Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2020

Under section 5(5) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the prosecution need not prove a separate element of actual or constructive knowledge of the…

During the transitional regime for sexual-offence prevention orders, an existing SOPO could be varied only under section 108 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.…

Totality in sentencing is a matter of substance, not drafting form. A sentencing judge need not recite the stages of the Totality Guideline, use particular…

Where the proceeds of criminal activity have been obtained jointly, a confiscation order may require each participant to pay the whole jointly obtained…

Where a serious offence is a distinct species of criminality from related offending, and its gravity is not adequately reflected in the sentences for that…

Where a magistrates’ court sentences an offender for some offences but commits other offences to the Crown Court for sentence, each court is separately dealing…

Where an offender was under 18 when offending but over 18 when sentenced, the court must start with the sentence likely to have been imposed at the offence…

In determining whether convictions are unsafe following alleged disclosure failures, an appellate court must assess the totality of the material now available.…

A conspiracy to steal may constitute the unlawful and dangerous act required for unlawful act manslaughter where its agreed terms include a dangerous escape…

A trial judge may analyse the evidence and identify matters which support or undermine either side. The summing-up must nevertheless remain objective, balanced…

On an Attorney General’s reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the question is whether the sentence was unduly lenient, not whether the…

A whole life order attached to a discretionary life sentence is a sentence of last resort. Save in wholly exceptional circumstances, it is reserved for the…

Judicial interventions must preserve the judge’s impartial role. An intervention may properly clarify evidence or control the trial, but it becomes…

Under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only where it falls outside the range which a sentencing judge could reasonably…

For sexual assault, the statutory intention is an intention to touch, not a separate intention that the touching be sexual. Whether intentional touching is…

A post-verdict allegation of juror misconduct will not undermine a conviction without strong and compelling evidence of an irregularity. Jurors may draw on…

On an appeal relying on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must assess that evidence in the context of the whole case and decide for itself whether the…

When sentencing an offender with a mental disorder, the court must make an individual assessment of its effect on culpability and of the particular burden of…

Under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence may be increased only where it is unduly lenient. It is not enough that an appellate court would…

Under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 8, leave to arraign a defendant for a retrial after the two-month limit may be granted only if the prosecution has…

Where a prison employee supplies drugs in prison by abusing a position of trust, the applicable sentencing guideline and the need for deterrence require a…

Where a jury acquits a defendant of murder but convicts him of manslaughter, sentencing must give effect to the manslaughter verdict and the applicable…

Where a conviction is referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Criminal Appeal Act 1995 section 14(4B) permits an application to advance grounds not…

A trial judge may question witnesses to clarify ambiguity, identify an unclear defence, or ensure accurate notes. The judge must nevertheless remain a neutral…

For offences of perverting the course of justice, an immediate custodial sentence is almost invariably appropriate. A high degree of exceptionality is required…

In managing ongoing criminal appeals, the court may prioritise their proper progress and avoidance of delay. Where possible contempt proceedings have not yet…

Whether a person is an employer for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is a question of fact. It is not conclusively determined by whether…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the Court of Appeal may receive fresh evidence where the interests of justice require it. The statutory…

In sentencing for handling stolen goods, the monetary value of the goods is not determinative of harm. The loss of a motorcar can amount to significant…

A guilty plea does not remove the appellate court’s jurisdiction to quash an unsafe conviction. An unequivocal and intended plea ordinarily makes the…

Where an offender has a mental disorder, the court must first consider whether a hospital order is appropriate. A hybrid order under Mental Health Act 1983…

Evidence of a deceased person's alleged bad character is inadmissible under section 100(1)(b) unless it has substantial probative value on a matter of…

An indictment for conspiracy may be amended under Indictments Act 1915 section 5(1) to identify additional alleged co-conspirators where the evidence provides…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, reasonable living expenses permitted by a restraint order are subject to an objective and fact-sensitive assessment. A…

The effect of pandemic restrictions on prison conditions may be relevant when a court determines sentence, because the individual impact of custody is always…

Where an offender committed an offence while under 18 but is sentenced as an adult, the starting point remains the sentence likely to have been imposed when…

An unambiguous and intentional guilty plea will ordinarily prevent an appeal against conviction. The Court will permit a defendant to go behind such a plea…

A court must ordinarily follow the applicable sentencing guideline. Departure is permitted only where following it would be contrary to the interests of…

Evidence of bad character may be admitted under section 101(1)(f) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where a defendant’s express or implied assertion is apt…

Under the Environmental Offences Guideline, a sentencing court must avoid double counting a feature used to determine the harm category. It may nevertheless…

A determination of a third party’s property rights under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 section 10A is civil in character. The prosecution bears the civil burden…

For a plea to a lesser offence which is a permissible alternative on a Crown Court indictment, an offender obtains early guilty-plea credit only by making an…

For disclosure purposes, material must be assessed against the prosecution case and the defence case actually advanced during the proceedings. Material which…

The enactment of Modern Slavery Act 2015 filled the former gap in domestic protection for trafficking victims who commit offences. It removed the special…

For the full one-third reduction under section D1 of the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea Definitive Guideline, an indictable-only defendant who cannot…

In a criminal-lifestyle confiscation case, statutory assumptions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 remain effective unless the defendant proves, on the…

A sentencing court may apply an existing guideline to a statutory driving offence introduced after the guideline, where the guideline provides the appropriate…

Where a conviction depends on circumstantial evidence, a jury may draw logical inferences only if it can exclude all realistic possibilities consistent with…

A conviction following a guilty plea may be unsafe where the defendant was deprived, through no fault of his own, of a statutory defence which would probably…

In sentencing a substantial commercial drugs conspiracy, the court must assess the whole picture, including its duration, scale, sophistication, geographical…

When sentencing a conspiracy involving repeated robberies, the court must assess the criminality of the offending as a whole. It is wrong to treat the…

Section 120 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides alternative gateways for admitting a witness’s prior statement. A statement admitted under section 120(2)…

An adult victim of trafficking may rely on the statutory defence in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 where the offending was compelled by, and…

Fresh evidence will not justify reopening a conviction unless it meets the requirements of Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 23 and can provide a basis for…

Separate sentences may in principle be consecutive where later offending was committed while the offender was effectively on bail for earlier offending. The…

A sentencing judge may impose a total sentence above the guideline range for a leading-role Class A drug conspiracy where the scale, purity and commercial…

Evidence of a complainant’s bad character directed to credibility is inadmissible under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 100 unless it has substantial…

When considering whether hearsay evidence is so unconvincing that proceedings must be stopped under section 125 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the judge…

On an application by one defendant to adduce a co-defendant’s bad character, the statutory test requires separate and rigorous assessment of whether the…

For multiple offences against separate victims, a sentencing guideline’s starting point for a single offence should not be assessed in isolation. The judge may…

A defendant may give a misleading impression for the bad-character provisions even where the evidence relied on is true. The impression must be assessed in its…

In sentencing appeals arising from a large drug-supply conspiracy, guideline quantities and starting points do not impose a ceiling where the conspiracy…

For firearms offending involving a prohibited blank-firing weapon, sentence must be assessed by reference to the Avis questions as subsequently endorsed and…

For a fourth qualifying domestic burglary, section 111 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 sets a three-year minimum, subject to the…

For sentencing under the guideline for an offence contrary to section 18, category 1 is reserved for harm or violence significantly more serious than that…

In a third-party determination under section 10A, the court must ascertain the defendant’s actual interest in property by applying ordinary property and trust…

A later prosecution should ordinarily be stayed as an abuse of process where it arises from the same or substantially the same facts as an earlier concluded…

In police recognition cases based on CCTV, the relevant safeguards in Code D should be followed. A contemporaneous record should capture material recognition…

Following a trial, a sentencing judge must sentence on the only factual interpretation consistent with the jury’s verdicts. Where the verdicts permit more than…

On breach of a suspended sentence order, the court must activate the suspended term in full or in part unless activation would be unjust in all the…

When separate custodial sentences are consecutive, the aggregate term must satisfy the principle of totality and be just and proportionate. A sentencing judge…

Partiality towards a witness does not necessarily make a conviction unsafe. The court must assess whether a fair-minded and informed observer would regard the…

For the Sexual Assault Guidelines, an indecent image need not fall exclusively into either possession or production. Simple downloading is possession, while…

Discharge of a juror requires an evident need, which may arise from actual or apparent bias. Jurors may bring life experience to their deliberations; personal…

A breach of Code D does not of itself require exclusion of identification evidence under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Admissibility…

A statutory minimum sentence for a third Class A drug trafficking offence does not prevent a reduction for a guilty plea. Under section 144(2) of the Criminal…

In a prosecution for fraudulent evasion of tax, the disparity between actual and declared profits may be relevant to whether a proprietor knew that the…

In assessing whether a sentence is manifestly excessive, the court may substantially increase the guideline starting point where several features establish…

Where an accused entitled to summary trial elects trial by Court Martial, the Court Martial’s sentencing powers may be limited to those available on summary…

For the defence of lawful object under section 4(1) of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, an accused must identify an affirmative and lawful object. The object…

A stay for abuse of process based on delay is exceptional. It requires the defendant to show serious prejudice such that a fair trial cannot be held. Missing…

A confiscation order under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is not invalid merely because a formal order is drawn up late or contains later administrative errors. A…

Analysis and presentation of mobile telephone billing data are not expert evidence merely because they assist attribution of a telephone to a user. An analyst…

When sentencing domestic burglary, harm may principally be psychological. The absence of theft does not reduce harm where property damage is the means of…

Fines for breach of listed-building or planning enforcement notices should reflect the offender’s culpability and the financial advantage sought by avoiding…

Where a defendant has pleaded guilty to lesser alternative counts but is convicted of the principal counts, the appropriate disposal of the lesser counts is…

For domestic burglary, offending may fall within the highest guideline category where occupants are at home and the offending involves significant harm and…

In assessing the seriousness of violent offending, a domestic context does not reduce seriousness merely because the conduct is directed at a known individual…

For an offence under section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the guideline harm category is determined by the sexual activity which the offender intended…

In an Attorney General reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, the Court of Appeal may criticise the sentencing methodology yet leave the…

Fresh evidence will be admitted on a criminal appeal only where the interests of justice require it. The court must give particular consideration to whether…

An unambiguous and deliberately entered guilty plea will ordinarily found a safe conviction. A plea is equivocal only if it asserts or qualifies a matter which…

Where an offender committed offences as a child but is sentenced after passing significant age thresholds, the court should begin with the sentence likely to…

Non-defendant bad-character evidence under section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 must be assessed in the factual context of the whole case. A risk of…

In sentencing for stalking causing serious alarm or distress, the harm must be assessed in its full context. Earlier offending and conduct towards the same…

Where a death-by-dangerous-driving offence is accompanied by offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, the court may treat the death offence as…

When reducing sentence for a guilty plea under section 144 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must assess when and in what circumstances the offender…

For manslaughter sentencing, an offender who participates in or encourages group violence while knowing that another participant is carrying a knife may be…

An indictment may be amended under section 5(1) of the Indictment Act 1915 at any stage before or during trial. Where correction requires it, the court may…

In a large-scale drug conspiracy, the sentencing court may assess culpability by reference to the overall quantity, the offender’s role and the importance of…

For the purposes of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a pecuniary advantage must have a sufficiently direct connection with the defendant’s criminal conduct.…

A person who operates a waste operation without an environmental permit may obtain a confiscable pecuniary advantage by avoiding the cost of lawfully removing…

A sentencing court may rely on a victim personal statement to establish serious psychological harm without expert evidence. The evidence must nevertheless be…

In gross negligence manslaughter founded on a failure to obtain medical assistance, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the breach was a…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a confiscation order is disproportionate only where it is disproportionate to the statutory aim of depriving a criminal of…

Fresh evidence may be admitted on an appeal against conviction where receiving it is necessary in the interests of justice. A conviction is unsafe where…

A guilty plea may be vacated only in exceptional circumstances. The defendant must have made a free and informed choice, so that their mind went with the plea.…

Where evidence permits alternative routes to prove active participation in a joint attack, the prosecution need not elect between them if either route is…

Where DNA on an article associated with an offence may have been deposited directly or by secondary transfer, a general proposition that direct transfer is…

Evidence of a complainant’s prior sexual behaviour is not relevant under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, section 41(3)(a), merely because it…

There is no general rule requiring a criminal trial judge to give a distinct direction on circumstantial evidence or to use prescribed words. The necessary…

An exceptionally late criminal appeal requires a sufficient and properly evidenced explanation for the delay. An extension should not be granted where the…

A restraining order against an individual must be justified by evidence connecting that individual to the prohibited conduct. A person's legal responsibility…

For a murder committed during a robbery, the 30-year starting point under paragraph 5 of Criminal Justice Act 2003, Schedule 21 may apply even though the…

A defendant convicted of failing to comply with a planning enforcement notice is entitled to the appropriate credit for a guilty plea from the maximum fine…

A jury must be free to deliberate without pressure to reach a verdict. A trial judge must not create pressure arising from time, inconvenience or expense. A…

DNA evidence capable of identifying only one or more members of an indistinguishable group may be admissible as circumstantial evidence where other evidence…

For the purposes of Sexual Offences Act 2003, reliance on a deception does not by itself negate consent. A deception may negate consent only where it is…

A very substantial extension of time to seek leave to appeal against conviction requires a very good reason. Proposed fresh expert evidence will not afford a…

When assessing whether sentences imposed on co-defendants create unfair disparity, the court must consider differences in culpability and personal mitigation.…

A sentence within the applicable fraud guideline range may nevertheless be manifestly excessive where the loss lies at the bottom of the relevant financial…

When correcting a sentence that omitted a mandatory special custodial sentence under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 236A, the Court of Appeal must ensure…

Under Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 34, an adverse inference from pre-charge silence is permissible only within carefully defined limits.…

A trial judge has a discretion to permit a jury to alter a pronounced verdict. The discretion depends on all the circumstances, including the elapsed time, the…

Where a sentencing court has omitted the required qualifying-curfew credit pronouncement under section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Court of…

A Criminal Behaviour Order may include restrictions which help prevent further offending, provided that they are proportionate to the offender’s conduct and…

An adverse inference under Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 34, may be left to a jury only where the prosecution case at interview was…

Where credible fresh psychiatric evidence establishes that an offender had a previously undiagnosed mental disorder at sentencing, the Court of Appeal may…

For historic sexual offending, sentence is imposed under the regime and sentencing practice current at the date of sentence, but it cannot exceed the statutory…

The later deletion of a police caution does not make a conviction unsafe where the evidence underlying the caution would independently have been admissible and…

A single-punch manslaughter is not confined to medium culpability under the Sentencing Council manslaughter guideline. It may fall within category B where the…

A R v Turnbull (1977) QB 224 direction is required only where identification evidence is genuinely disputed. Admission that the defendant was present does not…

Unauthorised internet research by a juror is a serious irregularity, but it does not itself require discharge of the whole jury or make convictions unsafe. The…

The classification of waste for the export prohibition is fixed when its journey begins. Waste collected from households becomes B3020 paper only if sorting…

Under the street-robbery guideline, the sentencing court should first select the appropriate category and may then set an initial point within the category…

A prosecution following an assurance that a suspect will not be prosecuted will usually be an abuse of process only where those responsible for the…

A decision by the Health and Safety Executive to prosecute may be stayed for abuse of process only in exceptional circumstances. A breach of enforcement…

An applicant seeking to add grounds after refusal by the single judge must apply to vary the grounds and overcome a high hurdle. A court may nevertheless…

Where a possible jury irregularity emerges only after discharge, a review under section 23A of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 requires an arguable factual basis…

Evidence closely connected with an alleged sexual offence may be admitted as important explanatory evidence or as relevant to an important issue, including a…

Where an offender crossed the age-18 threshold between the offence and sentence, the court should begin with the sentence likely to have been imposed when the…

A guilty plea is valid only where the defendant retains a genuine freedom to choose between pleading guilty and not guilty. Ordinary pressures arising from a…

A witness’s digital communications should be sought only where there is a properly founded, case-specific reasonable line of inquiry. There is no routine right…

For a murder committed before 18 December 2003, the transitional regime in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires the court to determine the minimum term which…

A party seeking to introduce complex hearsay must comply with the notice requirements in the Criminal Procedure Rules. Defence silence, or proposed edits to an…

A jury should be discharged only where a high degree of need arises. The decision is entrusted to the trial judge’s discretion. On an appeal against conviction…

An exceptionally late application for permission to appeal a confiscation order may be refused where the applicant gives no proper explanation for the delay…

A conclusion by the Competent Authority under the National Referral Mechanism is relevant but is not conclusive in criminal proceedings. A statutory defence…

Evidence of internet visits to material depicting sexual activity with sleeping women may be admitted under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 98 where the jury…

A person may be guilty of both theft and handling the same goods where the handling is a separate and subsequent act. Handling cannot, however, occur only in…

An extension of time to appeal against conviction requires good reason and, ordinarily, a risk of significant injustice if it is refused. The controlling…

For the hearsay gateways in section 116(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, reasonable practicability and fear are assessed in their practical context. A…

Where an offender is to serve an immediate custodial sentence during the exceptional prison restrictions caused by the Covid-19 emergency, the court may take…

A DNA profile on a movable item left at a crime scene may, with a match probability of one billion or similar, be capable of establishing a case to answer…

A conviction for breach of a sexual harm prevention order must rest on the order actually made by the judge in court. An administrative error in processing or…

A slavery and trafficking prevention order under section 14(2) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires a real, not remote risk of further relevant offending…

A criminal judge must give the jury a fair, accurate and focused summing-up. It must identify the real issues, explain the principal cases for the prosecution…

Non-defendant bad-character evidence tendered by the prosecution may be admissible under section 100(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where it has…

A court sentencing an offender solely for breach of a sexual harm prevention order or sexual offences prevention order cannot make a fresh sexual harm…

An acquittal on an earlier count is ordinarily irrelevant at a later trial because it records only the earlier jury’s opinion. It may be admissible where it…

Under the Sentencing Council guideline on reduction for a guilty plea, credit depends on the earliest stage at which the defendant indicates guilt. After the…

For historic sexual offences, sentence is imposed under the regime current at sentencing, but no individual term may exceed the maximum available when the…

A trial judge may use robust case management, including a limit on closing speeches, under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015. Counsel should comply with such…

In sentencing for multiple serious offences, the court must apply the principle of totality by standing back from the individual terms and assessing whether…

In a sentence appeal, the court must assess the offending as a whole, including the number of victims, its duration, breach of trust and vulnerability.…

In sentencing co-offenders for planned aggravated burglaries involving weapons and violence, a court may treat them as equal partners where each knowingly…

Where an offender’s mental disorder may justify a hospital order, the court must consider every available disposal, including a direction under section 45 A…

A registered waste operation is an exempt facility only while it satisfies every cumulative requirement in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 to the Environmental…

Under section 51A of the Firearms Act 1968, the five-year minimum sentence applies unless the circumstances are truly exceptional. The decisive question is…

The ultimate question on an appeal based on non-disclosure or fresh evidence is whether the material causes the Court of Appeal to doubt the safety of the…

In sentencing for a threat to kill, the applicable guideline category depends on a judicial assessment of the offence’s actual impact on the victim. Where a…

Under the Sentencing Council Guideline for Robbery, classification of a non-dwelling robbery depends on the facts of the individual case. A robbery may…

An offence of causing or inciting a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity, where the activity does not occur, falls within category 3, as other sexual…

For the section 18 sentencing guideline, an injury is serious in the context of the offence only where it is significantly above the serious harm normally…

Where the Supreme Court unanimously directs that an earlier Court of Appeal authority should no longer be followed and prescribes a different test, the Court…

For an offence under section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, harm is identified by the sexual activity which the defendant intended to arrange or…

Under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court of Appeal does not conduct a general review of sentence. It may intervene only where a sentence is…

An extension of time for a sentencing appeal may properly be refused where there is very substantial delay and the proposed appeal has no substantive merit. An…

For sentencing under the Sentencing Council Guideline for Intimidatory Offences, category 1 harm may be established by a justified fear of violence on many…

For the dangerousness test under section 226 A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the sentencing judge must independently decide whether the offender presents a…

A sentencing judge may assess drug-conspiracy harm by reference to the period of the admitted conspiracy, rather than only the days on which police observed…

In sentencing an armed street robbery, a judge may properly place the offence in a category reflecting more than minimal psychological harm even where there is…

For article 21(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (External Requests and Orders) Order 2005, whether a foreign procedure produces a conviction is determined…

When sentencing for several offences, a court must assess the totality of the offending. Sentencing Guidelines directed to a single offence may be of limited…

A mental disorder is ordinarily relevant to sentence through its effect on an offender’s culpability when the offence was committed. Its effect may range from…

For victim-surcharge purposes, consecutive or concurrent custodial terms for one or more offences comprise a single disposal. The surcharge is calculated by…

Where custody is unavoidable for a child or young person and an adult guideline is used as a reference point, the sentencing court must first identify and…

In a sentence appeal arising from a group assault, a sentencing judge may treat a defendant as fully responsible for the injuries where the evidence supports a…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal sentence, the appellate court will not interfere where the sentencing judge was entitled to assess the seriousness…

Where an article falls within both List B and List C under the prison-contraband regime, the court should first decide whether it falls within the more serious…

Evidence of a co-accused’s guilty plea under section 74(1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 must be used sparingly. In a closed conspiracy…

A conspiracy requires proof that each defendant joined a shared unlawful design. Similar or parallel drug-supply activities do not suffice. A participant need…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because disclosure failures or an ill-prepared line of cross-examination arise during trial. The trial judge must take fair…

In an unduly lenient sentence reference, assessment of serious psychological harm for guideline categorisation is a dispassionate judicial assessment of the…

A competent and compellable witness must answer relevant and permissible questions unless a valid immunity or privilege applies. Even without a recognised…

Sentencing guidelines guide the court but do not impose a ceiling. A sentencing judge may impose a sentence outside a guideline range where the offence’s…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction should be refused where the proposed grounds, including purportedly fresh material, disclose no…

Where dangerous driving is alleged to have caused death or serious injury following a later collision, legal causation does not require reasonable…

A post-trial diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder does not by itself render a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must focus on the issues tried, the…

Where conduct would properly have been charged as unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16, a statutory time bar cannot be avoided by charging the…

When correcting a sentence after guilty pleas, the sentencing methodology must make clear the discount applied to each individual count. Where the overall term…

Where a juror is discharged because an apparent connection creates a real possibility of bias, the court must separately assess whether that circumstance…

In sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter, the public location of violence may aggravate the offence, but its weight depends on the particular facts. The…

For the aggregation provision governing low-value shoplifting, being charged on the same occasion means appearing before a magistrates’ court to answer the…

A Criminal Behaviour Order must be preventive, proportionate, targeted, sufficiently clear and practicable. Under Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act…

For liability as an aider and abettor of fraud by false representation, the prosecution must prove that the principal committed the dishonest fraud, that the…

A trial judge has an absolute discretion whether to permit the Crown to treat its witness as hostile. Where the witness denies the truth of a previous…

A challenge to the current practical effect of an historic Sexual Offences Prevention Order should ordinarily be pursued by a structured application to vary…

A hospital order under Mental Health Act 1983 section 37 is appropriate where the offender’s mental disorder is of a nature or degree requiring hospital…

A judicial correction of defence counsel’s account of evidence should be qualified where the evidence supports counsel’s formulation. The judge may…

In sentencing for publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred, the court must assess the nature and intended effect of the material, the need for…

Primary liability for fraudulent trading under section 458 of the Companies Act 1985 is confined to those who exercise a controlling or managerial function in…

For offences within Modern Slavery Act 2015, section 45 assigns the facts relevant to trafficking status and the statutory defence to the jury. The criminal…

Under section 100(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, evidence of a non-defendant witness’s bad character is admissible where it has substantial probative…

Fresh expert evidence will ordinarily be refused where a potential defence was fully investigated before trial, an appropriately qualified expert reached a…

In sentencing manslaughter by diminished responsibility, the court must assess the responsibility retained by the offender, rather than treating the existence…

A community order may be unduly lenient for grave, sustained domestic abuse where the applicable sentencing guideline indicates immediate custody and the…

The totality principle ordinarily concerns the offending before the sentencing court. It requires a sentence for multiple offences which is just and…

Whether evidence of alcohol requires a tailored direction on intention depends on the evidence and the summing-up as a whole. There is no mandatory formula. A…

For a planned robbery in a victim’s home, the sentencing guidelines must reflect the actual level of culpability and harm. Targeting a person because of…

On an appeal by reference, the admission of fresh evidence under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 depends ultimately on what is expedient in the…

Evidence of another person’s conviction may be admitted under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 section 74 where proof that person committed the offence is…

Where offences were committed by a person aged under 18, sentencing should start from the sentence appropriate to that person as a child or young person.…

An offender’s recall to custody under an existing life sentence or imprisonment for public protection does not prevent the imposition of an extended sentence…

A single earlier violent offence may be capable of showing a relevant propensity under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, even where it was…

Where cognitive impairment or another mental condition is relied on in mitigation, its effect on culpability and custody must be assessed carefully in the…

Witness statements read by agreement under Criminal Justice Act 1967, section 9 remain evidence for the tribunal of fact to assess. They are not agreed facts…

A sentencing judge must determine the factual basis of sentence after a guilty plea. Findings made after a Newton hearing, and assessments of roles within a…

A criminal trial may proceed in a defendant’s absence where the defendant has consciously refused to engage with the proceedings, has been clearly warned of…

A criminal trial does not become unfair merely because a vulnerable prosecution witness refuses to complete cross-examination. The court must assess fairness…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence may be increased only if it is unduly lenient, not simply because the appellate court would have imposed a…

Under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 100(1)(b), a non-defendant witness’s bad character may be admitted only where credibility is a matter of substantial…

A summing up in a criminal trial must be assessed as a whole. A direction on circumstantial evidence is adequate where the jury are told to be sure of the…

An overall sentence for a connected spree of robberies must reflect the seriousness of the offending as a whole. This includes the number of offences, violence…

For sentencing offences under section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the presence of a potential higher-culpability feature does not automatically place…

In a sexual-offence trial, evidence of a complainant’s sexual relationship with another person, or a flirtatious remark, is not admissible under Youth Justice…

An alternative verdict need be left to a jury only where it is obviously raised by the evidence, in the sense that a jury could reasonably return it. A lesser…

Whether a criminal defence is legally available is a question for the judge. Only where a reasonable jury, properly directed, could find the defence made out…

A co-defendant’s out-of-court interview may be admitted against another defendant under section 114(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, including after the…

Where a sentencing court has omitted credit for time spent on a qualifying curfew, the Court of Appeal may extend time and allow an appeal against sentence…

In assessing whether a custodial term is manifestly excessive, the sentencing court may reflect the offender’s overall course of criminal conduct, including…

Where an accused's interview answers may create a false impression for the purposes of section 101(1)(f) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must…

Where an offender passes a significant age threshold between committing an offence and being sentenced, the court should begin with the sentence likely to have…

Credit for a guilty plea must be assessed first by reference to the offence to which the plea relates and the defendant’s first reasonable opportunity to…

A trial judge must decide whether a vulnerable defendant needs an intermediary by assessing the defendant’s communication needs in the context of the…

For the offence under section 67(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the recorder need not be a stranger to the private act. A participant in consensual sexual…

Fresh expert evidence may be received under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where its admission is necessary or expedient in the interests of…

For a money-laundering arrangement under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, criminal property may be proved either by evidence of identified unlawful conduct or…

Under section 74(3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, a conviction in the United Kingdom or another EU Member State proves that the defendant…

Where related offences arise from the same offending, concurrent sentences will ordinarily be appropriate. If one offence instead increases the sentence for…

A victim personal statement may properly inform sentence, including the assessment of aggravating harm. Its weight must nevertheless be proportionate and the…

Where a defendant has attacked a complainant’s credibility, the rebuttal gateway in CJA 2003, section 101(1)(g), may be engaged before the defendant gives…

A Sheehan direction on voluntary intoxication and specific intent is required only where there is a proper evidential basis that the defendant did not form the…

Where a conviction is challenged after an intervening change in the law on the non-prosecution of victims of trafficking, the applicant must show substantial…

A sentencing court must give proper weight to relevant mitigation, explain a sentence imposed above the applicable guideline starting point, and ensure that…