The Truro Crown Court had allowed Mr Adair’s appeal against his conviction for obstructing a highway. The prosecutor appealed. Held: It had to be decided whether a particular road had become by presumed dedication a public highway. The use relied on constituted an offence under section 34(1) of the 1988 Act. A claim of long … Continue reading Robinson v Adair: QBD 2 Mar 1995
Appeals by case stated from failures at trials of charges of obstructing the public highway in the course of protests at the opening of a Defence and Security fair. Held: The DPP’s appeals were granted for the first four defendants but rejected for the second group as being without jurisdiction. As to the first four … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegle and Others: Admn 22 Jan 2019
The defendants were arrested after distributing leaflets outside a furriers, and appealed against convictions for obstructing the highway. Held: The appeals succeeded. In deciding whether there was a lawful excuse for a technical obstruction of the highway, the Court rejected the test that a use of the highway which was not incidental to passing along … Continue reading Hirst and Agu v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire: QBD 1987
Dogs which were kept by pathway could not amount to an obstruction of footpath even though they were fearsome. Citations: Times 26-Jul-1996 Statutes: Highways Act 1980 137(1) Road Traffic Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.82742
In criminal proceedings arising out of protest activity: (1) is deliberate physically obstructive conduct by protesters capable of constituting a lawful excuse for the purposes of s.137 of the Highways Act 1980?; and (2) what is the test to be applied by an appellate court to an assessment of the decision of the trial court … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler and Others: SC 25 Jun 2021
Appeal by case stated against conviction for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. The appellant had been protesting. She, correctly, thought the land to be a rivate highway. The police officer had thought it a public hghway and had acted accordingly under the 1980 Act. Held: The appeal failed. The inspector’s … Continue reading McCann v Crown Prosecution Service: Admn 21 Aug 2015
The appellant appealed conviction of wilfully obstructing, without lawful authority or excuse, the free passage along The Bridge, a bridleway, on the HS2 site off Denham Court Drive in Buckinghamshire, co Lord Burnett of Maldon CJ [2021] EWHC 3056 (Admin) Bailii Highways Act 1980 137 England and Wales Jury Updated: 01 December 2021; Ref: scu.669872
The claimant appealed against dismissal of his claim for personal injuries. He had tripped over an uneven pavement. The authority denied that the pavement was within its responsibility. The roadway had been constructed by a developer with an agreement for the authority to adopt it, but the authority said that it had not been a … Continue reading Floyd v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council: CA 5 Aug 2009
The claimants appealed against rejection of their assertion of a local right of way. They referred to old maps. The respondent relied on the definitive map showing an alternate right of way since 1950. Held: Though the claimant had a strong case, there was a sufficient basis of evidence for the recorder to have found … Continue reading Paton v Devon County Council and Another: Admn 16 Jan 2013
Whether the decision of the Supreme Court in DPP v. Ziegler [2021] UKSC 23; [2021] 3 WLR 179 requires a criminal court to determine in all cases which arise out of ‘non-violent’ protest whether the conviction is proportionate for the purposes of articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’) … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Cuciurean: Admn 30 Mar 2022
Appeal against order stopping up public footpaths. Judges: Laws J Citations: [1997] EWHC Admin 298 Statutes: Highways Act 1980 116 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Land Updated: 12 April 2022; Ref: scu.137243
Obstruction of Highway – Highway not clear The apellant protesters had been convicted of obstructing the highway by affixing themselves to a fence by a roadway by the Atomic Weapons Establishment. They argued that the road was not a highway and that any obstruction was de minimis. In particular, a green line presumed to indicate … Continue reading Carter-Brown and Others v Crown Prosecution Service: QBD 31 Jul 2017
