Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2022

Where it is undisputed that a defendant’s unlawful assault was a substantial cause of death, the actus reus of murder is established. A disputed act within the…

Under the then-existing Immigration Act 1971, a migrant intercepted or rescued at sea and taken directly to an approved port area was deemed not to have…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range reasonably open to the…

When setting a minimum term for murder, the starting points in Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Code must be applied flexibly, with careful attention to…

Offences against different complainants may be tried together where they form a series of offences of the same or similar character and proper directions…

A reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 requires a high threshold: the sentence must be not merely lenient but unduly lenient. The Court…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, appellate intervention requires a sentence to be unduly, rather than merely, lenient. The…

In sentencing references involving multiple related offences, the totality principle requires the aggregate sentence to be just and proportionate and to…

On an Attorney General reference, a sentence may be lenient without being so lenient that appellate intervention is justified. The court must assess the…

Age 18 is not a cliff edge in sentencing. An offender’s youth and maturity remain relevant after the eighteenth birthday. Aggravating factors should be…

Category 1 harm under the Sentencing Council Guideline for Attempted Murder requires either lifelong dependency on third-party care or medical treatment, or a…

A sentencing judge may reflect separate criminality and harm to a separate victim by increasing the minimum term for murder while imposing a concurrent…

In a sentence appeal concerning offences involving fatalities, the Court of Appeal should ordinarily ensure that the prosecution is represented before…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal after a lengthy delay, the interests of justice may require an extension of time where a properly arguable ground…

In sentencing manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, the central question is the offender’s retained responsibility. The court must consider the…

The custody threshold does not make immediate custody automatic. The sentencing court must still decide whether appropriate punishment can only be achieved by…

The totality principle requires a just and proportionate overall sentence reflecting the offender’s total criminality. A sentencing judge need not state the…

In a joint-enterprise murder case, foresight that a principal may use serious violence is evidence from which intention may be inferred; it is not a substitute…

For an Attorney General’s reference under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the distribution guideline for indecent images requires possession with a view to…

On an appeal against a discretionary ruling admitting bad-character evidence, appellate interference is justified only where the ruling falls outside the…

A confiscation appeal turns on the evidence supporting the available amount. Fresh evidence may establish that sums included as hidden assets were paid to…

A sentence within the applicable guideline range will not be shown to be wrong merely because the sentencing judge did not articulate every adjustment to the…

For attempted murder sentencing, category 2 harm under the applicable guideline does not require permanent, irreversible or lifelong injury. Such consequences…

In sentencing for attempted robbery, the court must assess the harm actually caused by the offender’s conduct, including serious psychological harm, even where…

For a drug-supply offence, a category based on direct sales to users may apply even where the quantity is below the guideline’s indicative amount. The…

Sentencing of a secondary party is fact-specific. A sentencing judge may impose the same sentence as for a principal where the offender’s role, intention and…

An extended sentence is discretionary even where an offender is assessed as dangerous. It should be imposed only where a lengthy determinate sentence would not…

In sentencing for violent disorder, a targeted group attack may justify placing culpability at the highest relevant level, particularly where weapons are used…

In sentencing for numerous offences committed in a short period, the court must apply totality to reach a custodial term that is just and proportionate to the…

The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal against a conviction imposed by a magistrates’ court. A defendant who has pleaded guilty and…

A sentencing court must apply the guideline in force when sentence is passed, since sentencing guidelines generally operate prospectively. A substantial…

Conduct intended to pervert the course of public justice strikes at the administration of justice and will almost invariably require an immediate custodial…

In sentencing for membership of a proscribed organisation, a guideline starting point does not prevent the judge from making an uplift where the offender’s…

On an appeal against sentence for multiple offences, the Court of Appeal assesses each sentence both individually and in aggregate. An offender cannot isolate…

Where no offence-specific sentencing guideline applies, the court should have regard to the statutory maximum, relevant appellate sentencing authorities and…

On an appeal against sentence for three rapes, the Court of Appeal held that the most serious offence may be treated as the lead offence and the overall…

In sentencing for perverting the course of justice, the court should assess the seriousness of the substantive offence, the persistence of the interference…

On an Attorney General’s reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court of Appeal will intervene only where the sentence falls outside…

Police custody records may be admissible business documents under Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 117, but that does not answer whether their contents are…

Uncharged allegations of similar sexual offending may be admitted as propensity evidence under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, even if the…

The totality principle requires a sentence to be just and proportionate in the context of all sentences already being served. Where an offender serving a life…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court held that sentencing for conspiracy to supply class A drugs must reflect the scale…

A sentence is unduly lenient if it falls outside the range reasonably open to a judge who has considered all relevant factors and the applicable sentencing…

A jury note raising concern that jurors’ personal experience may have influenced deliberations does not automatically require discharge of the jury. The trial…

Measures protecting a defined class of care-home residents from smoking-related fire risk can constitute general fire precautions under the Regulatory Reform…

In deciding whether to extend time for a criminal appeal, the court may consider the proposed grounds on their merits. Practical difficulties faced by an…

A party seeking to add grounds to a criminal appeal must comply with the procedural requirements and justify any delay. A speculative assertion of false memory…

Internet searches capable of showing a sexual interest in underage girls may be admitted as bad-character evidence under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal…

Fitness to plead is assessed by the Pritchard criteria, not merely by diagnosis or delusional beliefs. A defendant remains fit where he understands the charge…

When sentencing depends on disputed facts with more than one possible interpretation, the court must be sure of the factual basis adopted. If it cannot be…

A reluctant prosecution witness may be called without a signed statement where disclosed police records and earlier accounts give the defence a fair…

An inaccurate prosecution document does not of itself require a jury to be discharged. The trial judge must decide whether the mistaken reliance upon it has…

Where trafficking evidence emerges after a conviction for conduct committed before the statutory trafficking defence came into force, the conviction is unsafe…

On sentencing an offender aged about 20½, a pre-sentence report may be advisable but is not automatically required. Where the sentencing judge presided over a…

A life sentence under section 285 of the Sentencing Code is a sentence of last resort. The court must assess the seriousness of the offending, previous…

Complaints to a person’s employer or professional regulator may form part of a stalking course of conduct. The statutory examples of stalking-associated acts…

In sentencing environmental offences, the assessment of harm under the Environmental Offences Guideline is separate from compensation. Clean-up costs may be…

In sentencing a participant in a planned murder, a 30-year starting point may require a substantial uplift where the offence involved meticulous preparation…

A sentence appeal will fail unless the sentence is manifestly excessive or wrong in principle. In assessing seriousness for offences under Sexual Offences Act…

Very old convictions may be admitted as propensity evidence under the gateway in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Their age must be considered both when…

A guilty plea is not equivocal merely because a defendant maintains that a statutory defence may be available or continues to assert facts supporting it. A…

A criminal case may properly remain with the jury despite inconsistencies in a prosecution witness’s account. The decisive question is whether a properly…

An offender aged 21 or over facing a first custodial sentence remains entitled to legal representation where a representation order is in force and the…

A sentencing judge may find very serious psychological harm without expert evidence where a sufficiently detailed victim personal statement establishes its…

In assessing whether a sentence is manifestly excessive, an appellate court must distinguish a sentence imposed after trial from the sentencing judge’s…

A contemporaneous medical letter may be admitted as relevant hearsay where its author is deceased and the jury receives clear directions about its limitations.…

A compensation order may require one participant in joint offending to meet all or part of the victim’s loss; it need not be reduced merely because other…

The defence in section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is available only to a person who is in fact a refugee within the Refugee Convention. A…

In a joint attack, a defendant may be convicted either as the direct perpetrator or as a secondary participant who, with the necessary intent, deliberately…

Where a convicted person dies, the court may permit a widow to continue an application for leave to appeal under Criminal Appeal Act 1968, section 44 A. Leave…

For the statutory defence for adult trafficking victims under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the offender must have acted because of compulsion attributable to…

In sentencing for breach of a restraining order, a sentencer should first assess culpability in the ordinary way and then decide whether, and to what extent, a…

A trial judge must give the jury a coherent rehearsal of the main arguments advanced by the defence. Where the defendant has said little or nothing in…

On a submission of no case to answer, the question is whether, taking the prosecution evidence at its highest, a reasonable jury properly directed could…

Where admissible fresh psychiatric evidence shows that a mental disorder existed at sentence and that the statutory conditions for a hospital order would then…

Under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, evidence available at trial, whose substance was known, and which could have been adduced by the defence is…

A kidnap committed in the context of domestic abuse is not less serious because of that context. An abusive personal relationship will usually aggravate the…

For sentencing a defendant convicted of a drugs conspiracy, harm is not confined to the quantity of drugs with which that defendant was directly involved. The…

An unsuccessful appeal against conviction cannot be revived as a fresh appeal merely because new evidence has become available. Section 23 of the Criminal…

The suspension of a custodial sentence is a judgment based on the relative weight of all relevant guideline factors. Strong personal mitigation, rehabilitation…

Victims of trafficking do not enjoy blanket immunity from prosecution. The court must assess the nexus between the offence and the trafficking, together with…

A sentencing guideline is not a statute and is not interpreted by applying statutory canons or by consulting every document published during its preparation or…

A participant in a joint violent attack may be guilty of manslaughter where the attack objectively carried a risk of some harm and death results. The exception…

The Court of Appeal may grant a short adjournment of permission applications where purported instructions to abandon an appeal have come from a third party and…

An appellate court will not interfere with an aggregate custodial sentence unless it is manifestly excessive. Where several planned dwelling burglaries involve…

Where several high-culpability features are present in a section 18 wounding, each must receive appropriate weight. A case involving a highly dangerous weapon…

Where the quantity of drugs significantly exceeds the indicative quantity in the Definitive Guideline for Drug Offences, the excess must exert substantial…

For historic sexual offences committed by a young offender, the maximum sentence available when the offending occurred is generally a significant constraint…

An appellant who seeks to abandon a criminal appeal at a late stage requires the court’s leave. Where that leave is granted, the appeal proceedings end finally…

An assessment of dangerousness must be made at the date of sentence, on the premise that the offender is not in custody. An extended sentence becomes available…

A judicial summing-up may properly identify and summarise evidence adverse to a defendant. The decisive safeguard is that the judge must not usurp, or appear…

Criminal damage during protest does not automatically make a fact-specific proportionality assessment necessary. Conduct which is violent or non-peaceful falls…

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order may not include a prohibition which merely duplicates an existing criminal offence or increases the penalty for it. A…

After a trial, a sentencing judge may make findings about the factual basis for sentence even where the prosecution did not present the case in that way…

For an offence under section 170(2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, the prosecution must prove a dishonest and deliberate evasion of an import…

A sole carer of young children is not immune from immediate custody. However, the sentencing court must consider and weigh the harmful impact on the children…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence is unduly lenient when it falls substantially below the sentence reasonably justified by the offender’s total…

Expert evidence about an accused’s cognitive ability will ordinarily be inadmissible on the issue of intention. Intention is generally for the jury to decide…

A Crown Court may direct a witness outside England and Wales to give evidence by WhatsApp where the service can operate as a live video link and the statutory…

Written assistance may be given to a jury where it will help jurors evaluate evidence, but it should be focused, fair, balanced and uncontroversial. It should…

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 22 requires a genuine reassessment of the defendant’s available amount. A “new calculation” is not confined to newly…

In sentencing fraud, the absence of a financial loss does not require the court to begin in the lowest monetary harm category. The court must assess actual…

In sentencing a drug-supply conspiracy, harm may be assessed from messages and reasonable inferences where no drugs are recovered. Indicative quantities in the…

A sentencing court may impose a sentence above the suggested range for a guideline category where the offence has very serious aggravating features. In…

On an appeal against sentence, the appellate court will not interfere unless the sentence is manifestly excessive. Level 1 culpability for causing death by…

On a submission of no case to answer, circumstantial evidence must be assessed at its highest under the Galbraith test. The question is whether a properly…

For the rape sentencing guideline, a victim is not placed in harm Category 2 merely because she was vulnerable at the time of the offence. The specified factor…

A committal for contempt of court is not a sentence of imprisonment under the ordinary criminal sentencing regime. Provisions concerning suspended sentences…

Where legislation imposes a minimum sentence for repeat Class A drug trafficking, a street dealer’s personal addiction and related circumstances do not…

The totality principle requires a sentence for multiple offences to be just and proportionate overall. It does not prevent consecutive sentences for distinct…

On an Attorney General’s reference under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient if it falls outside the range reasonably open to the…

On an appeal against sentence, the court asks whether the sentence is wrong in principle or manifestly excessive. The sentence must be assessed in aggregate…

A restraining order following acquittal under section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 does not require proof of the substantive offence of…

In an Attorney General’s reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range…

Indicative drug-quantity figures in a sentencing guideline are not thresholds. They are broad indicators of harm which assist the sentencing judge to place the…

At the no-case stage, the prosecution case should be assessed at its highest. It should be left to the jury where the evidence provides a proper basis for them…

Sentencing must reflect the offences established by the indictment and verdicts. Single-incident counts do not permit a court to sentence on the basis of a…

Where a prosecution for dishonesty depends upon the reliability of Horizon data and there is no independent evidence that a branch suffered an actual loss, the…

A suspended sentence is a different type of penalty from a community order. It should not be imposed unless no suitable non-custodial sentence is available.…

In sentencing for rape under the applicable guideline, the court must give sufficient reasons for conclusions on particular vulnerability and uninvited entry.…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, a judge must weigh the guideline factors both for and against suspension. Brief reasons which focus on…

Film or photographic evidence may be used for identification even where the precise comparison does not fall within an expressly identified category. The…

Where the prosecution fails to disclose material evidence about a complainant, later disclosure may justify admitting it as fresh evidence and quashing a…

Low-level gunshot-residue evidence is not inadmissible merely because it is inconclusive in isolation. It may be considered as part of a wider circumstantial…

A sentencing judge must follow applicable sentencing guidelines under section 59 of the Sentencing Act 2020 unless doing so would be contrary to the interests…

In sentencing robbery, the applicable guideline category must reflect the actual degree of force and harm. Force exceeding a brief snatch may properly fall…

A specific statutory power given to a local weights and measures authority to bring proceedings for consumer offences committed outside its area is…

When sentencing an adult for offending committed as a child, the court must assess culpability by the offender’s age at the date of the offence. It must…

When an adult is sentenced for offences committed as a child, the court must apply the sentencing principles for children and young people to culpability at…

Where a vulnerable or immature complainant is alleged to have been groomed for sexual exploitation, an assertion of consent is weighty but is not necessarily…

On applications for permission to appeal against conviction, to adduce fresh evidence and to extend time, the court held that fresh evidence under Criminal…

Historic sexual offences are sentenced under the regime in force when sentence is imposed. The court must assess seriousness by culpability and harm. It must…

For bad-character evidence against a non-defendant under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the question is whether it has substantial probative value on a matter…

When sentencing a historic sexual offence, the court must apply the sentencing regime in force at sentence while respecting the maximum available when the…

An out-of-time appeal based on the restatement of joint-enterprise law requires proof of substantial injustice; the change in law creates no automatic right of…

An adult relying on section 45(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 must establish more than trafficking-victim status. The offending must have been committed…

The statutory householder defence modifies the ordinary self-defence inquiry only where there is an evidential basis that the defendant was not a trespasser…

A whole life order is a sentence of last resort. It is required only where the offender is aged 21 or over and the seriousness of the offence is exceptionally…

A private prosecution does not amount to an abuse of process merely because its promoters seek compensation or settlement. The question is whether, in all the…

Sentencing guidelines are a framework for comparing the offending with the guideline categories, but they may be exceeded in exceptional cases. A sentence…

In an appeal against sentence, the Court of Appeal is concerned with whether the sentence imposed on the individual offender was wrong in principle or…

Under the Sentencing Council Guideline on Assault, the starting point and category range are not rigid limits. Multiple culpability features may justify an…

A stay for category 1 abuse of process is available only where the accused shows, on the balance of probabilities, that a fair trial is impossible. It is an…

When fixing the minimum term for an offender who was under 18, the court must adopt an individualised approach. The Sentencing Council’s Guideline remains…

On a reference against an unduly lenient sentence for an attempted firearms offence, the reduction for the inchoate nature of the offence must reflect all the…

Credit for a guilty plea depends on the first reasonable opportunity to plead guilty. Exceptional circumstances may justify a later plea attracting greater…

When assessing harm under the Sentencing Council Guideline for Fraud Offences, a court may take account of financial losses directly consequential on the…

For sentencing manslaughter by unlawful act, where the act involved an intention to cause harm or recklessness as to whether harm would be caused, the…

For a restriction order under the Mental Health Act 1983, the court must consider all relevant circumstances, including the nature of the offence, the…

Evidence capable of proving a defendant’s motive may constitute evidence which has to do with the alleged facts of the offence for the purposes of section 98…

A criminal trial judge is not bound by the prosecution’s case theory or by the way any party presents the evidence. The judge must leave to the jury any…

Where an offender uses petrol or another accelerant to set fire to a victim’s home while the victim is inside, intending death or really serious injury, the…

Where the statutory commencement arrangements make video-recorded cross-examination under section 28 available only to witnesses eligible under section 16 of…

In sentencing for persistent and seriously aggravated harassment and malicious communications, the court must assess each offence individually before applying…

Sentencing under the applicable Definitive Guideline requires an evaluative assessment of culpability. The court must use the listed factors, weigh all…

Sentences for contempt arising from breaches of court orders are highly fact specific. The starting point for a serious breach of a restraint and disclosure…

Where an appeal challenges the exclusion of bad-character evidence, the appellate court may assess safety by reference to the case as it stood at the close of…

Attempted rape requires proof of acts more than merely preparatory and an intention to penetrate vaginally with the penis. That intention may be inferred from…

A sentence for separate and serious offending is unduly lenient where its commencement direction wholly subsumes it within an existing sentence and leaves the…

When a defendant pleads guilty on an accepted factual basis and no Newton hearing is held, sentence must be imposed on that basis. For an extended sentence…

When sentencing for an offence associated with a treatable mental disorder, a hospital order with restriction may be the proper disposal even where a…

Whether a murder involves sexual conduct for the purposes of paragraph 3(2)(e) of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020 is a fact-specific question. The…

For offences involving indecent photographs or videos of children, indecent does not mean unlawful. The jury must apply current recognised standards of…

On an appeal against sentence, the decisive question is whether the overall sentence was manifestly excessive or wrong in principle. A sentencing judge may…

When sentencing an attempted offence, the court should first assess the sentence appropriate for the completed offence, including intended and likely harm, and…

When sentencing children and young persons, the seriousness of the offending should be reflected in the adult starting point and the adjustment for aggravating…

For sentencing rape, a sleeping victim is not automatically particularly vulnerable due to personal circumstances. The court must assess all relevant…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, sentence categorisation must reflect the actual harm and culpability of non-consensual sexual…

Save for an uncontroversial communication unconnected with the trial, a jury’s note during retirement must ordinarily be disclosed to counsel and answered in…

Trial judges have a broad discretion to impose and enforce time limits on cross-examination, particularly in sexual-offence trials, but fairness remains the…

Sentencing categorisation is fact-specific. A sustained attack involving repeated punches and kicks may properly be treated as prolonged and persistent…

In sentencing appeals involving historic sexual abuse, delay caused by victims’ inability or unwillingness to report is not creditable mitigation. An offender…

A renewed application for permission to appeal, together with extensions of time, may be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable error or…

Where the prosecution does not rely on cross-admissibility between complainants’ evidence, there is no automatic requirement for a direction beyond the…

A guilty plea may be unsafe where it was materially influenced by an improper judicial indication of sentence and the defendant misunderstood the practical…

Before Modern Slavery Act 2015 section 45 came into force, a victim of trafficking had no blanket immunity from prosecution. The Crown Prosecution Service had…

An extended sentence may be justified where an offender presents a significant risk of serious harm and there is no practical alternative to immediate custody.…

Bad-character evidence may properly be admitted where it goes directly to a central issue, even if there has been no previous prosecution or conviction. The…

In sentencing appeals, the final sentence on each count must be pronounced in open court. A later administrative adjustment of individual sentences to give…

Gang-related evidence may be admissible to prove identity, motive and common purpose where it forms part of the alleged facts of the offence. The prosecution…

A sentence is unduly lenient where it falls outside the range which a judge, applying all relevant factors, could reasonably regard as appropriate. Repeated…

Where the prosecution invites a jury to treat an alleged earlier incident as evidence supporting guilt, the jury should be directed that it may rely on that…

When applying a sentencing guideline, a loss materially below the figure associated with the guideline starting point should ordinarily attract a lower…

An extension of time for leave to appeal against sentence depends on the interests of justice, including whether refusal would cause significant injustice and…

Sentencing courts must follow relevant sentencing guidelines. A custodial sentence is permissible only where the custody threshold is met: the offence or…

A discretionary life sentence for a dangerous sexual offender is justified where the sentencing court applies the required risk analysis and cannot identify…

An exceptional and inadequately explained delay in seeking permission to appeal against conviction may by itself justify refusal of the necessary extensions of…

When considering fresh evidence under the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the statutory factors guide the court’s assessment but are not individually determinative.…

When sentencing multiple serious offences, the principle of totality requires the overall sentence to reflect the offender’s total culpability. This remains so…

In sentencing for a multi-transaction drug conspiracy, the court may consider aggregate quantity, but must assess each offender’s culpability and reflect…

A substantial delay does not of itself make a criminal trial unfair. A stay is unwarranted where contemporaneous material remains available, any prejudice can…

A guilty plea is equivocal, and therefore a nullity, where the defendant adds a qualification which, if true, may show that he is not guilty. In the case of an…

A sentence is unduly lenient if it falls outside the range which a judge applying all relevant factors could reasonably regard as appropriate. Where serious…

In sentencing a young offender, the court must consider age and maturity throughout the offending period and at sentence. Reaching 18 is not a cliff edge. A…

For sentencing purposes, severe psychological harm is a factual assessment of the effect on the victim. It does not require expert evidence or a clinical…

A criminal court may generally consider whether a notice or administrative act is invalid, but Parliament may assign that question exclusively to another…

In sentencing multiple child sexual offences, the absence of a real child victim may justify only a limited downward adjustment. It does not substantially…

When sentencing for ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a care worker, a guideline for a different offence may assist only by careful analogy. A court must not…

For aggravated vehicle taking under section 12A of the Theft Act 1968, a passenger may bear substantial responsibility for dangerous driving and its…

Sentencing for misconduct in public office must reflect the degree of abuse of public trust. Deterrence is important, and serious misuse of police-held…

For an unduly lenient sentence reference, the question is whether the sentence fell outside the reasonable range open to the sentencing judge. The court must…

A statutory requirement that criminal proceedings may be instituted only with the Attorney General’s consent takes effect according to Parliament’s intention…

For causing death by dangerous driving, seriousness is assessed cumulatively by considering the driving and the surrounding aggravating circumstances. A…

For a child defendant, the defence in section 45(4) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 does not require compulsion or proof that a reasonable person would have had…

Evidence of misconduct falls outside the statutory bad-character controls only where it has a close nexus with the offence charged. Relevance alone is…

When sentencing for murder and attempted murder arising from the same sequence of offending, the court must assess the overall criminality. It may increase the…

When sentencing a child or young person for rape of a child, the offender’s age and immaturity do not automatically require a non-custodial sentence. The court…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because an indictment was initially insufficiently particularised. The decisive question is whether, by the time of…

A trader cannot rely on rapid business growth as mitigation where he accepts deposits knowing that he cannot perform work properly or within a reasonable time…

A sentence is unduly lenient only where it falls outside the range which a judge, taking account of all relevant factors, could reasonably regard as…

Section 1(4) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 qualifies the anonymity right in section 1(1). It does not prohibit reporting a criminal trial or…

In sentencing for sexual assault, the applicable guideline category must reflect the harm and culpability established by the evidence. Persistent physical…

In sentencing for multiple offences, the judge may select a lead offence and impose an aggregate sentence reflecting the totality of the offending, with other…

In sentence appeals, a loaded illegal firearm retained to facilitate drug dealing may properly be treated as high culpability. The risk created by keeping it…

For disseminating terrorist publications, harm may be assessed by the publication’s provision of instruction for specific terrorist activity endangering life.…

When several offences are distinct in time, nature and victims, concurrent sentences will not normally be appropriate. The totality principle may still require…

Evidence relied on to prove motive must have a real connection with that issue and possess probative value. The fact that conduct occurred after the charged…

For a discretionary common-law life sentence, the court must first decide whether the offence gravity warrants life imprisonment and then whether the offender…

In sentencing for large-scale drug supply, an offender’s role must be assessed by reference to what that individual actually did. Important operational…

A criminal conviction is not rendered unsafe merely because a judge uses colloquial language to focus the jury on the real issues, provided the summing-up…

Psychiatric evidence concerning stress or an adjustment disorder is inadmissible on the issue of intent where it provides no assistance beyond the jury’s…

In appellate sentencing, the totality principle requires the court to assess the offender’s overall criminality and impose a just and proportionate aggregate…

A defendant released on bail bears the responsibility of keeping in contact with the court and their solicitors. Uncertainty about whether a solicitor gave…

For historic sexual offending, the sentencing court should identify the modern equivalent offence and apply current guidelines with measured regard to the…

When sentencing connected drug and weapons offences, a court may treat the weapons as aggravating the drug offending and impose concurrent sentences to reflect…

When sentencing an offender with a mental disorder, the court must assess the disorder’s effect on culpability, including whether it contributed to alcohol or…

Whether an offence was committed over at least six months for the criminal-lifestyle condition in section 75(2)(c) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 depends…

A statutory minimum custodial sentence for a repeat weapon or bladed-article offence may lawfully be suspended for an adult offender where the statutory…

A R v Turnbull direction is required where the prosecution case depends wholly or substantially on identification of the accused which the defence says is…

In repeated rape cases, the reference in the Sexual Offences Guidelines to a campaign of rape is illustrative, not a prerequisite. Repeat, very serious…

In manslaughter by an unlawful act, a case caused by a single punch will often fall within category C of the Sentencing Council guideline, but may fall within…

For the purpose of deciding whether an extended sentence is available, the appropriate custodial term for a specified offence may reflect the seriousness of…

Where a court has accepted a properly considered basis of plea, it must sentence within the narrow factual limits of the admissions made. On an unduly lenient…

Where an adult offender genuinely and reasonably believed that a child under 13 was aged 16 or over, the rape-of-a-child guideline may be inappropriate. The…

An application for a serious crime prevention order must comply strictly with the statutory restriction on who may apply. It must clearly identify the…

A military command is not rendered unlawful merely because obedience would interfere with a service person’s personal entitlement under the Working Time…

The Crown’s exemption from statutory burdens is a rule of statutory interpretation, not a personal immunity for Crown servants. It extends to acts performed by…

An extension of time to appeal against conviction is granted only where the interests of justice require it. The court must balance finality, the interests of…

Fresh evidence may render a conviction unsafe where it is capable of belief, may not have been readily available at trial, and could materially affect the…

In a sole-name family-home case, the court must determine objectively whether the parties intended the legal owner to hold the property on trust for both and…

A prosecution is a Horizon case only where Horizon data was essential to prove an alleged shortfall and there was no independent evidence of an actual loss.…

A Crown Court judge exercising powers under section 66 of the Courts Act 2003 has only the powers available to a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts). Once a…

A guilty plea to a principal offence may provide the factual admission needed to substitute a properly charged lesser offence on appeal. Where a firearms count…

A jury’s finding that an offender intended only some harm does not prevent a sentencing judge from finding that the unlawful attack carried an obvious high…

Under section 78(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, whether touching is sexual because of its nature must be decided by reference to the act itself. Its…

Recognition evidence from footage may be admitted where a witness who knows the defendant identifies him from footage of sufficient quality. Procedural…

In sentencing for a large-scale drug conspiracy, the guideline range for a significant role is not an absolute ceiling. Where the quantity is substantially…

A conviction is unsafe where the prosecution’s case depends on identifying the accused as a particular attacker but the evidence demonstrates that the attacker…

Where the prosecution relies on a co-defendant’s conviction to establish the existence of a conspiracy, non-disclosure of material relevant to the conviction’s…

Under section 3(6) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the prosecution must prove that each specified ground formed part of the reason for choosing the person for…

When sentencing young offenders involved in the same serious offence, relative youth is a prime mitigating factor. Where ages fall on different sides of…

An abandonment of an appeal or application for leave is a final determination. It can be treated as a nullity only where the applicant did not make a…

A deprivation order under the Sentencing Act 2020 is available only where the prosecution satisfies the court to the criminal standard that property was used…

In fixing a minimum term for murder, the Sentencing Act 2020 starting point is not necessarily the end point. The court may increase it where serious…

Under Crim PR 36.15, reopening a final criminal appeal is an exceptional remedy. It requires real injustice, exceptional circumstances that justify reopening…

In criminal proceedings, evidence intended to show that a non-defendant or co-defendant was involved in earlier offending is bad character evidence and must…

On an appeal based on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must decide for itself whether the conviction is unsafe. The possible effect of the evidence on the…

In a multi-count sentencing exercise for historic and recent sexual offending, the total sentence must reflect the offender’s overall criminality and remain…

When sentencing multiple sexual assaults, the court must assess the offending as a whole. Although individual offences may fall within a lower guideline…

In sentencing serious child cruelty, the guideline starting point must be increased substantially where there are multiple high-culpability features, category…

In criminal appeals, lateness does not by itself prevent the admission of relevant bad-character evidence where no prejudice is shown. A jury need not be…

Evidence of recent drug-supply offending may be admissible as bad-character evidence under Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 101(1)(d) where it is relevant to…

When sentencing a child or young person, the court must have regard to the principal aim of youth justice and the child’s welfare. The approach must be…

Whether occupation amounts to sub-letting rather than lodging depends on exclusive possession, not the parties’ description of their arrangement. Under the…

Where renewed applications for substantial extensions of time to appeal depend upon evidence being heard by an ongoing public inquiry, it may be premature to…

For victims of trafficking, the statutory defence requires compulsion, attribution to slavery or relevant exploitation, and the absence of a realistic…

Under section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the prosecution’s notification of an intention to appeal a terminating ruling and its acquittal agreement…

A sentence is unduly lenient where it falls outside the range which a sentencing judge, taking account of all relevant factors, could reasonably regard as…

Quashing convictions in a separate case involving the same complainant does not automatically establish that an appellant is innocent or that the complainant…

A conviction will not be rendered unsafe by an alleged failure of trial representatives to advance a defence where the appellate court finds that the relevant…

On a reference under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is not unduly lenient merely because the appellate court considers it lenient. Intervention is…

A conviction from a historic trial may be unsafe where material prosecution evidence was not disclosed, particularly where original witness statements were…

When sentencing sexual offences against a child, the court must assess the applicable guideline category and weigh the offending, harm, aggravating features…

When imposing a discretionary life sentence and fixing a minimum term, the court must take account of the effect that credit for remand custody would have had…

In sentencing sexual offences committed in a military setting, the court may treat the service context and the need for deterrence as relevant to seriousness.…

For sexual offences sentencing, the guideline factor of particular vulnerability due to personal circumstances is a harm factor, not a culpability factor. It…

When the Court of Appeal orders a retrial under section 7 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, arraignment on the fresh indictment must occur within two months.…

In a prosecution for historic sexual offences, a jury must be directed on every essential ingredient of each offence, not merely whether the alleged acts…

A conviction for facilitating unlawful entry under Immigration Act 1971, section 25 is unsafe where the jury has not properly been required to decide whether…

On an appeal against conviction following a guilty plea, the Court of Appeal must decide whether the conviction is unsafe, but the plea is a major and normally…

Where no offence-specific guideline exists, sentencing should be structured by the Sentencing Council’s general principles, including culpability, harm…

Consent to a sexual act may be given in advance, but it must cover the particular penetration or attempted penetration in issue. A person may withdraw consent…

Where time has been spent on a qualifying curfew, statutory credit under section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 may be applied to the sentence. On the…

An extension of time for a criminal appeal requires a satisfactory explanation for the delay. Knowledge of the right to appeal and receipt of negative advice…

Historic misconduct evidence may support a complainant’s credibility where it is directly relevant to a disputed background issue, can be challenged by the…

The principle of totality requires a sentence for multiple offences to reflect the entirety of the offending and to be just and proportionate. It applies…

An extraordinary delay in seeking to appeal requires merits that are compelling before an extension of time can be entertained. A fully advised and unambiguous…

For historic offending, Article 7(1) requires the sentencing court to remain within the statutory maximum penalty prescribed for the offence when it was…

A special custodial sentence under section 278 of the Sentencing Code is an indivisible sentence of imprisonment comprising the appropriate custodial term and…

An appellant seeking to show that incompetent legal representation made a conviction unsafe must identify serious errors or irregularities caused by the…

An applicant seeking a substantial extension of time to appeal sentence must explain both why notice was not served within 28 days and why no application was…

An alternative verdict should be left only where it is obviously raised by the evidence and doing so would be fair and proportionate. A route to verdict must…

A prosecution for common-law public nuisance is not an abuse merely because the conduct could also be charged as a statutory offence carrying a lower maximum…

In confiscation proceedings under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, salary included in benefit is calculated net of tax, but a pension’s cash equivalent transfer…

A complaint by jurors during a criminal trial does not automatically require the jury’s discharge or severance of a defendant’s trial. Where a possible jury…

Admission of fresh evidence on a criminal sentence appeal does not determine the appeal. The court must first apply the statutory criteria for fresh evidence…