The defendant sought to assert that he was of previous good character. The prosecution knew of convictions abroad, and sought to admit them in rebuttal. The 1984 Act did not deal with foreign convictions. Held: The 1851 Act still applied, and appropriately certified evidence of foreign convictions could be admitted. Police fingerprint evidence was also … Continue reading Regina v Mauricia: CACD 25 Feb 2002
The citation of previous conviction is to be limited to the substance and effect, excluding only the formal parts. Citations: Gazette 08-Feb-1995, Independent 22-Nov-1994, Times 21-Nov-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 27(3)(b), Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 73(2) Criminal Practice Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.86789
The defendant appealed against his conviction for the murder of his partner. He said that the court should have accepted his plea under section 54 of the 2009 Act, having wrongly admitted as evidence his previous covictions in Bulgaria at a time when, he said, people of his racial descent were regularly wrongly convicted. Pitchford … Continue reading Mehmedov v Regina: CACD 18 Jul 2014
This judicial review raised for express decision whether a person whose premises have been searched and whose property seized under a search warrant must have enough information grounding the warrant to judge its lawfulness and the retention of the material seized under it. In this case the information before the justice of the peace granting … Continue reading Haralambous v St Albans Crown Court and Another: Admn 22 Apr 2016
The claimant challenged a production order made by the magistrates in respect of journalists’ material. They complained that the application had used secret evidence not disclosed to it, and that the judge had not given adequate reasons to support the decision. The poice were investigating an offence under the 1989 Act. Held: It was common … Continue reading British Sky Broadcasting Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v The Central Criminal Court and Another: Admn 21 Dec 2011
The defendant appealed against his conviction for conspiracy to defraud. His co-defendant and alleged co-conspirator had been acquitted. Held: The appeal against conviction failed. The defence knew that they were going to have to deal with the prosecution’s case that the appellant’s relationship to Murphy regarding the Murphy-related transactions was one of mutual dishonesty. It … Continue reading Mehta v Regina: CACD 31 Dec 2012
The appellant appealed his conviction for murder. He had shot his lover as she walked away from an argument. The fact of his conviction following mention of a guilty plea to possession of the firearm was complained of. Held: The judge had directed the jury properly as to the conviction for possession of a firearm … Continue reading Regina v Shanks: CACD 19 Mar 2003
Interpretation of ‘discretion’ in excluding evidence is to be limited. Citations: Ind Summary 07-Mar-1994 Statutes: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 78 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Evidence Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.87339
An unlawful bug of a private conversation on private property, was nevertheless correctly admitted into evidence if it was not unfair to do so within the context of the trial. Citations: Independent 14-Jun-1994, Times 01-Jun-1994, Gazette 13-Jul-1994 Statutes: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 78 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Appealed to – Regina v … Continue reading Regina v Khan (Sultan): CACD 1 Jun 1994
The defendants appealed against their convictions for conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration law, saying that they had been based on evidence obtained by the police from credit reference agencies in breach of their rights under the 1984 Act. Held: The appeals failed. The defendants had expressly agreed in their credit applications and finance agreements … Continue reading Bhatti and Others v Regina: CACD 30 Jul 2015
QBNI ‘The applicant challenges the refusal of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to provide him and his solicitor with tapes of police interviews conducted with him as an assisting offender following the making of a written agreement with a specified prosecutor pursuant to section 73 (1) (b) of the Serious Organised Crime and … Continue reading Haggarty, Re Judicial Review: QBNI 9 Mar 2012
The court discussed when it was appropriate for the Court of Appeal to substitute other lesser convictions, after the main conviction had been declared unsafe. Held: After studying the authorities at length, the court felt that the various convictions should be quashed, but that in some cases there was a possibility of substituting verdicts of … Continue reading Regina v Graham, Kansal, etc: CACD 25 Oct 1996
The absence of the protection of a rule against self-incrimination under the company law questioning procedure, didn’t make the use an admission in criminal proceedings unfair. DTI Inspectors may continue their inquiries after it has become clear that offences have been committed provided the caution is given. Citations: Independent 28-Nov-1995, Times 28-Nov-1995, Gazette 15-Dec-1995 Statutes: … Continue reading Regina v Saunders and Others: CACD 28 Nov 1995
Information which had been volunteered without questions was not an interview for PACE purposes. Citations: Times 23-Mar-1994 Statutes: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 84, 86 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 08 October 2022; Ref: scu.87318
The claimant was a non-white head teacher, alleging that her school governors and local authority had undermined and had ‘deliberately endorsed a targeted campaign of discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation’ against her as an Asian head teacher; and that the Council, ‘deliberately and unlawfully endorsed a targeted campaign of discrimination, bullying and harassment and victimisation … Continue reading Singh v Moorlands Primary School and Another: CA 25 Jul 2013
Where a general conspiracy is charged in a single count, it is not bad for duplicity only because the evidence offered to prove it includes proof of the subsidiary conspiracies entered into in carrying out the general conspiracy. Duplicity is a matter of form, not a matter relating to the evidence called to support the … Continue reading Regina v Greenfield: CACD 1973
The appellant had been charged with and disciplined for a prison offence. He was refused legal assistance at his hearing, and it was accepted that the proceedings involved the determination of a criminal charge within the meaning of article 6 of the Convention, that the deputy controller was not an independent tribunal and that the … Continue reading Greenfield, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: HL 16 Feb 2005
The provisions of the Code of Practice regarding identification parades are mandatory and additional unwritten conditions are not to be inserted. Where there was an identification and the suspect challenged that identification, and consented to the parade, the parade must be held. There is nothing in the words of code of practice to allow police … Continue reading Regina v Forbes (Anthony Leroy) (Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 1999): HL 19 Dec 2000
The complainat had seen the burglar/defendant, noted his car number and later identified the car to the police. He identified the defendant from a group identification, but the codes of practice were not followed. Held: Though the Codes had been breached the court must look to see whether this had lead to any unfairness, and … Continue reading Regina v Grannell: CACD 1990
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political persecution. The defendants now appealed from rejection of the defendants’ claim to state immunity and … Continue reading Belhaj and Another v Straw and Others: SC 17 Jan 2017
The defendant appealed against an order at a preparatory hearing that evidence of his previous convictions and the manner of his actions should be admissible at his trial for two murders. A ruling had been given which the defendant said would restrict his right to deny those offences. Held: The defendant’s bare assertion Citations: [2010] … Continue reading C v Regina: CACD 17 Dec 2010
The DPP appealed by case stated against a dismissal of a charge against the respondent following a driving incident. He complained of the admission of bad character evidence saying that it would be unfair under section 78 of the 1984 Act. The magistrates had accepted that submission. Held: The Crown had sought to adduce the … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Agyemang: Admn 24 Jun 2009
The claimant had had computers seized by the defendant under searches despite his assertion that they contained legally privileged material. The claimant had been discredited as an expert witness in cases relating to the possession of indecent images. Held: The warrant had been obtained without proper consideration of the question of whether any of the … Continue reading Bates and Another v Chief Constable of the Avon and Somerset Police and Another: Admn 8 May 2009
The applicants had been charged with offences, but later acquitted. On arrest they had had DNA samples and fingerprints taken, and the details added to the national DNA database. The police refused to remove the records after the acquittals. Held: The appeals failed. The refusal to remove the records was not an infringement of a … Continue reading Regina (on the application of S) v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, Regina (Marper) v Same: CA 12 Sep 2002
The defendant appealed against his conviction for sexual assault on his daughter. Whilst he was in custody, the police approached his wife and took a statement from her which was used in evidence. The defendant complained that since they had not warned her that she was not compellable as a witness, the statement should not … Continue reading RL v Regina (Evidence of wife): CACD 7 May 2008
Presumption in Favour of Open Proceedings There had been an unauthorised dissemination by the petitioner to third parties of the official shorthand writer’s notes of a nullity suit which had been heard in camera. An application was made for a committal for contempt. Held: The House equated the contempt to a breach of an injunction … Continue reading Scott v Scott: HL 5 May 1913
The police went to detain the appellant under the 1983 Act. To do so they entered the property against her wishes. She resisted detention, and now appealed her conviction for assaulting the Police officers in the execution of their duty, saying that the entry was unlawful, and that detention under the 1983 Act was not … Continue reading D’Souza v Director of Public Prosecutions: HL 15 Oct 1992
The claimants had been imprisoned for many years before their convictions were quashed. They claimed compensation under the Act. The assessor said that there should be deducted from the award the living expenses they would have incurred if they had not been in prison. Held: The statutory scheme replaced an ex gratia scheme, and there … Continue reading Independent Assessor v O’Brien, Hickey, Hickey: CA 29 Jul 2004
The claimant sought judicial review of the granting of a special protection order with regard to the retention of emails sent by their customers, and for permission to destroy material relating to the application. The result, said the applicant, would overwhelm their storage systems, and to put them in breach of section 1 of the … Continue reading NTL Group Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v S Constabulary: Admn 22 Jul 2002
A driver was arrested for driving with excess alcohol. At the police station, he was to be tested with the Lion Intoximeter. The officer tested the machine and it calibrated correctly. This was at about a quarter after midnight; the sergeant’s watch said 00.13 am, but the time display on the machine read 23:00. Part … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v McKeown and Jones: HL 20 Feb 1997
An unmarried partner in a long-term relationship with the accused was a compellable witness against him even though, had they been married, she would not have been. The statutory provisions applied to husband and wife and no one else. Citations: [2002] 1 CAR 39 Statutes: Police and Criminal Evidence 1984 Cited by: Cited – Bala … Continue reading Regina v Pearce: CACD 2002
Documents had been taken by the defendant’s officers in the course of an investigation into an alleged fraud. The plaintiff now sought their release for the use in civil proceedings so as to prevent his opponent misleading the court. Held: The claim failed. Since the police were authorised to seize, retain and use the documents … Continue reading Marcel v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis: 1990
Lion Laboratories manufactured and marketed the Lion Intoximeter which was used by the police for measuring blood alcohol levels of motorists. Two ex-employees approached the Press with four documents taken from Lion. The documents indicated that the Lion Intoximeter had faults which could have resulted in a significant number of motorists being wrongly convicted. Lion … Continue reading Lion Laboratories Ltd v Evans: CA 1985
In each case the local authority sought to recover possession of its own land. In the Lambeth case, they asserted this right as against an overstaying former tenant, and in the Leeds case as against gypsies. In each case the occupiers said that the recovery of possession interfered with their right respect for their family … Continue reading Kay and Another v London Borough of Lambeth and others; Leeds City Council v Price and others and others: HL 8 Mar 2006
The court was asked whether proceedings in a military court against soldiers for disciplinary offences involved criminal charges within the meaning of Article 6(1): ‘In this connection, it is first necessary to know whether the provision(s) defining the offence charged belong, according to the legal system of the respondent State, to criminal law, disciplinary law … Continue reading Engel And Others v The Netherlands (1): ECHR 8 Jun 1976
The defendant appealed against an unsuccessful application to exclude evidence where it was claimed there had been incitement by an agent provocateur. Held: The appeal failed. There is no defence of entrapment in English law. All evidence which is relevant is prima facie admissible in a criminal trial, although the trial judge has a discretion … Continue reading Regina v Sang: HL 25 Jul 1979
The appellant challenged an order suspending him from practice as a solicitor for two years. He had previous findings of professional misconduct in failing to pay counsels’ fees. In the course of later disciplinary proceedings he was found to have misled the court as to the circumstances of a tribunal hearing when obtaining a stay. … Continue reading Aaron v The Law Society (the Office of the Supervision of Solicitors): QBD 13 Oct 2003
The claimant sought damages against the police, and wanted to bring in evidence of previous misconduct by the officers on a similar fact basis. They had been imprisoned and held for several years based upon admissions which they said they had obtained by improper pressure. Held: Evidence in civil cases is dealt with in two … Continue reading O’Brien v Chief Constable of South Wales Police: HL 28 Apr 2005
Complaint was made as to the entry by police officers into premises seeking a knife. Held: May LJ said: ‘The expression ‘saving life or limb’ is a colourful, slightly outmoded expression. It is here used in close proximity with the expression ‘preventing serious damage to property’. That predicates a degree of apprehended serious bodily injury. … Continue reading Baker v Crown Prosecution Service: Admn 27 Jan 2009
The plaintiffs had been indicted on counts alleging conspiracy to import drugs and conspiracy to forge traveller’s cheques. During the criminal trial it emerged that there had been such inadequate disclosure by the police that the proceedings were stayed as an abuse of process. The plaintiffs then instituted civil proceedings alleging conspiracy to injure and … Continue reading Darker v Chief Constable of The West Midlands Police: HL 1 Aug 2000
The court was asked to decide from whom DNA samples could lawfully be taken by the Police,and for how long they should be kept. The first respondent now said that a declaration of incompatibility of section 64(1A) could not be avoided. Held: (Majority: Lord Dyson, Lord Phillips, Lady Hale, Lord Judge and Lord Kerr. Dissenting: … Continue reading GC v The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis: SC 18 May 2011
Each defendant said they had not received a fair trial in that the court had admitted written evidence of a witness he had not been allowed to challenge. The witnesses had been victims, two of whom had died before trial. It was suggested that the court must implement the ECHR decision in Al-Khawaja. Held: The … Continue reading Horncastle and Others, Regina v: SC 9 Dec 2009
The claimant was a male to female trans-sexual who had been refused employment as a police officer by the respondent, who had said that the staturory requirement for males to search males and for females to search females would be impossible to comply with. She had sought to be employed on the basis that her … Continue reading A v West Yorkshire Police: HL 6 May 2004
The applicants challenged their convictions and sentences for conspiracy to corrupt. They owned a company manufacturing fuel additives. Technology developments meant that they came under increasing pressure on sales. They were said to have entered into corrupt agreemets to boost sales, sweetener payments being said to have been made by their agents. They complained that … Continue reading Serious Fraud Office v Papachristos and Another: CACD 19 Sep 2014
The Bank anticipated criticism in an ad hoc enquiry which was called to investigate its handling of a matter involving the claimant. The claimant sought disclosure of the documents created when the solicitors advised employees of the Bank in preparing to present the Bank’s case, and the Bank now appealed an order granting such access, … Continue reading Three Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6): HL 11 Nov 2004
The respondent was convicted of sexual offences against two groups of boys. The trial judge directed the jury that they would be entitled to take into account the uncorroborated evidence of the second group as supporting evidence given by the first group. Held: The House considered what was the general character of relevant evidence. Lord … Continue reading Regina v Kilbourne: HL 1973
The defendant appealed against orders allowing the use in evidence against him of information provided by him in ancillary relief proceedings, and without prejudice negotations with his wife’s solicitors. Held: The information provided through the formal ancillary relief process had been obtained under compulsion, and the rules had been intended to require full disclosure and … Continue reading K, Regina v: CACD 28 Jul 2009
The claimant, a teacher, said he had been unlawfully arrested and detained after an allegation of assault from a pupil. Having attended the police station voluntarily, he said that the circumstances did not satisfy the required precondition that an arrest was necessary. He said that the fact of the arrest would operate against him in … Continue reading Richardson v The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police: QBD 29 Mar 2011
The defendant appealed against his convictions for sexual assaults. He was aged twelve at the time of the offences, but had been prevented from arguing that he had not known that what he was doing was wrong. The House was asked whether the effect of the 1998 Act was to abolish the entire doctrine of … Continue reading JTB, Regina v: HL 29 Apr 2009
In an earlier judgment, redactions had been made relating to reports by the US government of its treatment of the claimant when held by them at Guantanamo bay. The claimant said he had been tortured and sought the documents to support his defence of his case in the US. The remaining issue was as to … Continue reading Mohamed, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 4): Admn 4 Feb 2009
The defendant appealed against his convictions for possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply. He complained at the use of of text messages found on his phone against him, saying they were hearsay. Held: The texts contained assertions by a third party intending them to be believed, and were to be admitted as evidence … Continue reading Regina v Leonard: CACD 28 Apr 2009
The defendant had been convicted, under regulations made under the Act, of smoking in a railway carriage. He sought to challenge the validity of the regulations themselves. He wanted to argue that the power to ban smoking on carriages did not . .
The defendant had been accused of attempting to import controlled drugs, but the substances actually found were not in fact a controlled drug, though he had believed and intended them to be. He appealed saying that he should not be conviced of an . .
This is a continuation of the list of significant recent cases on our front page. As a most recent case pushes its way to the top, the last on teh front page falls into here. Newest significant cases.
‘The first two claimants – both of whom are children aged 11 – and the third claimant David Morris seek permission to challenge their stop-and-searches under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (‘PACE’) on 5 and 6 August 2008. The . .
There had been a collision between two ships. The plaintiff sought to have admitted in evidence a film of radar echoes recorded by a shore radio station. The defendants argued that evidence produced mechanically and without human intervention was . .
(As redacted) Search warrants were challenged on the grounds that insufficient care had been taken of the possibility of the presence of privileged and or ‘excluded’ material. . .
1267 – 1278 – 1285 – 1297 – 1361 – 1449 – 1491 – 1533 – 1677 – 1688 – 1689 – 1700 – 1706 – 1710 – 1730 – 1737 – 1738 – 1751 – 1774 – 1792 – 1793 – 1804 – 1814 – 1819 – 1824 – 1828 – 1831 – 1832 … Continue reading Acts
Please note (June 2010: that these law-bytes will soon (but not very soon and slowly) be re-organised, and re-posted within the main swarb.co.uk law-blog. This will allow much more powerful crosslinking for users between the various pages. All the existing pages will be left in place, but only the replacements will be updated. Eventually all … Continue reading law-bytes
Our law-index is a substantial selection from our database. Cases here are restricted in number by date and lack the additional facilities formerly available within lawindexpro. Please do enjoy this free version of the lawindex. Case law does not ‘belong’ to lawyers. Judgments are made up of words which can be read and understood (if … Continue reading law index
