assist or encourage the…

Evidence of an earlier sexual allegation may be admitted as bad-character evidence under Criminal Justice Act 2003 where it is relevant to propensity and to…

A restraining order under Protection from Harassment Act 1997 must be necessary to protect the victim and proportionate to the harm to be prevented. The court…

Where evidence of a complainant’s previous sexual activity is properly before a jury, counsel may make measured comment on its relevance to an alternative…

For the false-impression gateway in section 101(1)(g), the court must assess what the defendant’s evidence actually conveyed. Evidence cannot be admitted…

In sentencing a child, seriousness remains the starting point, but the approach must be individualised and focused on the child rather than the offence.…

On an application to adduce fresh evidence, the court must apply the factors in section 23(2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. Evidence said to show that a…

Where there is reason to believe that a defendant was trafficked, the court must determine whether the offending resulted from compulsion arising from that…

The statutory defence of a legitimate reason for possessing or distributing an indecent child image requires two distinct inquiries. First, the tribunal must…

In a sentence appeal, a reduction for an offender’s advanced age is a discretionary and ordinarily limited act of mercy, not an entitlement. Ill-health will…

Whether non-compliance with sexual-offence notification requirements has continued for a long period is a fact-sensitive sentencing question. It is open to a…

A sentencing court considering custody must follow the structured sequence in the Definitive Guideline on the Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences.…

When deciding whether a custodial sentence should be suspended, the court should address the custody threshold, whether imprisonment is unavoidable, the…

For a very large organisation, a sentencing court may need to move well beyond the guideline range for a large company to impose a proportionate financial…

An extended sentence is justified where the offender presents a significant continuing risk of serious harm and an extended period of post-release supervision…

For a section 24 offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, a noxious thing need not be capable of causing injury to health. The trial judge must…

When answering a jury question about intention in a murder case, the judge should direct the jury to decide intention at the time of the fatal act. The jury…

Sentencing for kidnapping is necessarily fact-specific because offences range widely in seriousness. A serious family kidnapping of an adult, involving force…

Under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23, a defendant seeking to rely on fresh evidence must show that admission of it is expedient in the interests of…

A wasted costs order under section 19A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 requires the representative to act for a party to criminal proceedings. A…

When sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter under the Manslaughter Definitive Guideline, a court must establish any culpability feature relied upon to the…

A jury does not require a special legal direction merely because an expert witness gives trial evidence said to depart from a joint expert statement prepared…

A convicted defendant seeking further post-trial disclosure or renewed examination of material must show a concrete good reason for reopening the issue. The…

A corporate defendant prosecuted through the identification principle is not denied a fair trial merely because its directing mind and will is neither charged…

In assessing totality, separate and serious episodes of robbery against different victims may properly attract consecutive sentences. A substantial reduction…

In a multi-count trial, evidence of alleged offending on one count may be used on another only through a proper bad-character route. It may establish…

For a child convicted of murder, the 12-year starting point under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21, paragraph 7 must not be applied mechanically. The…

A person judicially found unfit to be tried cannot competently pursue an appeal in person or instruct new lawyers to do so. The statutory right of appeal must…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, proposed fresh evidence must be assessed for credibility, admissibility, its capacity to afford a ground for…

In fixing a minimum term for murder, a sentencing judge may identify relevant aggravating features beyond the statutory criteria in Schedule 21 of the Criminal…

A stay for abuse of process because evidence has been lost is an exceptional, last-resort remedy. The defendant bears the burden of showing, on the balance of…

When sentencing an offender already serving a determinate sentence for earlier offending, the court must apply the totality principle by considering the…

For fraudulent trading, the absence of a definitive sentencing guideline does not prevent a court from having substantial regard to the structured approach in…

For historic sexual offending, the court must sentence by reference to current sentencing practice and make measured and reflective use of the relevant…

In sentencing a conspiracy to transfer firearms, the court must consider a life sentence and, if it is not imposed, impose a long determinate sentence.…

Credit for a guilty plea in a murder case must be assessed on the individual circumstances. A defendant who promptly admits the fatal conduct and reasonably…

In trafficking cases, the absence of a common-law defence does not remove the prosecutor’s duty to consider whether prosecution is in the public interest. The…

A conviction is unsafe where there is no evidence on which a jury could find that the defendant participated, as principal or secondary party, in the alleged…

Fresh grounds of appeal should ordinarily be lodged with the notice of appeal. A defendant seeking later to vary the grounds must apply in writing, address the…

For the seriousness condition for a life sentence under section 225(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the sentencing court must assess the offence and…

A Goodyear indication binds the court only where the defendant pleads guilty within a reasonable opportunity to consider it. If the defendant instead pleads…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal 1968, a renewed application based on psychiatric material may pass the arguability threshold where the material…

A judge may reserve reasons, but must provide them promptly. Where the defence’s conduct may depend on the reasons for rejecting a submission of no case, they…

Under the current guilty-plea guideline, the reduction turns on the offender’s first opportunity to indicate a guilty plea at a court appearance. Admissions in…

An unidentified maker does not automatically prevent hearsay evidence being admitted. The witness-anonymity regime concerns a witness whose identity is…

Once previous bad-character evidence has been properly admitted, it may support any inference or conclusion properly drawn from it. The jury must nevertheless…

Sentencing remarks must enable the offender to understand, in ordinary language and general terms, the sentence, its reasons and its effect. They are not…

An aggravated burglary may properly be placed in the highest sentencing category where the victim suffers significant psychological and physical injury in a…

Fresh evidence will not justify an appeal against conviction where, even if it might make the complainant’s account more difficult, it does not make that…

Further evidence relied on under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 cannot found a challenge to the safety of a conviction if it is incapable of…

Under Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965, section 2, a witness summons may be issued only where the judge is satisfied that this is in the…

Under section 46 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, once jury tampering is proved, a judge must terminate the trial if the interests of justice require it.…

Delay in the prosecution of allegations by a young child does not, without more, require exclusion of the child’s evidence under Police and Criminal Evidence…

For a qualifying repeat domestic burglar, the court must apply the burglary guideline before checking whether the resulting provisional sentence is below the…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because a jury returns different verdicts against co-accused, or convicts of manslaughter while acquitting of murder and…

The prosecution may call a witness whose evidence it considers reliable only in part. It may adduce other evidence contradicting the part it considers…

On an appeal against sentence, the court will not intervene merely because the aggregate term is severe. It must assess the individual sentences and the…

An adverse-inference direction under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 may properly address facts first relied on at trial where the…

A trial judge should leave an alternative offence to the jury where it is obviously raised by the evidence, can fairly be left, and would assist rather than…

A director who is named in, and accepts responsibility through, a market-facing directors’ responsibility statement may personally make a representation for…

In assessing whether a sentence is manifestly excessive, the appellate court must assess the offending as a whole, including multiplicity, planning, use of…

For diminished responsibility, uncontradicted psychiatric evidence does not ordinarily require a judge to withdraw murder from the jury. Where there is a…

During a bona fide initial inquiry to establish what occurred, where police do not suspect a criminal offence, the caution and legal-advice safeguards in Code…

In sentencing a serious drug-trafficking conspiracy, the court must assess each offender’s actual culpability. Guideline role labels cannot justify treating an…

Different verdicts returned by separate juries in separate trials do not, without more, render a conviction unsafe. The evidence and the respective defendants…

In sentencing for participation in an organised crime group under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, analogies with theft guidelines or fact-specific…

On a sentence appeal from a specialist Court Martial, substantial respect is due to its assessment of the military context and the consequences of sentence for…

In sentencing sexual activity with a child under 16, a category 1A assessment must reflect the full seriousness of sustained offending. Relevant features…

An absolute disposition of land will ordinarily pass the beneficial interest subject to an existing mortgage. A requirement that the recipient discharge the…

Where one defendant’s case undermines a co-defendant’s defence, the co-defendant may rely on relevant bad-character evidence bearing on the first defendant’s…

Whether an accused has given a false impression of character is assessed from the evidence as a whole. A selective account of previous wrongdoing, combined…

When sentencing an offender whose mental disorder may justify a hospital order, the court must consider all available disposals and the proper role of…

A break in jury deliberations, however lengthy, does not automatically make a criminal trial unfair or a conviction unsafe. The question is fact sensitive and…

Sentencing for administering a poison or noxious substance with intent is fact-specific. The sentence must reflect the actual harm, the risks knowingly created…

When sentencing for wounding with intent to resist or prevent lawful apprehension, the guideline for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm may…

A conviction founded on a count charging an offence with an essential statutory element which the prosecution evidence cannot prove is unsafe. That is not a…

Where mitigation gives credible indications that a defendant may be a victim of trafficking, the prosecutor should seek an adjournment so that proper enquiries…

In sentencing for violent disorder, the offender’s acts must be assessed within the whole episode of collective violence. Individual conduct may inflame and…

Where a defendant is sentenced for several offences, including perverting the course of justice in relation to another charged offence, consecutive sentences…

A sentencing court dealing with wounding with intent to resist or prevent lawful arrest may have regard to the definitive guideline for section 18 wounding…

Where a notice of intended prosecution is required, reasonable diligence does not require the police to investigate speculative inconsistencies between a…

In sentencing a group drug-supply operation, the category must rest on the quantity safely established by the evidence. A court may infer that an observed…

Sentencing guidelines may exceptionally be departed from where the facts disclose harm of a striking and unusual seriousness which makes the prescribed…

A sexual harm prevention order under Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires necessity, assessed on the facts of the individual case. Possession of wholly…

For multiple serious offences, a sentencing judge may use a lead offence and increase its sentence to reflect the overall seriousness of the offending. The…

An appellate court will not interfere with an extended sentence where the sentencing judge was entitled, on the offending and risk evidence, to find a…

In a sentencing appeal, the guideline category must reflect the harm and culpability demonstrated by the offence. Premeditation, use of weapons and attacks on…

Evidence of a defendant’s bad character must be relevant to a gateway under Criminal Justice Act 2003 before it may be admitted. General evidence of hostility…

A trial judge has a discretion to permit the prosecution to re-open its case and adduce admissible evidence after the close of the prosecution case. The…

A sentence above the applicable Sentencing Council guideline range requires circumstances that justify departure from that range. A factor already used to…

In sentencing offences of publishing material intended to stir up racial or religious hatred, the court should assess the nature and intended effect of the…

Sentencing under the applicable guidelines requires the court to select the correct harm and culpability category, then make a proportionate adjustment for…

The sentencing guideline for children and young persons is a rough guide. It must not be applied mechanistically. The extent of any reduction for youth depends…

At a first breach hearing, immediate imprisonment may be wrong in principle where the breach is limited, there has been partial compliance, compensation…

Where exceptional circumstances justify a sentence below the statutory minimum for possessing a prohibited firearm, the sentencing court must still begin with…

Where a defendant attacks the deceased’s character, evidence of the defendant’s bad character may be admitted through section 101(1)(g) of the Criminal Justice…

A victim’s consent, or possible consent, to sexual activity on an earlier occasion does not reduce the seriousness of a later sexual assault. Repeated threats…

Deficient representation by trial counsel does not itself make a conviction unsafe. An appellant must identify errors or irregularities caused by the…

A defendant of previous good character who gives evidence should receive a clear direction on both credibility and propensity. The jury must be told that good…

For money-laundering offences under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, property must already be criminal property when the alleged prohibited dealing occurs. A…

An indictment should be stayed for abuse of process only where delay, missing material or investigative shortcomings cause serious prejudice such that a fair…

For aggravated burglary based on entry as a trespasser with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, the higher-culpability factor of a weapon being present on…

A finding that a victim has suffered severe psychological harm for sentencing purposes is a judicial assessment of the factual impact of the offence, not a…

For gross negligence manslaughter, the prosecution must prove an existing duty, negligent breach, causation, an objectively and prospectively foreseeable…

When dealing with summary-only offending, a Crown Court may activate a suspended sentence consecutively without thereby imposing a fresh term of imprisonment.…

When the Crown Court revokes a community order and imposes imprisonment for the original summary-only offences, it imposes those sentences for the first time.…

In a video identification procedure, once images have been selected to resemble the suspect, non-permanent clothing or accessories may be included or removed…

In a sentencing appeal, the decisive question is whether the total sentence is manifestly excessive for the offender’s overall criminality. Offences forming…

An intention to bring a criminal prosecution to an end does not, without more, establish an intention to pervert the course of justice. Where a defendant seeks…

On an appeal against sentence, the appellate court reviews the sentence as a whole. An offender cannot retain a favourable component while challenging another…

Where the statutory defence in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 does not apply, a retrospective review of a prosecution of an asserted trafficking…

A conviction on one count is not unsafe merely because a jury cannot agree on related counts arising from the same sexual encounter. The appellant must show…

When sentencing for multiple offences, the court must impose a total sentence that reflects the whole offending and is just and proportionate. This requires an…

Where a conviction following a guilty plea is unsafe because the substantive offence was not committed, the Court of Appeal may substitute a guilty plea to an…

On an appeal against sentence, the court assesses whether the total sentence is just and proportionate, reflects the offender’s culpability and harm, and is…

Evidence of a single previous conviction may establish a statutory propensity where its particular circumstances provide a logical and probative connection…

In sentencing for serious firearms importation and supply, public protection is paramount. The fact that an offender did not personally use a weapon does not…

Where time spent on remand has already exceeded the appropriate custodial sentence, a court will usually act wrongly by adding a suspended custodial term…

A sentencing court should identify and apply the relevant Sentencing Council guidelines, explain any departure from them, and state the reduction allowed for a…

When sentencing a child or young person for serious violence, a mental disorder linked to the offending is a lower-culpability factor. It may leave the offence…

On an application for a witness summons under section 2 of the Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965, the judge must determine whether the…

A life sentence for terrorism offences remains a sentence of last resort. It is nevertheless justified where a dangerous offender’s extremely serious and…

Where an offender satisfies the medical conditions for a hospital order, the sentencing court must decide the most suitable disposal by considering the need…

A procedural defect in joining valid indictments does not itself make a later conviction unsafe. Under Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act…

A stay for the second category of abuse of process is an exceptional, discretionary remedy. The ultimate question is whether trying the accused would affront…

For the original dangerous-offender provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the offender’s age at conviction, rather than at the offence, determines…

Quantification of a beneficial interest in property must rest on an objective assessment of the parties’ whole course of dealings. It should not be a…

Section 116(5)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 prevents a party from relying on hearsay where that party, or someone acting for that party, caused the…

A judge must leave an alternative verdict to the jury where it is obviously raised by the evidence and is a viable issue on a reasonable view of it. The…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21, the absence of an intention to kill and of premeditation are statutory mitigating factors, but their weight…

For a category 2A robbery, a sentencing court must give proper weight to aggravating features when fixing the sentence before credit for a guilty plea. A…

Forced or compulsory labour requires proof that work was obtained through physical or mental constraint which overrode the worker’s will, so that the worker…

On a reconsideration of the available amount under section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Crown Court has a broad discretion to substitute an amount…

A criminal trial is not rendered unfair by proper judicial questions seeking clarity on a material issue, or by a summing-up which fairly leaves disputed…

When deciding whether to impose immediate custody, a court must address separately whether the custody threshold has been passed and whether custody can…

Admission of a complainant’s post-conviction retraction as fresh evidence under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 does not itself make a conviction…

Where diminished responsibility is supported by uncontradicted psychiatric evidence, the prosecution may invite its rejection only on a rational evidential…

On an appeal against sentence, a total sentence will not be manifestly excessive where the lead-count sentence, including a justified uplift for additional…

Under the Fraud, Bribery and Money Laundering Definitive Guideline, the harm caused by the underlying criminality may require an upward adjustment of the harm…

Extracts from judgments in civil proceedings may be admitted as evidence of what a defendant was told about the law, where that bears on a claimed honest…

Where the applicable starting point under Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21 is 15 years, a sentencing judge must adjust it to reflect the full aggravating…

A false representation of professional status may vitiate consent to a medical or cosmetic procedure where that status is inextricably linked to the…

A judge need leave an alternative route to acquittal, such as consent or belief in consent, only where there is a proper evidential basis for it. Clear…

For the statutory minimum sentence for a qualifying third domestic burglary to be displaced, the sentencing court must identify particular circumstances…

A concurrent sentence for false imprisonment may properly aggravate the sentence for manslaughter where the detention enabled the fatal violence. A sentencing…

Guidance on rape myths and stereotypes is ordinarily directed to the fair assessment of a complainant’s evidence. It is guidance rather than a direction of…

In sentencing health and safety offences, the likelihood of harm must be assessed from the scientific evidence rather than impression. Its classification as…

The Criminal Procedure Rules and Criminal Practice Directions form a binding code of current criminal practice. The amendment requires robust trial preparation…

Totality requires a sentence that is just and proportionate. It does not require a further reduction merely because an offender is later sentenced for offences…

Jury unanimity is required as to every ingredient of an offence, but not as to every evidential route by which an ingredient may be proved. A Brown direction…

On a challenge to part of an aggregate sentence, the appellate court must review the sentence as a whole. An offender cannot treat an unchallenged component as…

Criminal Justice and Data Protection (Protocol No. 36) Regulations 2014, regulation 11, applies to domestic confiscation orders made before the Regulations…

In sentencing rape committed in a course of coercive domestic abuse, the court must assess the combined and extreme impact of the relevant harm factors.…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because inadmissible material was mentioned before a co-accused pleaded guilty, provided that the jury are clearly directed…

Sentencing Guideline categories are not rigid tramlines. A sentencing judge may stand back and assess the overall seriousness of dangerous driving, including…

A judge must leave an alternative verdict to the jury where it has an evidential basis and is an obvious alternative. The alternative must arise from the…

On an Attorney General reference for undue leniency, the appellate court should intervene only where the sentence falls outside the range of permissible…

Under the Criminal Procedure Rules, the former technical restriction on joining offences founded on the same facts or forming a series of similar offences no…

A defendant seeking credit for an intended plea to a lesser offence must ordinarily give the court a formal and unequivocal indication of that intention. An…

An agreed sentencing position on culpability or harm is relevant and should be carefully considered, but it cannot bind the sentencing court. The court must…

In sentencing an offender aged 15 to 17 under an adult guideline, the reduction for youth is a matter of judicial discretion. The broad range of one half to…

For a racially aggravated murder, the statutory starting point is applied before the sentencing court makes an evaluative reduction for relevant mitigation. A…

Prosecution advocates must avoid ethnic stereotyping and theatrical treatment of a criminal trial. Inappropriate advocacy will not make a conviction unsafe…

Under section 6(5)(b) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a confiscation order must be a proportionate means of removing the proceeds of crime. The statutory…

On an appeal against sentence, an appellate court will not interfere with a sentencing judge’s evaluative finding that an attempted murder caused serious and…

In sentencing sexual offences committed by multiple offenders, a judge need not disentangle each offender’s precise causal contribution to severe psychological…

Where an offender is dangerous and the conditions in section 225(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are met, a life sentence is mandatory. The seriousness…

Evidence of a deceased person’s bad character is admissible under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 100(1)(b) only where it has substantial probative value in…

The Court dismissed the conviction appeal. A secondary party’s knowledge or ignorance of a weapon is evidence bearing on intention, but is not a prerequisite…

An adverse-inference direction under section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 may be appropriate although police did not ask specific…

Fresh psychiatric evidence may render a murder conviction unsafe where it is credible, admissible, reasonably unavailable at trial, and may materially affect…

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, section 4(3), creates three separate offences. Section 4(3)(b) concerns participation in an enterprise involving an actual supply of…

In sentencing for gross-negligence manslaughter caused by dangerous driving, a court may properly bear in mind the maximum sentence and sentencing guideline…

For confiscation based on particular criminal conduct, the benefit must result from, or be connected with, the offence charged and proved or admitted. The…

A sexual offences prevention order must be tailored to the offender’s circumstances and risk. A blanket prohibition on computer or internet use is…

An appeal based on inconsistent jury verdicts succeeds only where no reasonable jury, properly applying the evidence, could have reached the differing verdicts…

A sentence appeal is a review of whether the sentence was wrong in principle or manifestly excessive. It is not an occasion to substitute a lawful sentence…

Under Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 75(2)(a), a jury must decide whether violence or a threat of immediate violence existed at the relevant time before…

When sentencing a multiple-incident count, a guideline expressed for a single offence must not be applied as though the count concerned only one incident. The…

A sentencing judge may find that an offender who has been acquitted of murder intended to cause serious injury, provided that the finding falls short of the…

For the purposes of Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21, the examples in paragraph 5(2) do not exhaust the circumstances in which a 30-year starting point…

In sentencing multiple robberies, the court must apply the applicable guideline by assessing both harm and culpability. A participant in a joint robbery may be…

When sentencing repeated rape offences, the court must apply the definitive guideline by assessing harm and culpability before reflecting the multiplicity of…

On a Criminal Cases Review Commission reference founded solely on a subsequent change in the law of secondary liability, the substantial injustice test is…

When sentencing further historic offences after an earlier sentence for similar criminality, the court should consider whether the earlier sentence justifies a…

For unlawful subletting under Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013, the substance of the occupier’s rights determines whether there is a sub-tenancy.…

Where a co-defendant has absconded, a court may proceed without arraignment only if it is satisfied that the defendant waived that right. Absconding on an…

For confiscation under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, benefit depends on whether the defendant obtained property through the particular criminal conduct. A…

A prosecution appeal against a terminating ruling remains subject to the strict statutory conditions in Criminal Justice Act 2003, but neither section 58 nor…

An adult woman’s sexual touching of a boy under 16, including placing his penis inside her vagina, may constitute indecent assault under section 15 of the…

In a large drug-conspiracy sentencing exercise, the sentencing judge is usually best placed to assess each offender’s role, responsibility and parity with…

A company director who persistently neglects environmental compliance, despite repeated warnings and enforcement action, may properly be disqualified where he…

The householder defence in section 76(8A)(d) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is not confined to intruders who entered unlawfully. It is…

For sentencing fraud consisting of a dishonest failure to declare wreck, the financial loss is ordinarily the full value of the items which the owner would…

An exceptionally late application for permission to appeal against conviction will be refused where a represented defendant who pleaded guilty identifies no…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence is unduly lenient where it falls outside the range properly open to the sentencing judge. A court must sentence…

Where a person remains subject to the supervision element of a detention and training order, a later sentence of detention in a young offender institution must…

When sentencing a young offender who has turned 18 by the sentencing date, the court must still take account of youth and maturity. Maturity develops at…

For sentencing, reaching 18 does not create a cliff edge. A young adult’s actual maturity, vulnerability and developmental circumstances may reduce culpability…

A finding of dangerousness for the purpose of an extended sentence requires an evidential basis for a significant risk of serious harm from future offending.…

A remand to local authority accommodation under s. 91(3) of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 does not attract automatic credit as…

In sentencing for dangerous driving, the court must assess the particular features of the offending and the offender. Prolonged high-speed driving which…

A sentencing court must sentence an offender consistently with an accepted basis of plea. It errs if its sentencing remarks attribute knowledge, intention or…

For fraud by failing to disclose information under section 3 of the Fraud Act 2006, there must be an existing legal duty to disclose it. A statutory liability…

A substantial and inadequately explained delay may justify refusing an extension of time to seek leave to appeal against sentence. A sentencing judge is not…

Fresh evidence should be admitted under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 only where it is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice, having…

Before imposing custody, a court must obtain and consider a pre-sentence report unless it concludes that a report is unnecessary in the circumstances. Where…

Under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 78 excludes prosecution evidence only where its admission would adversely affect the fairness of…

Statements made by a deceased complainant are admissible under the statutory hearsay gateway for an unavailable witness. The separate interests-of-justice…

A trial judge’s decision whether to exclude identification evidence under section 78 of PACE 1984 attracts a broad discretion. The Court of Appeal will…

A “significant degree of planning” under the Sexual Offences sentencing guideline is a fact-sensitive evaluative judgment. Planning inherent in sexual…

In a minimum-sentence firearms case, the court should first determine the sentence justified by ordinary sentencing principles and then consider whether it…

On a prosecution appeal from a terminating ruling, Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 67 permits intervention only for legal error, error of principle, or an…

Where a count under Children and Young Persons Act 1933 section 1(1) is particularised as alleging both assault and humiliation, the prosecution must prove…

A sentencing court must not sentence an offender by reference to a definitive guideline which was not in force when sentence was passed. Sentence must instead…

A sentencing court must follow relevant guidelines unless, under Coroners and Justice Act 2009, it is satisfied that doing so would be contrary to the…

On a reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence may be merciful and fall outside the robbery guideline range, yet the Court of Appeal may decline to…

Where a prosecution for unlawful export of waste relies solely on Article 36(1)(b) of the Waste Shipment Regulation, it need prove only that the waste was a…

A sentencing judge may depart from an initially applicable guideline range where the facts and the offender’s record justify it. The appellate court will not…

In sentencing a conspiracy to supply controlled drugs, the drug-offences guideline for substantive offences should also be used. Where the conspiracy involves…

A trial judge must decide case by case whether, and for which part of a trial, a vulnerable defendant needs an intermediary. An intermediary’s recommendation…

For a prosecution appeal, the mandatory requirements to inform the court of an intention to appeal and of the acquittal agreement must be met promptly.…

Section 55(2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 imposed an evidential, rather than a legal, burden on a defendant. A defendant must raise, and establish an…

Under Firearms Act 1968 section 51A(2), the five-year minimum term for an adult possessing a disguised firearm serves a deterrent purpose. Departure is…

An abuse-of-process stay is exceptional, but it depends on all the circumstances. It does not require an unequivocal undertaking not to prosecute. A…

A sentencing court must follow an applicable guideline unless departure would be contrary to the interests of justice. Strong evidence of rehabilitation, good…

A sentencing court may impose consecutive sentences for serial sexual offending against different victims, provided that it applies the totality principle. It…

The exception for a folding pocketknife in section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies only to an article properly described as a pocketknife. The…