Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) judgments, 2025

In sentencing for breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, seriousness is assessed by reference to the order’s protective purpose, the original offending and…

In sentencing for perverting the course of justice, immediate custody is the almost invariable consequence because the offence strikes at the administration of…

Applicants who deliberately absconded before trial cannot rely on their own absence to justify an eight-year extension of time for appealing. Even alleged late…

An appellate court reviewing a sentence for criminal damage asks whether the result is manifestly excessive, not whether another sentencing structure could…

Good behaviour in prison does not, by itself, justify reducing a life sentence’s minimum term on appeal. It is a matter for the Parole Board when release is…

On a committal to the Crown Court for confiscation and sentence under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Crown Court has its indictment-level sentencing…

On a de novo sentencing appeal, the appellate court may leave the length of sentence unchanged while varying an order that it run consecutively, so that it…

Evidence of an accused’s statements and conduct before an offence may be admitted under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 section 98 where it is truly relevant and…

An acquittal on one count does not necessarily make a conviction on another count arising from the same events unsafe. Verdicts are not inconsistent where the…

A guilty plea does not automatically prevent an appeal against conviction, but a voluntary plea is ordinarily difficult to overturn. A plea may be set aside…

In sentencing offences involving false identity documents, use of a document to obtain work is ordinarily less serious than use to gain entry to the United…

On an Attorney General’s reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, the Court of Appeal should assess the sentence on the basis of plea accepted…

Where a confiscation order remains unsatisfied and is not subject to appeal, the statutory conditions for applying for a receiver under section 50 of the…

When fresh evidence shows that an offender’s serious mental disorder is chronic, relapsing and closely connected with offending, the court must assess the…

Where a defendant crosses a relevant age threshold between committing an offence and being sentenced, the sentence likely to have been imposed at the time of…

Whether a custodial sentence should be suspended is a discretionary sentencing decision. The Court of Appeal will intervene only where there is a proper basis…

A community order is not an available sentencing response where repeated domestic abuse, coercive control and intentional strangulation are so serious that the…

For an attempted offence under section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, harm is assessed by reference to the sexual activity intended. A downward adjustment…

A sentencing judge may select as the lead offence the offence carrying the longest maximum sentence and reflecting the most serious violence. Multiple…

An extension of time and leave to appeal against sentence will be refused where the proposed grounds are not arguable. A later change in sentencing policy does…

The decision whether to suspend a custodial sentence is discretionary. On appeal, it is not enough that the sentencing judge might have exercised the…

Persistent coercive and controlling behaviour combined with repeated intentional strangulation, including loss of consciousness and a risk of death, may…

On a submission of no case to answer, the court must ask whether a properly directed reasonable jury could convict on any available view of the prosecution…

Sentencing for criminal damage committed during a protest follows ordinary sentencing principles. Courts need not assign a fixed discount for conscientious…

A conviction is not unsafe merely because a juror has engaged in misconduct. The irregularity must show either juror bias or acquisition of information which…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, the Court held that disagreement with a trial judge’s exercise of an evidential discretion is…

An adverse-inference direction may be given where a defendant relies at trial on matters omitted from interview, unless the circumstances reasonably explain…

For historic sexual offences, sentencing is governed by the regime in force at the date of sentence, subject to the maximum available when the offence was…

When serious sexual offending is committed against more than one victim, consecutive sentences may properly reflect the separate victims. The sentencing court…

For unlawful act manslaughter, culpability may be high where an offender knowingly participates in a planned robbery carrying a high risk of really serious…

A conviction for conspiracy to rob does not require proof that the defendant used or participated in the use of force. Where the evidence proving the…

An applicant seeking to introduce wholly fresh grounds shortly before a criminal appeal faces a high hurdle. The court considers the delay and its reasons…

For a submission of no case to answer, the question is whether a reasonable jury, properly directed, could on one possible view of the prosecution evidence…

When sentencing multiple related fraud offences, a judge may adopt a global approach which reflects the total criminality and results in concurrent sentences.…

Under section 360 of the Sentencing Act 2020, a court dealing with an offender for any offence may impose a restraining order to protect victims or others from…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court of Appeal may increase a sentence only where it is unduly lenient. The statutory…

In an appeal against sentence, the Court of Appeal asks whether the sentence imposed below was manifestly excessive; it does not re-sentence merely because…

A sentencing court should obtain and consider a pre-sentence report where the proposed custodial term is capable of suspension and the offender raises credible…

In sentencing for exceptionally grave offending, the guideline range for the lead attempted-murder offence is not an absolute ceiling. The court must assess…

The victim for sentencing-guideline purposes is the person to whom a threat to kill is made, not the person who is its object. Within the applicable category…

For an offence of assault by penetration, category 2 harm is established where the evidence proves violence beyond that inherent in penetration. A significant…

Sentencing guidelines must be followed, but they do not exhaust the relevant features of offending. An imminent intention to kill or cause serious injury with…

In sentencing for sexual offending directed at persons believed to be children, communications with adult decoys may properly aggravate the seriousness of the…

When a sentence is reduced for a guilty plea, the stated percentage must be calculated accurately against the sentence before credit. A 15 per cent reduction…

A finding that an offender is dangerous does not make imprisonment for public protection inevitable where the statutory scheme makes that sentence…

On an appeal against sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, a category A starting point under the current Definitive Sentencing Guideline may be…

In sentencing a young offender for robbery, the vulnerability of a substantially younger victim and a substantial number of recent convictions, including…

An extension of time to seek leave to appeal conviction serves no purpose where the proposed grounds have no arguable merit. The court may consider a lengthy…

In an appeal against a murder minimum term, the Court of Appeal must respect the trial judge’s advantage in finding and weighing aggravating and mitigating…

In sentencing fraud, the value of the fraud does not by itself require a sentence at the bottom of the applicable range. The court must select the appropriate…

A sexual harm prevention order must be necessary and proportionate in relation to the particular sexual offending and the risk of further sexual harm. The…

Fresh evidence in a criminal appeal must satisfy both the statutory fresh-evidence provisions and the substantive rules governing complainant sexual-history…

Under a kidnapping sentencing guideline, particularly vulnerable has a high threshold and must be assessed from all circumstances at the time of the…

Strict compliance with the statutory conditions for a prosecution appeal is required. A communication stating that the prosecution intends to appeal at a…

When setting a minimum term for murder under paragraph 5 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Code, the 15-year starting point does not absorb the substantial…

In sentencing for multiple serious offences, the principle of totality requires the overall sentence to reflect the total criminality. That may be achieved…

Leave to appeal against conviction or sentence may be refused where the proposed appeal has no prospect of success. An extension of time should likewise be…

Where a bladed article is used to commit a robbery, and its production has already materially increased culpability for the robbery, a separate consecutive…

When sentencing an offender with a mental disorder, the court should first assess culpability under the offence-specific guideline and then consider whether…

When sentencing for multiple offences, the sentence for the principal offence may be uplifted to reflect the totality of the offending. Concurrent sentences or…

A failure by the prosecution to apply trafficking guidance does not, without more, establish that a conviction is unsafe. An applicant has no automatic right…

On an appeal based on non-disclosure, the safety of a conviction must be assessed against the whole evidential and trial context. New material does not cast…

For an application to rely on fresh evidence in a criminal appeal, the court must assess whether the evidence is admissible under section 23(2) of the Criminal…

For murder sentencing, a domestic killing may be a murder done for gain where it was committed in the expectation of obtaining property, even if the killing…

Where custody for a child is unavoidable, the term must be the shortest commensurate with the seriousness of the offence. The adult guideline may be used as a…

For rape sentencing, a victim who is asleep or unconscious through intoxication and unable to understand, protest or resist may be particularly vulnerable for…

For murder sentencing, the starting points in Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 21 are guidelines for assessing seriousness as a whole. Aggravating features may…

A Goodyear indication should be given only on a reliable factual basis and with material necessary to assess the maximum sentence, including relevant…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal, the Court of Appeal confirmed that expert evidence may address the factual assumptions relevant to an opinion…

When sentencing a person already serving life imprisonment for a further murder, the court may impose a second life sentence with either a consecutive or…

Before deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, a court must obtain and consider a pre-sentence report unless it considers one unnecessary. Where the…

An extension of time for applying for leave to appeal against conviction may be refused where no good reason is given for substantial delay and the proposed…

In sentencing for non-domestic burglary, the absence of a victim at the scene does not require classification at the lower end where business-critical…

In sentencing for repeated sexual offences against a child, substantial planning, grooming, duration and psychological harm may justify moving above the top of…

In sentencing for violent disorder, culpability must be assessed by reference to the individual offender’s role and conduct, rather than by treating every…

An extension of time to seek leave to appeal against conviction should not be granted where the proposed grounds have no substance and the conviction is…

On a charge of rape, actual consent and the defendant’s reasonable belief in consent are separate issues. Evidence bearing on consent may nevertheless inform…

When considering whether to leave an alternative verdict to the jury, the court must ask whether it is obviously raised by the evidence and represents a…

The right to a fair criminal trial is absolute. A conviction is unsafe where judicial departures from good practice are so gross, persistent, prejudicial or…

Under the rule of specialty, an extraditing court has no jurisdiction to try an offence not specified in the extradition warrant. A guilty plea cannot validate…

Under section 1(1)(a) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, servitude requires the coerced provision of work or services. Benefits obtained by a defendant cannot…

Bad character evidence may be admitted to support both propensity and attribution where the conviction has a striking similarity to the conduct charged. Its…

Applications by private prosecutors for costs from central funds are effectively ex parte and must be candid, rule-compliant and sufficiently particularised.…

For an offence under section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sentencing is based on the sexual activity and harm intended, not merely on whether the…

For an offender convicted on or after 1 December 2020, qualifying electronically monitored curfew must be credited under Sentencing Act 2020, section 325. The…

For an Attorney General’s Reference, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range reasonably open to the sentencing judge. Leave is…

On a reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, the sentence must fall outside the range that the first-instance judge might reasonably consider…

Whether a defendant intended to carry out an arrangement for a child sexual offence is a matter for the jury. Realistic commercial negotiations, repeated…

Where several conspiracy offences are sentenced concurrently, the overall sentence must reflect the full scope of the conspiracies and the defendant’s…

A guilty plea entered during a trial is not automatically disqualified from sentence credit. Under the Sentencing Act 2020 and the Sentencing Council…

Where the defence to alleged sexual offending is that the sexual activity did not occur, a judge may focus the jury’s attention on that central issue after…

For an offence under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, “wilfully” requires more than a deliberate application of force. In a charge based on assault…

On a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal will not interfere where the sentencing judge applied the relevant guideline, made findings open on the evidence…

When consecutive sentences reflect distinct criminality, the sentencing court must assess whether the aggregate sentence is just and proportionate and reflects…

When an offender meets the statutory dangerousness test, imprisonment for public protection (IPP) remains a last-resort disposal. The sentencing judge must…

Where a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) is imposed after an extended determinate sentence has become available, the sentencing judge must…

Section 51 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 empowers a court to permit a defendant to give evidence by live audio or video link in eligible criminal…

An offence in a historic sexual-offences case may move from category 2 to category 1 where the nature or impact of relevant harm is extreme. Pregnancy…

Evidence of a defendant’s communications with sex workers may be admissible as bad-character evidence where it materially bears on why he was seeking sexual…

A court’s decision not to adjourn a criminal trial ordinarily means that the trial must proceed. A judge cannot convert that decision into a terminating ruling…

On a reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, the threshold is more than mere leniency. The sentence must materially fail to reflect the…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal, an adjournment should be granted only where good reason is shown and vacating the hearing accords with the…

Where imprisonment for public protection is discretionary, the sentencing court must consider all available disposals and protective measures, including an…

When separate offences justify consecutive sentences, the sentencing court must consider whether a further downward adjustment is required after the sentences…

In sentence appeals arising from serious offending used to enforce a disputed debt, the existence of a legitimate debt affords little, if any, mitigation.…

In sentencing for multiple offences, the fact that an offence is an attempt must be reflected in the sentence. Seriousness and aggravating circumstances do not…

A sentencing court must not base an ancillary order on offences of which the offender was acquitted. Under the Sentencing Act 2020, property may be deprived…

On a renewed application to extend time for seeking leave to appeal against criminal convictions, an extension should be refused where the proposed grounds…

In manslaughter sentencing, culpability must be categorised by weighing guideline factors in the context of the offence, rather than mechanically selecting the…

Sentencing guidelines must not be applied mechanically. A case may fall between categories where its features do not make it a straightforward example of…

Sentencing a child is not a mathematical exercise. The sentencer must apply the relevant youth sentencing guidance and keep the child’s age, circumstances and…

On a half-time submission of no case to answer, the appellate question is whether the trial judge made a lawful decision within the legitimate exercise of…

In sentencing multiple offences, the court may select the offence carrying the greater sentence as the lead offence and impose concurrent sentences for the…

Role in a large-scale Class A drug conspiracy must be assessed by balancing all relevant role characteristics with the scale of the operation. An offender need…

At the permission stage, a proposed criminal appeal must identify a ground that is reasonably arguable. A conviction is not rendered unsafe merely because the…

In applying a sentencing guideline, the only true starting point is the sentence identified for the relevant offence category. An upward adjustment before…

A discretionary life sentence for a dangerous offender is a sentence of last resort. The court must assess the seriousness of the offences, previous…

On an appeal against sentence, a severe sentence should stand if, having regard to the totality of the offending and all relevant aggravating features, it is…

On a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal may intervene where the total custodial term is manifestly excessive. The relevant grounds may include errors…

Whether a knife is highly dangerous under the Definitive Guideline is a fact-specific assessment. The fact that the knife was not recovered does not determine…

Related drug-line offences committed over a short period may be assessed together, but the aggregate sentence must remain proportionate to the guideline ranges…

A court may make a sexual harm prevention order on conviction only where the statutory gateway in section 103A is met, including that the defendant is dealt…

On sentencing for multiple frauds, repayments do not by themselves determine seriousness. The court must consider intended loss as well as actual loss. A…

An offence of breaching a tree preservation order is one of strict liability, but strict liability does not mean that the offender has no culpability for…

When sentencing an offender with a mental disorder, the court must address culpability under the Impairment Guideline separately from mitigation. It must…

On a fresh-evidence appeal, proof that a material prosecution witness lied does not automatically make a conviction unsafe. The appellate court must assess all…

For a dog destruction order, the decision-maker must order destruction unless satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the dog will not constitute a…

Where offending comprises a campaign of rape, the sentencing court must identify a total sentence reflecting all the offending behaviour. The categorisation…

On an Attorney General’s reference, the Court of Appeal clarified that a guilty plea entered after the trial has begun should attract no more than a 10 per…

Alleged jury misconduct will not make convictions unsafe without sufficient evidence of an irregularity affecting deliberations or decision-making. A…

When sentencing sexual offences against a child, the guideline’s allowance for basic psychological harm does not prevent the sentencer from finding additional…

When a sentencing guideline places culpability in category A by reference to driving just below the dangerous-driving threshold or an extreme category B…

When sentencing a young adult, the court must consider chronological and developmental age and maturity at the time of offending, and assess how far they…

Full credit for a guilty plea is generally reserved for a plea at the first opportunity. An exception applies where particular circumstances make it…

When consecutive custodial sentences are imposed for related offences, the sentencing court must apply the totality principle. It may sentence each offence by…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence, the court confirmed that the complainant’s status as an escort, the applicant’s previous payment…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, the Court of Appeal will not re-try evidence that was available to and assessed by the jury.…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence, the court considers whether the total sentence is manifestly excessive having regard to the…

In a sentencing appeal, separate and serious offences may properly attract consecutive sentences. The totality principle can be given effect by reducing the…

A sentencing judge may go outside a Sentencing Guideline category range where the aggravating and mitigating features justify that course, before applying the…

Where no offence-specific sentencing guideline exists, the sentencer should apply the general guideline framework and consider whether any proposed comparator…

Before making a compensation order, a sentencing court must indicate its intention, invite submissions, obtain information about the offender’s means and make…

An extended sentence requires all statutory conditions to be satisfied. The four-year term condition requires a single custodial term of at least four years…

Extreme intoxication may make a victim particularly vulnerable for sentencing purposes and place rape in harm Category 2 where she cannot influence events or…

Under section 74 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, non-disclosure of filming may negate consent to sexual touching where the filming is sufficiently closely…

When sentencing for multiple offences, the totality principle requires the court to reflect the offender’s overall criminality without simply multiplying the…

Gang-related evidence may be admitted where it is relevant to motive or to whether communications between defendants were innocent, provided the statutory…

On a prosecution appeal concerning confiscation, sums proved to belong legitimately to a third party must be excluded from the confiscation calculations. The…

In sentencing for murder or unlawful act manslaughter, statutory aggravating and mitigating factors must be evaluated by judgment rather than applied…

In a sentencing trial of issue, the prosecution retains the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant’s account is untrue. A judge’s…

When an offender is sentenced for multiple serious offences, a sentence within the proper range for the lead offence may nevertheless be unduly lenient if it…

A jury’s function in a criminal trial is to decide whether it is sure of each defendant’s guilt. It need not undertake a wider inquiry to establish the truth…

Before forming an opinion on dangerousness, a sentencing court must obtain and consider a pre-sentence report unless it considers one unnecessary in the…

For an appeal seeking to introduce psychiatric evidence and raise a new partial defence, the evidence must be sufficiently compelling to justify departing from…

Sentences exceeding 30 years should be imposed only in exceptional circumstances, with careful scrutiny. Prolonged, controlling sexual offending against three…

Where a sentencing court is considering a hospital disposal for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, it must first consider whether a Mental…

On a renewed application for an extension of time and leave to appeal against conviction, the court must consider whether the proposed grounds show that the…

In a criminal trial, a judge responding to a jury irregularity should follow the structured steps in paragraph 26M of the Criminal Practice Direction 2015.…

Where a conviction under section 10(3) of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 depends on a Temporary Exclusion Order, Schedule 4 requires the Court of…

In sentencing preparatory offending involving solicitation or encouragement of serious crime, the court must assess the particular facts, the offender’s…

In sentencing for arson, culpability must be assessed on all the available evidence, including reliable evidence of mental disorder or learning disability. A…

An aggregate sentence must reflect the substance of a prolonged course of offending, rather than merely the seriousness of a selected lead count. Where one…

Serious inchoate sexual offences may justify a substantial custodial sentence where the custody threshold is passed and the sentencing judge has individually…

A post-acquittal restraining order under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 may be made only where the statutory necessity test is established on…

Sturdy shoes deliberately selected for use as a weapon can fall within paragraph 4 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020. However, a higher murder starting…

Whether a custodial sentence should be suspended is a case-specific balancing exercise. The guideline factors are not counted arithmetically, and there is no…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, leave should be refused where the proposed appeal has no good prospects and the conviction is…

On an appeal against sentence, the question is whether the sentence is manifestly excessive, regardless of the precise route by which the sentencing judge…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range that the sentencing judge could reasonably consider…

For bad character evidence between co-defendants, an important matter in issue may be raised by counsel’s case in cross-examination. The evidence must have…

Previous convictions may aggravate a sentence where the current offending demonstrates a return to an earlier criminal lifestyle and the offender’s past…

In sentencing multiple offences, the totality principle permits an uplift from a guideline starting point, but the increase must be justified by the overall…

A later criminal prosecution founded on the same or substantially the same facts as concluded proceedings will generally be an abuse of process, absent special…

For sexual assault sentencing, severe psychological harm places the offence in harm category 1, while offending by two men together engages culpability A.…

Concurrent sentences will ordinarily be appropriate where offences arise from the same incident or facts, particularly where they are committed against the…

In a sentencing appeal, the appellate court assesses the sentence by reference to the guideline category and range, harm, culpability, aggravating and…

In historical sexual-offence trials, the absence of documentary records does not by itself make the trial unfair or constitute an abuse of process. The court…

A substantially late application to renew sentence-appeal grounds must be assessed by examining all the circumstances, including the length and explanation of…

A guilty plea reduction must be calculated accurately against the sentence that would otherwise be imposed. Where the applicable guideline permits a reduction…

A private prosecutor has no legal duty to report suspected offending to the police or CPS, or to invite the CPS to take over. That does not determine the…

A sentence is not arguably manifestly excessive where it falls within the range open to the sentencing judge and the sentencing remarks show that relevant…

In sentencing for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, the court must apply the relevant culpability and harm categories and balance aggravating…

In receivership proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a person cannot use the receivership hearing to repeat or challenge a prior determination of…

In sentencing, culpability and harm must be assessed distinctly, but the same act may bear on both where it does so in different ways; that is not double…

A wasted costs order in criminal proceedings requires a party to have incurred costs as a result of an improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission by a…

When sentencing drug-supply offences, a leading role may be inferred from cumulative circumstantial evidence. Quantity, purity, packaging, associated cash and…

On an appeal against sentence, the Court of Appeal will intervene where the sentence is manifestly excessive, even though the assessment of aggravating and…

Recorded evidence from a deceased complainant may be admitted as hearsay under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The absence of cross-examination does not, by…

In assessing dangerousness, the court must consider the combined effect of all relevant circumstances. Sustained targeted sexual offending, grooming, an…

When sentencing historical sexual offences, the court must apply the statutory maxima in force when the offences were committed, while making measured…

On a sentence reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the court must identify new legal argument or information and a real possibility that the…

A defendant who indicates a guilty plea at the first stage ordinarily receives a one-third reduction. That entitlement is preserved where particular…

A failure by police or prosecutors to identify a potential victim of modern slavery and review whether prosecution is appropriate does not, without more…

In a sentence appeal, failure to refer expressly to totality does not itself require a reduction. The appellate question is whether, standing back, the overall…

A restraining order under section 360 of the Sentencing Act 2020 may be made only where it is necessary to protect a victim or another person from conduct…

Whether to suspend a custodial sentence is a balancing exercise within a wide sentencing discretion. An appellate court should not interfere merely because…

When sentencing a child for grave offending, the court must apply the child sentencing guideline as a structured exercise. It must assess seriousness…

Under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range that a sentencing judge, applying all…

In confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, where the criminal lifestyle assumptions apply, the applicable standard under section 6(7) is…

When exceptional circumstances justify departure from a statutory minimum sentence for firearm possession, the court must consider a reduction from the…

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

Where a sentence on a principal count is increased to reflect an offender’s total criminality across several offences, the increase must be made before…

Where an extended sentence is imposed for multiple offending, a special custodial sentence under section 278 of the Sentencing Act 2020 cannot also be imposed…

Sentencing guideline categories provide a structured starting point and range, not an inflexible ceiling. A sentence slightly outside the range may be…

On 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 that a…

The aggravating feature of abuse of trust is fact-specific. It requires close examination and clear justification. An employer–employee relationship alone does…

On a late application for leave to appeal, the court may examine the proposed grounds despite delay. Unsupported and generalised complaints about…

For sentencing purposes, quantities from multiple drug parcels forming part of one course of offending may be aggregated. Where the total is materially below…

On an Attorney General’s Reference, the Court of Appeal may review a sentencing indication and a sentence that is unduly lenient, but its jurisdiction is…

When an offender disputes facts said to mitigate sentence, a Newton hearing is unnecessary if, even accepting the offender’s account, those facts could not…

Previous convictions may show propensity under sections 101(1)(d) and 103(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, but fairness may require their exclusion…

In sentencing for cannabis production, a defendant’s role is assessed by the guideline’s culpability factors, separately from the harm category. A limited…

In sentencing for money laundering committed as part of a large-scale drug conspiracy, the court must assess both the offender’s individual role and the harm…

When sentencing for breach of a protective order in a domestic-abuse context, care must be taken not to underestimate the harm. A finding of very serious harm…

A defendant entitled to credit under section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 must have the qualifying period counted as time served as part of the…

When sentencing an attempted incitement of a child to engage in sexual activity, voluntary desistance requires a significant downward adjustment. The absence…

On a reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, the Court of Appeal stressed that it does not sentence afresh. A sentence is unduly lenient only…

When an applicant seeks a substantial extension of time to appeal a criminal conviction, the court must decide whether an extension is in the interests of…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction should be refused where the proposed grounds and further material disclose no properly arguable…

Where sentencing guidelines place drug supply into a custodial institution in a harm category, that prison context cannot be used again as an aggravating…

On an appeal against sentence, categorisation under Sentencing Council guidelines must reflect actual harm and culpability. A prolonged assault causing a…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal, the Court of Appeal is confined to the grounds of appeal and cannot consider new complaints raised only at the…

On an appeal against sentence, the central question is whether the total sentence is excessive, even where a different sentencing structure might have been…

An employee’s status as a public officer depends on the position held, the duties undertaken and whether those duties fulfil a governmental responsibility in…

The statutory definition of cannabis covers the plant and its parts, subject to specified exclusions, without imposing a THC threshold. Importation, possession…

When sentencing for arranging or facilitating a child sex offence, the judge must have regard to the offence that would have been committed. The applicable…

The power to make a sexual harm prevention order under section 103A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 arose only where the court dealt with the offender for an…

Where murder is committed during a robbery within paragraph 3(2)(c) of the Sentencing Act 2020, 30 years is the statutory starting point for the minimum term.…

For a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), a prohibition or requirement must be necessary to protect the public from sexual harm. It must also be effective…

On a sentencing appeal involving a possible extended sentence, the court must first apply the relevant Sentencing Council guidelines and determine the just and…

On an appeal against sentence, the Court of Appeal may redo a fundamentally flawed sentencing exercise, provided the substituted sentence is no higher overall.…

A defendant who has pleaded guilty cannot ordinarily challenge the admissibility of evidence or defects in a search warrant as grounds for an unsafe…

In a sentencing appeal, disparity with co-defendants does not require reduction of an otherwise appropriate sentence where their roles differ and their…

A sentencing judge may assess an offender’s role in a conspiracy by reference to the evidence concerning that conspiracy, even where the offender’s activities…

On a sentence appeal involving controlling or coercive behaviour and related assaults, the appellate court should respect the sentencing judge’s assessment…

Sentencing for historical sexual offences committed by a child or young person requires application of the current sentencing regime and the modern equivalent…

After a jury has retired, the court may provide further information where the interests of justice require. The default remains that evidence is given during…

Immigration status is not a general aggravating factor in sentencing. It may be relevant where a specific feature of the offending makes it appropriate, but a…

A sentence for repeated breaches of a non-molestation order must reflect culpability, harm, the number and persistence of breaches, offending on bail, relevant…

When reviewing a sentence for manifest excessiveness, the Court of Appeal assesses the sentence in the context of the whole offending and the sentencing…

For a standalone conviction for violent disorder, the sentencing category must reflect the culpability and harm established on the accepted basis of plea. A…

An extended determinate sentence requires evidence satisfying the court that the offender presents a significant risk of serious harm from further specified…

Deciding whether, and to what extent, an earlier sentence should be taken into account when sentencing later offences is an exercise of judgment. It is not…

For an offence under the Sentencing Act 2020, section 363(1), reasonable excuse involves a two-stage burden. The defendant must raise the issue evidentially.…

A driving disqualification serves several purposes, not merely future public protection. It also operates as punishment and deterrence, and its punitive effect…

In sentencing for drug supply, the defendant’s role and duration of involvement are distinct matters. Duration may mitigate the sentence, but does not…

A restriction order following a hospital order may be imposed where the statutory factors show that it is necessary to protect the public from serious harm.…

A sentencing appeal requires an arguable ground showing that the sentence is open to appellate challenge. Where no such ground is disclosed, the Court of…

When deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, the court must assess the relevant guideline factors in the round. A realistic prospect of…

A lengthy delay in seeking leave to appeal against sentence requires an extension of time, but the court may consider the proposed appeal on its merits before…

An offender is sentenced for the offence of conviction, but the sentencing court may consider all relevant circumstances when assessing its seriousness. This…

On a renewed application brought 163 days out of time, the Court of Appeal refused an extension where review of the trial material disclosed no justiciable…

On an appeal against conviction, points that were available to be explored before the jury and invite re-evaluation of the evidence do not ordinarily amount to…

Sentencing for kidnapping, including attempted kidnapping, requires close analysis of the facts and circumstances. Relevant factors include duration, location…

In a sentencing appeal, the absence of a pre-sentence report does not invalidate the sentence where the sentencing judge has sufficient equivalent information…

A sentencing court must usually obtain a pre-sentence report before deciding dangerousness and imposing an extended sentence. It may proceed without one where…

In sentencing for serious sexual offences, previous good character or exemplary conduct ordinarily attracts little or no significant weight, particularly where…

In sentencing for drug supply, the offender’s role must be assessed by weighing all case factors and balancing characteristics that fall within different…

Credit for a guilty plea entered after the first opportunity is a matter for the sentencing judge, guided by the stage at which the plea is entered and the…

Credit for a guilty plea is not preserved at one-third merely because the defendant needs further disclosure or evidence before settling the basis of plea. The…

When sentencing for causing grievous bodily harm with intent to resist or prevent apprehension, the court may have regard to the guideline for section 18…

An appellate court should not allow a conviction to stand where the prosecution clearly accepts that the conduct did not constitute the offence charged. In…

Where fresh evidence establishes that inadequate legal advice prevented a defendant from pleading guilty at the first opportunity, the Court of Appeal may give…

Where the Crown Court deals with summary offences, its sentencing powers are constrained by those available to a Magistrates’ Court. Consecutive sentences must…

Distinct offences committed in the same incident may properly attract consecutive sentences where separate aggravating features require recognition. The…

An appellate court will not interfere with a sentencing decision where the trial judge was best placed to assess culpability, harm, temperament and attitude…

A sentencing judge may place prolonged and multiple incidents of serious child cruelty in a high-culpability, category 1A bracket where the offending involves…

Expert forensic odontological evidence concerning bite marks is admissible where it is relevant, needed, given by a competent expert and sufficiently reliable.…

In sentencing for sexual assault, a sentencer may move outside the guideline category range where a combination of aggravating or other relevant factors…

Where equally culpable young co-offenders fall on opposite sides of a statutory age boundary, the sentencing court must respect Parliament’s different starting…

For sentencing a conspiracy to steal, culpability is assessed by the planning and means used, not merely by the offenders’ precautions against detection. An…

Sentencing a young person for serious sexual offending requires an individualised assessment of age, maturity, welfare, rehabilitation, mental health…

In a joint criminal trial, evidence adduced by one defendant that is prejudicial to another must be strictly relevant to the latter’s case. Once that threshold…

On an Attorney General’s reference, a sentence is not unduly lenient merely because a higher sentence could properly have been imposed. The difference must be…

For an offence of sexual activity in the presence of a child under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the prosecution must prove a link between the defendant’s…

In sentencing a serious violent offence, placing the offence in a higher culpability or harm category does not by itself justify an additional upward departure…

When a sentencing guideline classifies culpability by reference to specified features, the court must assess the evidence for each feature and may adopt a…

In a grooming-based rape case, the prosecution need not produce an express refusal by the complainant. Evidence that grooming, exploitation and dependency may…

Where a prosecution depends materially on hearsay, Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 125 requires the court to consider whether the statement evidence is so…

A sexual harm prevention order may prohibit employment involving likely unsupervised contact with children even where the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act…

Section 74(3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 creates a rebuttable evidential presumption from a proved previous conviction. It does not make the…

Under sections 35 and 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, sentencing review jurisdiction arises only where the offender has been convicted of at least one…

Under section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, earlier bad character evidence may be relevant to an important issue such as a defendant’s knowledge…

For a third striker under the Sentencing Code, the statutory minimum must be applied unless exceptional circumstances justify another disposal. Where a delayed…

A freely made guilty plea is a public confession. A later appeal cannot succeed merely because subsequent evidence might have caused a jury to doubt guilt. For…

In an Attorney General’s reference against an unduly lenient murder sentence, a high Schedule 21 starting point does not prevent a further increase for…

The Court of Appeal will extend time for a criminal appeal only where the interests of justice justify doing so. The applicant must provide a good explanation…

For the res gestae exception preserved by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, hearsay may be admitted where the maker was so emotionally overpowered that concoction…

In sentencing dangerous-driving offences, culpability must be assessed by examining the driving in its full context, including deliberate showing off…

A conviction for manslaughter does not, by itself, bar a retrial for murder arising from the same killing where the jury failed to agree on murder. The…

Section 76(2)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 concerns admissibility, although its safeguards may require a jury direction after confession…

When sentencing multiple offences forming a sustained course of conduct, the court may impose a single overall sentence reflecting the offending as a whole. It…

In sentencing serious sexual offences, a victim’s particular vulnerability is assessed at the time of the offending and is distinct from whether the offender…

In sentencing for dangerous driving, drug impairment must be assessed from the whole evidential picture. Toxicology alone does not establish impairment, but…

For offences arising from one course of conduct, the sentencing court may identify the most serious offence as the lead offence and sentence it to reflect the…

For sentencing a service offence involving disobedience, a clear and knowingly breached standing order may properly be classified as deliberate high…

For offending governed by the Sexual Offences Act 1956, rape required proof that the complainant did not consent and that the defendant knew of, or was…

For an indictment alleging fraud by misrepresentation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, the particulars must clearly identify the allegedly false…

Fresh evidence of serious dishonesty by principal prosecution witnesses may be received under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where it materially…

Fresh evidence is admissible on a criminal appeal where it materially undermines the prosecution case and demonstrates that the conviction is unsafe. That is…

Evidence that a complainant made a previous false complaint of rape is non-defendant bad character evidence. There must first be a proper evidential basis from…

For an offender aged 18 to 20, a whole life order is available only where the seriousness is exceptionally high even by the standard applicable to offences…

Expert evidence must be assessed by reference to the real issues in the case. Evidence directed to a hypothetical account which no party advances has little or…

A suspended sentence order can be activated only once. Once activation has occurred, the order’s effect is exhausted and a later court cannot lawfully activate…

In confiscation proceedings, an agreed available amount is not immune from appellate correction where a material error, honestly shared by the parties and…

A trial judge may, in the exercise of discretion, comment on the defence failure to call an available and apparently relevant witness. The judge should first…

For evidence of a complainant’s sexual behaviour to be admitted under section 41(3)(c) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, striking similarity…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal against sentence, the application should be refused where the sentence is not arguably wrong in principle and…

In sentencing very large-scale drug conspiracies, the Sentencing Council guideline permits departure from its category table where the operation is on the most…

The Sentencing Act 2020 provides the ordinary mechanism for crediting custody abroad while awaiting extradition, but only where extradition precedes trial or…

On an appeal against sentence, the question is whether the sentence was manifestly excessive in the overall circumstances. The court must assess the offending…

Applications for extensions of time, permission to appeal against conviction and sentence, and leave to adduce fresh evidence were refused. Fresh evidence must…

When sentencing an offender for offences committed before offences for which an earlier indeterminate sentence was imposed, the court must first sentence the…

A trial judge may refuse cross-examination about an unverified message where no evidence connects the complainant with it. However, where the defence has…

A conviction is not unsafe where the jury had sufficient evidence on which it was entitled to convict; corroboration is unnecessary where the primary evidence…

When sentencing after a jury verdict, the judge must use the only factual interpretation that the verdict establishes. If the verdict leaves an important…

A compensation order may be made only after the court has had regard to the offender’s means, so far as they appear or are known. That mandatory requirement…

Under the Sentencing Act, section 155, a court considering a deprivation order must have regard to the property’s value and its likely financial and other…

On an application for leave to appeal against conviction, the question is whether it is reasonably arguable that the conviction was unsafe, including whether…

Under the sentencing guidelines for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, harm category 1 may apply where a permanent, irreversible injury has a…

For an offence involving an explosive substance which is not terrorist in character, a terrorism-only sentencing guideline may still provide an appropriate…

Sentencing an adult for sexual offences committed as a child requires a structured assessment of seriousness, aggravating factors, personal mitigation, guilty…

On a submission of no case to answer based on circumstantial evidence, the question is whether a reasonable jury, properly directed, could be sure of guilt.…

For sentencing a person who was 17 when offending, the court must apply the youth sentencing framework and assess whether custody is necessary, taking account…

In sentencing serious offences, a mental disorder which greatly reduces culpability may justify imposing a different type of sentence rather than merely…

On an Attorney General’s reference, the Court of Appeal held that a sentencing judge may reflect prolonged coercive and controlling behaviour in the sentence…

A sexual harm prevention order must be necessary to protect the public from sexual harm. Its prohibitions must be effective, clear, realistic, enforceable…

A sentencing judge may place serious sexual offending in culpability category A where the evidence supports a significant degree of planning, including a joint…

Under the Criminal Procedure Rules r.36.15, the Court of Appeal may reopen a sentencing determination to correct a mathematical error where the error causes…

When a court passes a life sentence fixed by law, it must set the minimum term after taking account of the seriousness of the offence and any statutory remand…

The totality principle requires the overall sentence to reflect all the offending and to remain just and proportionate. Consecutive sentences may properly be…

Where enduring mental disorder was present when an offender was sentenced, later evidence may justify an extension of time and an appeal against sentence, even…

A conviction is not rendered unsafe by asserted failures, procedural irregularities, evidential imbalance or cumulative defects unless there is evidence that…

Consecutive sentences may properly be imposed for coercive and controlling behaviour involving separate victims, even where the offending has a common…

The totality principle requires a sentence for multiple offences to reflect the offender’s overall criminality and remain proportionate. Where breach of a…

When sentencing historic sexual offences, the court should select the closest modern comparator by reference to the conduct and the statutory scope of the…

Sentencing-guideline harm categories must reflect the actual harm caused, not only the greater harm that might have occurred. A high-risk act does not itself…

An appellate court will not interfere with a sentence merely because another judge might have selected a different term. It will uphold a sentence where the…

In a sentence appeal based on disparity, the court must compare the offenders’ circumstances, including the effect of totality where one offender is already…

For the sexual-offence sentencing guideline, abuse of trust may arise in an ad hoc arrangement where the offender has assumed a significant level of…

A murder committed to secure commercial advantage or protection for a drug-supply enterprise may properly be treated as murder for gain, attracting the 30-year…

On an appeal based on fresh expert evidence, the appellate court must decide whether the convictions are safe, rather than speculate about what a jury might…

On sentence appeals, failure to cite the Overarching Guideline on Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences, or to recite its factors, does not itself…

In sentencing multiple serious offences, a court may use a lead offence and increase its sentence to reflect totality. It should nevertheless impose a…

A conviction should not be quashed merely because another investigative step or cross-examination strategy was available. The prosecution’s duty to pursue…

On a reference for an unduly lenient sentence, intervention is justified only where the sentence falls outside the range reasonably open to the sentencing…

An adverse-inference direction may be given where a defendant omits from a defence case statement a material factual assertion on which the defence later…

A suspended sentence must be activated unless activation would be unjust in all the circumstances. The principal considerations are the offender’s level of…

A guilty plea may be vacated only where pressure exerted on the defendant means that the plea was not a true admission of guilt. The court must assess the…

Where a determinate sentence is imposed on an offender convicted on or after 1 December 2020, Sentencing Act 2020, section 325 requires credit to be specified…

Time spent on remand does not automatically count towards a community order. However, a community order contains punitive and rehabilitative restrictions, and…

In a sentencing reference, the harm category must reflect the victim’s extreme youth. A three-year-old is particularly vulnerable, placing the offending in…

When sentencing for multiple offences, a court must apply the totality guideline as a complete process. It must determine the appropriate sentence for each…

The court held that admissibility and reliability are distinct issues. A carefully reasoned ruling admitting hearsay under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is not…

A sentence for an attempted offence should ordinarily reflect that it was not completed. A separate reduction is not required, however, where the sentencing…

A jury direction concerning a young defendant must address the requirements applicable to the issues at trial. In a self-defence case, the defendant’s age and…

In a sentence appeal, a planned commercial robbery may properly be placed in the highest culpability and harm category where the enterprise involved prepared…

An indeterminate sentence for public protection was a measure of last resort under the former dangerous-offender regime. Where an extended sentence, supported…

When sentencing for multiple offences, the overriding principle of totality requires an overall sentence which reflects the offender’s aggregate culpability…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, an attempted robbery which begins in a dwelling and ends in the street may properly be…

Where relevant evidence identifies a mental disorder, developmental disorder or neurological impairment, the sentencing court must engage with the applicable…

In a renewed criminal appeal, a proposed ground must be reasonably arguable before leave can be granted. Re-arguing factual disputes, unsupported criticisms of…

A restraining order may properly be imposed following an acquittal where the evidence establishes an obsessive mindset and a real risk of further harassment.…

On an appeal against sentence, the question is whether the sentence was wrong in principle or manifestly excessive. Consecutive sentences may require an…

A sentence for dangerous driving that exceeds the statutory maximum is unlawful and must be quashed and replaced with a lawful sentence. The appellate court…

An anonymity order under section 11 may be necessary, despite open justice, where a person with a modern-slavery finding faces a real risk of re-trafficking.…

In a criminal jury trial, the judge must remain a neutral arbiter. A judge may ask questions to clarify evidence, but must not test or challenge a defendant’s…

Harassment may fall within category B2 even where persistence lasts only a short period, if the conduct escalates and causes significant distress. The…

A sentencing court must assess guilty-plea credit by reference to the stage and progress of the proceedings. The reduction is case-specific. There is no…

A defendant’s police interview which contains both inculpatory and exculpatory statements is evidence of the facts stated throughout, although the jury may…

Bad-character evidence is admissible under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where it is relevant to an important matter in issue, including the genuineness of a…

Fresh evidence should not be received under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 where it is largely inadmissible opinion, hearsay or speculation, is not…

For causing death by dangerous driving, multiple Category A culpability indicators and serious aggravating conduct may justify a substantial increase above the…

In an Attorney General reference, an appellate court will not disturb a trial judge’s assessment of psychological harm, where the judge has seen the relevant…

Where drug offending is sentenced alongside possession of a prohibited firearm carrying a mandatory minimum term, the firearm offence ordinarily requires…

In an appeal alleging improper judicial intervention during defence evidence, the question is whether the interventions, viewed in context and cumulatively…

For breach of a restraining order, the seriousness and persistence of the current conduct may properly determine a Category A culpability assessment. Earlier…

An express Court Martial rule conferring an appeal against any order or ruling in preliminary proceedings is not displaced by a requirement to use a procedure…

In a borderline sentencing case, a judge who departs from a pre-sentence report recommendation should ordinarily explain why, particularly where immediate…

A realistic prospect of rehabilitation is not, by itself, sufficient to justify suspending a custodial sentence. The sentencing court must weigh all relevant…

Where a custodial term of less than two years permits suspension, the sentencing court must give first consideration to the seriousness of the offending.…

Fitness to plead and stand trial depends on the defendant’s functional capabilities in the particular proceedings. It does not require an ability to understand…

Where self-defence is raised, the subjective question whether the defendant genuinely believed force was necessary remains for the jury if the evidence permits…

On a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) is a court of review. Its power under the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 is broad enough to permit…

Following a guilty plea, an appeal against sentence is not a means to challenge the sufficiency of the prosecution evidence or the absence of representation at…

In sentencing related offending while an offender is already serving a sentence, the court must assess the further sentence required for the additional…

A defendant must be sentenced for the offence charged and admitted by plea. The guideline for a different, more serious offence cannot be substituted merely…

A late renewed application for leave to appeal does not require the court to disregard procedural time limits and determine the merits in every case. The court…

In sentencing for a serious assault on a child, the court must stand back from the guideline calculation and give proper weight to substantial post-offence…

When co-offenders convicted of murder fall within different age bands in Sentencing Act 2020, Schedule 21, the statutory starting points must be respected.…

Entitlement to guilty-plea credit after a charge changes to a different offence is fact-sensitive. The court must identify when that offence first became a…

In criminal contempt proceedings, the court must comply with the essential safeguards in the Criminal Procedure Rules. It must explain that the respondent may…

A sentencing court may retain a residual discretion to adjust a new custodial sentence where custody served under an existing sentence cannot count towards it.…

In fixing a life sentence’s minimum term for murder, significant planning or premeditation remains a statutory aggravating feature only where the planning is…

A sentence for an historic offence must not exceed the statutory maximum applicable when the offence was committed. Where an individual concurrent sentence is…

Where time spent on remand materially exceeds the custodial sentence that would otherwise have been imposed, adding a punitive requirement to a community…

For guideline categorisation, a victim who was asleep is particularly vulnerable. The guideline starting point may also reflect the recording of the offending.…

Where a sentencing guideline requires the court to select the category which most closely resembles the case, the judge must make that assessment…

Evidence that a complainant has made false allegations of rape against others is generally non-defendant bad-character evidence under section 100, rather than…

In an exceptionally serious course of sexual offending involving multiple victims, substantial planning, abuse of trust, severe harm and significant…

In a reference against an unduly lenient sentence, totality requires a proportionate sentence for the offending as a whole, but does not permit arbitrary…

Schedule 21 must be applied flexibly to achieve a just minimum term. On a reference alleging undue leniency, the reviewing court should not conduct a…

In sentencing a conspiracy to acquire prohibited firearms, the absence of actual acquisition does not automatically place harm in a lower category. Harm is…

On a delayed application to renew an application for leave to appeal against conviction, the Court of Appeal must focus on whether the convictions under…

Fresh expert evidence will not ordinarily be received where it was deliberately withheld at trial after a justified tactical decision, does not afford a…

For offences involving grievous bodily harm, a secondary participant may have a case to answer where the evidence permits a jury to find that he joined a…

The Court of Appeal must have regard to whether proposed fresh evidence is capable of belief, may afford a ground for allowing the appeal, would have been…

For an offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting crime under Serious Crime Act 2007, sentence must reflect the gravity and potential scale of the…

In sentencing for rape, marked personal vulnerability and entirely foreseeable serious psychological harm may require a substantial upward adjustment to the…

In sentencing for robbery, the court may assess culpability by reference to the offender’s actual participation, the basis of plea and the available evidence.…

When sentencing multiple breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, the court may assess culpability by reference to the overall pattern of offending.…

A fair-trial complaint based on the loss of expert evidence is arguable where an existing expert report identifies a potentially material answer to central…

For the 25-year starting point under paragraph 5A of Schedule 21, an offender need not take a knife intending an offensive use. It is enough that they take it…

On an Attorney General’s reference, the Court of Appeal held that sentencing for causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity must reflect…

For possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, the required intention may be conditional. It is sufficient that the firearm is intended to be used…

Sentences for false imprisonment or kidnap are highly fact-specific. Duration alone is not a reliable measure of seriousness. The court must assess factors…

Time spent on remand need not reduce a life-sentence minimum term where, throughout that period, the offender was serving imprisonment for unrelated offences.…

Bad-character evidence may be admitted where it is relevant to important issues such as intention, state of mind and whether conduct was aggressive or…

A submission of no case to answer should be left to the jury where the prosecution evidence enables a properly directed jury to be sure of the material facts…

For a suspended sentence of imprisonment of six months or less, the notification requirement under Sexual Offences Act 2003 must run for seven years from…

A sentencing court must follow relevant guidelines unless it is satisfied that doing so would be contrary to the interests of justice. In a case of prolific…

A sentence is not unduly lenient merely because another judge, or the appellate court, might have imposed a somewhat longer term. Where any difference is…

When sentencing multiple sexual offences, the court must reflect the totality of the offending, including persistence, planning, violence, aggravating features…

A Criminal Behaviour Order must be directed to preventing behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and each prohibition must be precise…

Consent does not turn serious violence into lawful conduct. Where conduct causing grievous bodily harm remains unlawful, the relevant Sentencing Council…

A later conclusive grounds decision that an accused was a victim of modern slavery does not, by itself, make a prosecution an abuse of process. The court must…

For statutory conspiracy, the relevant fact or circumstance is assessed when the agreement is made. Where it is then unidentified, Criminal Law Act 1977…

For conspiracy under section 1(1)(a) of the Criminal Law 1977, the word necessarily concerns the legal character of the intended outcome, not whether the…

In sentencing an adult who committed serious dangerous-driving offences at 18, the court must apply the sentencing guideline and reach a just and proportionate…

For a prosecution appeal against a terminating Crown Court ruling under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the acquittal undertaking required by section 58(8) and…

Dangerous-driving culpability under the sentencing guidelines requires an assessment of the driving as a whole. The absence of a deliberate decision to ignore…

A jury may convict only if the prosecution has made it sure of guilt. That standard is the same as proof beyond reasonable doubt. It does not require absolute…

For an offence-specific sentencing guideline, the court must first identify the category that most resembles the case and use the single starting point…

A sentencing court must publicly pronounce credit for time spent on bail subject to a qualifying curfew. The curfew period is discounted by 50 per cent under…

In a renewed application for leave to appeal sentence, the appellate court will refuse permission where the sentencing judge made sustainable findings on drug…

A conviction is not rendered unsafe by an alleged disclosure failure where the jury received the substance of the relevant information, the chronology excludes…

When sentencing a young adult, the critical task is an individualised assessment of maturity and its effect on culpability and sentence. A judge need not…

A misdirection on a specimen count does not automatically make a conviction unsafe. The court must assess the whole evidence and ask whether, with a correct…

The scope of a police caution is determined by the caution process and contemporaneous interview material. Where the defendant admitted touching but denied…

An extended determinate sentence must not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the particular offence. Its custodial term and extension…

A sentencing court may consider the contextual background to an offence, but it must not use that background to punish an offender for a broader course of…

A covert human intelligence source suspected of crime does not trigger automatic or general disclosure of that status to the prosecutor. Under the Regulation…

A conclusive grounds trafficking decision is not binding on a criminal appellate court. The court will ordinarily respect it unless contrary evidence exists or…

Whether a custodial sentence should be suspended is a matter of evaluative judgment, not an arithmetical exercise. The sentencing guideline identifies relevant…

Fresh psychiatric evidence may be admitted on a sentence appeal where the statutory conditions are met. An autism spectrum disorder diagnosis does not…

In sentencing for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, the assessment of retained responsibility is distinct from the question whether the…

Blackmail is intrinsically serious and ordinarily calls for immediate custody with a deterrent element. Its gravity depends on the circumstances, but the…

An application to extend time and renew an application for leave to appeal against sentence should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable…

When sentencing multiple serious offences, the court may use consecutive sentences, concurrent sentences, or a lead-offence approach with uplift. The…

Where sentencing is delayed for reasons outside the defendant’s control, the sentencing court should identify the period of delay and reflect it in the final…

A sentencing guideline range must accommodate differences not only in monetary harm but also in each offender’s function and culpability. An offender’s…

A sentence for causing death by dangerous driving may properly be increased above the applicable Category A guideline starting point where several…

Under the Street Robbery Guideline, seriousness is assessed by asking whether serious physical harm, within the meaning of that guideline, was caused. The…

Time spent on remand to local authority care under section 91(3) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 does not automatically count…

When sentencing for a prolonged course of grave sexual offending, the court must sentence for the totality, not treat the sentence for one offence as a…

Sentencing-guideline references to official warnings are to be applied practically and with common sense. They are not to be construed as statutory language.…

An extension of time to seek leave to appeal against conviction is not a formality. The applicant must show good reason for delay and ordinarily that refusal…

A conviction cannot stand for an offence which had not been created when the alleged driving occurred. Where a defendant has pleaded guilty to such an offence…

An extended sentence must be attached to specified offence or offences and stated terms. It cannot be imposed globally on a custodial total comprising a…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction may be refused where the further grounds merely repeat material already considered, amount to…

When the prosecution seeks to reopen its case after presenting its evidence, the trial judge must exercise a cautious, fact-sensitive discretion. Admission is…

Under section 285 of the Sentencing Act 2020, alternative sentences may be considered when deciding whether the seriousness of offending justifies life…

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

At the close of the prosecution case, a judge need not decide whether every reasonable innocent explanation has been excluded. The question is whether a…

In service sentencing, immediate imprisonment is generally appropriate for disciplinary offending where a civilian offender in the same circumstances would…

A sentencing court may place an offence at the cusp of adjacent culpability categories where the facts justify that evaluative judgment. The guideline…

A delay of more than 13 years in seeking leave to appeal requires a full explanation and will not be extended where the proposed grounds lack merit. Fresh…

For a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range a sentencing judge could…

A judge must leave a lesser alternative offence to the jury where it is obviously raised by the evidence, meaning that it would suggest itself to an ordinarily…

Where it is alleged that an inadvertent reference in evidence may have prejudiced a jury, the question is whether a fair-minded and informed observer would…

A judge may comment forcefully on evidential matters. Such comment may nevertheless imperil a conviction where, viewed in the context of the trial as a whole…

A non-qualifying bail curfew gives no statutory entitlement to credit under section 325 of the Sentencing Act 2020. A sentencing court must nevertheless…

Fresh expert evidence is exceptional where it could and should have been adduced at trial. Section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 does not generally permit…

When sentencing a child, the seriousness of the offence remains the starting point, but the exercise must be individualistic and focused on the child. Youth…

Sentencing: In deciding whether to suspend a custodial sentence, a court must address how rehabilitation, risk management and public protection can best be…

For a person aged under 21, a sentence of imprisonment is unlawful where the statutory regime requires detention in a Young Offender Institution. The appellate…

On a submission of no case to answer under the Galbraith test, a case should ordinarily be left to the jury to assess the quality and reliability of the…

An entered guilty plea may be vacated before sentence. An equivocal plea is not a true guilty plea. Even where the plea was unequivocal, the court retains a…

Where a witness is properly treated as hostile, the prosecution may put that witness’s previous inconsistent police-interview statements to the witness and…

In sentencing for attempted murder, physical harm and psychological impact must be assessed distinctly. Physical injuries that are not of the most serious type…

A totality assessment for multiple deaths charged in separate counts is not capped by the sentencing-guideline range for a single death. Concurrent sentences…

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

Applications for an extension of time and leave to appeal against conviction may be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable error and are…

A summing-up must be assessed fairly and as a whole. It is not unfair merely because it identifies a prosecution inference that is supported by the evidence…

Where multiple deaths are caused by dangerous driving and charged separately, concurrent sentences may be imposed, provided that the overall sentence reflects…

A sentencing reduction for delay since apprehension depends on the particular facts. Ordinary investigative delay will not usually warrant a reduction. Where…

When sentencing an adult for sexual offences committed as a child, the court should start with the sentence likely to have been imposed when the offences were…

Findings made in civil proceedings are not automatically inadmissible in a criminal trial. A finding concerning a fact in issue may be admitted, but the jury…

On an appeal against sentence, appellate intervention requires an error of principle or a sentence that is manifestly excessive. Strong personal mitigation…

Where a low-value shoplifting offence is triable only summarily and the defendant has not elected Crown Court trial, a purported Crown Court indictment and…

The totality principle requires an aggregate sentence to reflect the overall harm and culpability of all offending, together with offence-specific and personal…

Where a sentence for drug supply is founded on a material error in the quantity of drugs, the appellate court should quash it and resentence on the basis of…

A conviction is unsafe only where an allegedly inaccurate, incomplete or unbalanced summing up or response to a jury question created unfairness sufficient to…

When fresh evidence purports to retract a prison confession, the appellate court must examine rigorously both the provenance of the retraction and the cogency…

A renewed application for permission to appeal against conviction should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable merit. A conviction may…

An appellate court will not interfere with a sentencing judge’s assessment where the conclusion was open on the evidence and was neither wrong nor…

Evidence that an alleged victim’s behaviour changed after sexual offending is not automatically inadmissible. It may be admitted where there is a concrete…

For a sentence of imprisonment for public protection under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the sentencing judge must personally assess whether…

An arson guideline starting point is not a ceiling. Harm must be assessed by weighing all the circumstances. A rescuer’s decision to risk life because the…

An evidential error will not render a conviction unsafe unless it could have affected the verdict. Expert comparisons with unrelated encrypted-device users are…

Sentencing for a group assault requires an evaluative assessment of culpability by reference to the applicable guideline. A victim may be vulnerable where…

A conviction will not be unsafe merely because a defendant was low in mood, distressed or engaged in self-harm during trial. The appellate court must assess…

In a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal ordinarily respects factual findings made by the trial judge after a full trial. An intention to kill may be inferred…

In sentencing arson involving an occupied home, the use of accelerant at night while occupants are asleep may place the offence in the highest relevant harm…

For stalking causing serious alarm or distress, Category 1 harm may be justified by very serious distress and substantial lifestyle change, including suicidal…

A sentencing judge may sentence above a guideline starting point where aggravating features extend beyond those necessary to place an offence within the…

A criminal jury is not required to receive a direction in the language of a civil practice direction concerning the fallibility of human memory. The fairness…

Whether a custodial sentence should be suspended is a matter for the sentencing judge’s reasonable judicial discretion. The judge must address the issues…

An adult relying on section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 must show that the offending was caused by compulsion attributable to slavery or relevant…

On a reference against an allegedly unduly lenient sentence, sentencing guidelines must be followed, but the decisive exercise is the final global assessment…

Under section 26 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, a police privilege is not confined to protection attached to a formal police power. It includes…

Section 26 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 is not confined to the formal exercise of a police power or duty. A police privilege includes a special…

A whole life order is a sentence of last resort, reserved for the few murder cases of exceptionally extreme gravity. The examples in Schedule 21 are not…

Sentencing an adult for sexual offences committed as a child requires a structured two-stage assessment under the applicable child sentencing guidelines. The…

A conviction is unsafe where the evidence on an essential ingredient is mixed but the jury is wrongly directed that the ingredient is not in doubt. Evidence…

In sentencing for causing or allowing a child’s death, culpability and harm are distinct matters. Prolonged and repeated cruelty may properly inform both the…

Time spent on remand does not automatically count towards a community order under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. It remains material when the court assesses…

A signed abandonment of an appeal is irrevocable unless treated as a nullity. It may be a nullity where the applicant’s mind did not go with the notice. That…

In sentencing a conspiracy to supply drugs, an accepted basis of plea must be read in its factual context. It does not necessarily exclude awareness of the…

Evidence said to be new cannot found an arguable challenge to the safety of a conviction where its substance was already before the jury and it would add…

Where an agreed factual premise is demonstrably inaccurate, a trial judge may invite the jury to consider a logically available inference from the evidence.…

When sentencing an organisation for a health and safety offence, the court may consider evidence of its failure to heed safety warnings where that evidence was…

A sentence is not excessive or wrong in principle where the sentencing judge has correctly assessed the offender’s role, selected a guideline harm category…

For sentencing a rape offence, previous violence against the complainant during the relationship may be an important culpability factor where it has been…

Kidnapping by deception may be established where a person is induced to enter or remain in a vehicle by a false assurance that they will be taken home. The…

Sentencing for a conspiracy must reflect the defendant’s own role, intended harm and the aggravating effect of acts carried out pursuant to the conspiracy. A…

An extension of time for an application for leave to appeal against conviction should be refused where none of the proposed grounds gives a reasonable prospect…

Once a jury has retired, it must not receive additional evidence or material, save for exceptions not relevant here. Material discovered within an admitted…

Sentencing for non-violent protest follows ordinary statutory sentencing principles. Conscientious motivation is relevant, normally to culpability, but may…

A sentencer must make an independent assessment of culpability, the need for punishment and public protection where mental disorder is relied on at sentence.…

In a case where self-defence is raised, the jury should be directed to decide whether the defendant believed force was necessary to meet an ongoing or imminent…

In an unduly lenient sentence reference, the court must assess the overall seriousness of the offending by applying the relevant guideline category, all…

Where an applicant brings a misconceived appeal-related application and causes a public authority to incur expense and the court to hold wasted hearings, the…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, an appellate court will not interfere where the trial judge has carefully applied the…

For sentencing under the bladed-article guideline, the factor concerning a place where vulnerable people are likely to be present does not apply merely because…

A renewed challenge to a sentence which has already been determined on appeal cannot ordinarily be reopened. The Court of Appeal is functus officio unless a…

The Court of Appeal will refuse a renewed application for an extension of time and leave to appeal against conviction where the proposed grounds disclose no…

A custodial sentence imposed on an unrepresented defendant is unlawful where a judge’s threat to remand the defendant in custody overbears a genuine choice…

Where a sentencing court imposes a determinate sentence on an offender who was remanded on bail subject to a qualifying electronically monitored curfew…

On a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, leave may be refused where consideration of the grounds and supporting material reveals no…

In sentencing for a drugs conspiracy, the court may assess harm by reference both to the quantities personally handled and to the quantities the conspirators…

An offence of child cruelty by wilful neglect or exposure does not require proof that the child suffered injury or died from the neglect. It is sufficient to…

A statutory conspiracy to commit an offence under section 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 is an offence known to law. It is distinct from aiding and abetting…

For the maximum reduction under the guilty plea guideline, the relevant time is when an unequivocal intention to plead guilty is indicated, normally at the…

A jury need not be discharged merely because individual jurors express concern or feel intimidated. The trial judge may address such concerns through…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Court held that the totality principle does not justify a sentence which understates the…

The totality principle requires a sentence that is just and proportionate to an offender’s overall criminality. It does not confer a general reduction for…

An appellate court may not impose an extended sentence exceeding the maximum term for the offence. Under section 254(5) of the Sentencing Act 2020, the total…

Under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only when it falls outside the range reasonably open to the sentencing judge. A…

A sentencing judge may properly treat a prolonged domestic assault involving repeated punches and kicks, life-threatening internal and brain injuries, and…

On a reference under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the reasonable sentencing range. The…

Whether a victim was particularly vulnerable for an offence-specific sentencing guideline is a fact-sensitive assessment made by reference to all the…

For multiple non-domestic burglaries, the applicable guideline category provides a starting point for the sentencing exercise, but persistent offending and…

Where an offender is already subject to a determinate sentence for unrelated offending, a further sentence may properly be consecutive. The court must…

A conviction following a guilty plea may be challenged only in limited circumstances, and the appellate court must be satisfied that the conviction is unsafe.…

For an arrangement to fall within section 328(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the property must acquire its criminal quality through criminal conduct…

On an Attorney General’s Reference, a sentence is unduly lenient only if it falls outside the range that the sentencing judge could reasonably consider…

Where a juror discloses personal experience of sexual abuse, the trial judge should inquire whether the juror can remain loyal to the juror’s oath and decide…

For non-dwelling burglary, culpability depends on the degree of planning or organisation. Some planning supports Culpability B, while a significant degree…

When sentencing for offences revealed after an earlier sentence for similar offending, the court must consider the earlier sentence in the overall…

An application for leave to appeal against conviction will fail where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable basis for concluding that the conviction is…

When a defendant is sentenced for an offence revealed after an earlier sentence for similar offending, the sentencing court must have regard to totality. It…

An extended sentence must be attached to a specified custodial sentence. A global approach to the custodial term and extension period is impermissible. Where…

For the voyeurism offence under section 67A(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, recording an image ‘beneath the clothing’ includes looking up and through a…

A sentence is not manifestly excessive on a totality challenge where it properly reflects the full scale of a defendant’s criminality, including substantial…

In sentencing for drug supply or an offer to supply, the court must assess the real harm caused or intended and apply the guideline to the actual criminality.…

For sexual offences, apparent willingness does not establish consent where voluntary intoxication has deprived the complainant of the capacity to choose.…

Where a conviction relied on as bad character evidence is later quashed, convictions in the later trial do not automatically become unsafe. The appellate court…

For a killing in domestic circumstances, the sentencing court must make an upward adjustment from the 15-year starting point prescribed by the schedule to the…

On an appeal against sentence, the Court of Appeal will not interfere with a trial judge’s factual assessment of an offender’s role unless there is internal…

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

On a submission of no case to answer founded on identification evidence, the court must assess the evidence as a whole. It must withdraw the case where there…

An appellate court reviewing a jury conviction does not substitute its own view of factual matters for the jury’s findings. Grounds that merely repeat factual…

An appellate court may interfere with a sentence only if it was manifestly excessive or wrong in principle, assessed by reference to the circumstances when it…

Where protest conduct engages Articles 10 and 11, the court must ask whether the statutory offence itself strikes a proportionate balance. For the offence of…

When a person commits serious offences as a child but is sentenced after becoming an adult, the Children guideline remains relevant. The starting point is the…

In a circumstantial case, a submission of no case to answer fails where a reasonable jury could safely convict on a reasonable assessment of the prosecution…

On an appeal against a confiscation order, fresh evidence may be received under section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, even where the interaction with…

In sentencing for serious violent attempted robbery, the court must give proper weight both to aggravating features and to substantial personal mitigation. A…

The Court of Appeal will not interfere with a jury verdict merely because a defendant disputes witness credibility. Intervention requires a material…

Where a conviction turns on a conflict of evidence, there is no arguable ground of appeal if both accounts were tested in cross-examination and the trial judge…

A conclusive grounds decision by the Single Competent Authority is admissible on appeal where a defendant’s trafficking status was overlooked or inadequately…

When a statutory starting point already reflects an aggravating feature, a sentencing judge may still identify additional aggravation arising from the…

Where consecutive sentences are imposed for offending against separate victims, the overriding principle of totality requires the aggregate sentence to reflect…

A Crown Court judge using powers under the Courts Act 2003 to sit as a District Judge must comply with the mandatory procedure in section 17A of the…

For intentional assault occasioning actual bodily harm, consent is no defence unless the conduct falls within a recognised exception. New exceptions should not…

A properly investigated concern raised by a juror does not itself establish a real possibility of bias or require discharge of the jury. Where the concern is…

On a sentence appeal, the Court of Appeal should not interfere where the sentencing judge has properly applied the relevant guideline, weighed aggravating and…

An appellate court may refuse permission to adduce fresh evidence where the material does not arguably satisfy the statutory test and could not affect the…

Serious Crime Act 2015, section 75A creates one offence of non-fatal strangulation or suffocation. It may be committed either by intentionally strangling…

For a dangerous offender, an extended sentence is insufficient where it cannot adequately protect the public and the period of serious danger cannot reliably…

Where a solicitor purports to give a defence statement, section 6E(1) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 deems it authorised unless the…

In fixing the length of a driving disqualification, a sentencing court should impose no longer a period than necessary. It must give proper weight to…

An unsafe manoeuvre causing death by careless driving falls within culpability category A only if it is an extreme example of that category-B factor or is just…

On an unrepresented application to renew applications for extensions of time and leave to appeal sentence, the Court of Appeal may adopt the single judge’s…

Deliberate falsehoods about an offender’s name and age, coupled with knowledge of a very young complainant’s age, may demonstrate planning or an element of…

Time limits for criminal appeals remain important, but the court may extend time and consider the merits as if an application were timely where the…

A discretionary life sentence for a dangerous offender remains a sentence of last resort. It may nevertheless be necessary and proportionate where the offender…

A restraining order may be imposed after an acquittal only where the evidence establishes a risk of future harassment and the order is necessary to protect the…

Where identification evidence is poor, a case need not be withdrawn from the jury if other evidence is capable of supporting its correctness. The question on a…

Data accessed after a foreign interception has finished is not interception in the course of transmission merely because access follows quickly. A request for…

Sentencing guideline categories require a judicial, multifactorial assessment of culpability and harm. A finding that an injury was life-threatening does not…

For a defendant aged 16, a detention order may be imposed only where the offence satisfies the statutory criteria in section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020.…

The totality principle requires a sentencing court to assess the overall sentence against the offender’s whole course of conduct, overall harm and culpability…

A renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence should be refused where it is not arguable that the sentence was manifestly excessive. A significant…

A sentence within the applicable guideline range will not be manifestly excessive where the sentencing judge has correctly identified the offence category…

In a sentence appeal, the principle of totality is not confined to making sentences concurrent. It may be addressed by reducing individual terms while ordering…

Where a magistrates’ court imposes consecutive terms for two or more summary offences, their aggregate must not exceed six months under section 133(1) of the…

Section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 imposes liability on a household member who causes, or fails reasonably to protect a vulnerable…

Separate trials under rule 3.29(4) of the Criminal Procedure Rules need not be ordered where offences form a sufficiently connected series and the evidence on…

In a jury-irregularity case, a juror's choice to say little or nothing during deliberations is not, by itself, a ground for discharge. The relevant question is…

An appellate complaint about trial counsel’s conduct will not render a conviction unsafe merely because another advocate might have made different tactical…

On an appeal based on fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal must decide whether the conviction is unsafe under section 2(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. It…

A post-verdict complaint of jury irregularity does not ordinarily permit examination of jury deliberations. The confidentiality of deliberations and the…

For careless driving, conduct may amount to higher culpability through aggressive driving even where speed is within the limit. Disqualification is an…

A sentencing judge does not impose an unlawful exceptional circumstances threshold merely by observing that commercial drug importation for financial gain will…

For an aggravated offence involving a dangerously out-of-control dog, destruction is mandatory unless the court is satisfied that the dog would not constitute…

An overwhelming supervening act will relieve a secondary party of liability only where the principal’s act was beyond anything that person could have…

In a conspiracy to defraud indictment, the essential offence is the dishonest agreement to deprive identified victims of something to which they are or might…

Hearsay admitted under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 remains subject to judicial control. Under section 124(2)(b), material undermining the reliability of an…

A jury may treat a defendant’s lie as strengthening the prosecution case only where it is satisfied that the lie was deliberate, concerned a material issue…

In an identification case, a positive VIPER identification following a lengthy opportunity to observe, coupled with circumstantial support, will ordinarily be…

For sentencing under the burglary guideline, an implement brought solely to gain entry is not a weapon merely because it was carried to the scene. Where the…

In sentencing for domestic burglary, the presence of occupants in the dwelling is a significant harm feature. It may justify category 1, or the higher end of…

A technical error in charging a breach of a sexual harm prevention order under the wrong statutory provision does not invalidate the conviction where the…

A renewed application for leave to appeal a conviction founded on a guilty plea will fail where the plea was voluntarily entered, supported by a signed basis…

A renewed application for permission to appeal against conviction and sentence will fail where the alleged disclosure breach is unsupported by the disclosed…

In sentencing for causing death by dangerous driving, the applicable guideline and statutory maximum may operate by reference to different dates. The judge…

On an appeal against sentence, the appellate court asks whether the sentence was wrong in principle or manifestly excessive on the information available to the…

In sentencing for money laundering, the amount laundered must be assessed accurately. A sentence imposed on the basis of a materially overstated sum is wrong…

The prosecution should ordinarily call all available evidence probative of guilt before closing its case. That practice rule is subject to exceptions. A trial…

Under section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, conspiracy is founded on a shared unlawful agreement and the requisite intention. An agreement to take violent…

An appeal against a confiscation order made by consent will succeed only in a wholly exceptional case. The expression “most exceptional circumstances” is not a…

A sentencing judge’s erroneous placement of a violent-disorder offence in a higher guideline category does not itself make the resulting sentence manifestly…