The claimant applied for an order quashing his convictions at the West London Magistrates’ Court for two offences: plying for hire without a licence contrary to section 7 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869; and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance contrary to section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and … Continue reading Killick v West London Magistrates’ Court: Admn 6 Dec 2012
Anonymised Party to Proceedings The BBC challenged an order made by the Court of Session in judicial review proceedings, permitting the applicant review to delete his name and address and substituting letters of the alphabet, in the exercise (or, as the BBC argues, purported exercise) of a common law power. The court also gave directions … Continue reading A v British Broadcasting Corporation (Scotland): SC 8 May 2014
The defendant pleaded guilty to the rape of a twelve year old girl on the agreed basis that he had believed her to be 15, but had been advised that given her age, his belief was immaterial. He now appealed saying that the presumption infringed his human rights. Held: The question was whether the section … Continue reading Regina v G: CACD 12 Apr 2006
Defence of Necessity has a Place in Criminal Law The defendant appealed against his conviction for driving whilst disqualified. He said he had felt obliged to drive his stepson to work because his stepson had overslept. His wife (who had suicidal tendencies) had been threatening suicide unless he drove the boy to work, since she … Continue reading Regina v Martin (Colin): CACD 29 Nov 1988
The defendant had been convicted of drugs offences, and sentenced under the 1994 Act. The gains he had made exceeded his then assets. Later he acquired further property honestly, and the Court now considered whether those assets could be taken to cover the earlier shortfall, by allowing for them when issuing a certificate to increase … Continue reading Peacock, Re: SC 22 Feb 2012
The defendant appealed against confiscation orders made under the 2002 Act. He had bought a flat with a substantial deposit from his own resources, and the balance from a lender. That lender was repaid after he took a replacement loan. He was later convicted of having misled the first lender in his application. The judge … Continue reading Waya, Regina v: SC 14 Nov 2012
The court was asked whether evidence of the commission of the criminal offence of causing death by careless driving contrary to section 2B of the 1988 Act is capable of justifying a verdict of ‘unlawful killing’ at an inquest. Held: The coroner had been wrong to leave the offences of causing death by dangerous driving … Continue reading Wilkinson, Regina (on The Application of) v HM Coroner for The Greater Manchester South District: Admn 11 Oct 2012
A Zairese national living in Paris, went to the airport to collect, as he said, a parcel of foodstuffs sent from Africa. He could not find this, but was shown a locked trunk, which he was advised to leave alone. He however took possession of it, . .
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
The defendant sought judicial review, on a renewed application, to challenge the decision to issue a speeding fine, and in the alternative that he had failed to identify the driver as required. The defendant had supplied the information but under a condition not allowing that information to be used for prosecution, citing Funke. Held: The … Continue reading Hatton, Regina (on the Application of) v Devon and Cornwall Constabulary: Admn 4 Feb 2008
Appeals were brought complaining as to the apparent reversal of the burden of proof in road traffic cases and in cases under the Terrorism Acts. Was a legal or an evidential burden placed on a defendant? Held: Lord Bingham of Cornhill said: ‘The overriding concern is that a trial should be fair, and the presumption … Continue reading Sheldrake v Director of Public Prosecutions; Attorney General’s Reference No 4 of 2002: HL 14 Oct 2004
The Secretary of State appealed a finding that the applicant was a fit and proper person to hold a licence to drive a passenger carrying vehicle, despite his conviction for two offences of indecent assault on a girl under 15, and his name being entered on the sex offenders’ register. Held: There was no provision … Continue reading Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions v Snowdon: Admn 4 Nov 2002
The defendant had been convicted of other offences at the crown court. Traffic offences were also committed for sentence. The judge imposed a disqualification and penalty points. The section clearly required either a disqualification, or imposition of points. He had erred in doing both, and the penalty points were removed. Citations: [1997] EWCA Crim 1828 … Continue reading Regina v Powell: CACD 14 Jul 1997
Evidence from 3rd Party Torture Inadmissible The applicants had been detained following the issue of certificates issued by the respondent that they posed a terrorist threat. They challenged the decisions of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission saying that evidence underlying the decisions had probably been obtained by torture committed by foreign powers, and should not … Continue reading A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2): HL 8 Dec 2005
The claimants had been detained under the 1971 Act, after completing sentences of imprisonment pending their return to their home countries under deportations recommended by the judges at trial, or chosen by the respondent. They challenged as unlawful the respondent’s, at first unpublished, policy introduced in 2006, that by default, those awaiting deportation should be … Continue reading Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 23 Mar 2011
When the appellant appeared at the Magistrates’ Court to answer a charge of driving whilst uninsured, a preliminary point was taken on her behalf that the prosecution had not been commenced within 6 months of the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant proceedings had become available. In response … Continue reading Regina v Haringey Magistrates’ Court ex parte Amvrosiou: Admn 13 Jun 1996
The claimant was severely injured when run down by the defendant driving his car. She was in Blackpool, and drunk and wandering in the highway. The defendant was himself at or near the drink driving limit. She appealed against a finding that she was 60% to blame. Held: Courts have consistently required drivers to recognise … Continue reading Eagle v Chambers: CA 24 Jul 2003
JUDGMENT SUMMARY (Not part of the judgment of the Court) The judgment which is being handed down today relates to an Attorney General’s Reference and three appeals against sentence. The cases have been listed together to enable the Court to decide whether to give sentencing guidelines for the offences of causing death by dangerous driving … Continue reading Cooksley, Stride, Cook, Crump v Regina; Attorney General’s Reference No 152 of 2002: CACD 3 Apr 2003
The victim of an unlawful act of a driver off-road sought damages from another driver and his insurers. The insurers refused to pay. Held: There is a balance to be found between the statutory purpose of compulsory motor insurance and the principal that a man should not benefit from his own wrongful act. The victim … Continue reading Churchill Insurance v Charlton: CA 2 Feb 2001
The defendants, young boys, had set fire to paper and thrown the lit papers into a wheelie bin, expecting the fire to go out. In fact substantial damage was caused. The House was asked whether a conviction was proper under the section where the defendant had given no thought to a risk of damage, but … Continue reading Regina v G and R: HL 16 Oct 2003
The defendant challenged the obligatory requirement that evidence given by a person under 17 in sex or violent offence cases must normally be given by video link. Held: The purpose of the section was to improve the quality of the evidence presented to a court. There was no absolute right for a defendant to be … Continue reading D (A Minor), Regina (on the Application of) v Camberwell Green Youth Court: HL 27 Jan 2005
The defendant appealed by case stated against his conviction for driving a Segway scooter on a footpath. He denied that it was ‘a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.’ Held: The appeal failed. The district judge had correctly read and applied the authorities. The manufacturer’s statement that the Segway was not … Continue reading Coates v Crown Prosecution Service: Admn 29 Jul 2011
The defendant resisted extradition to Brussels saying that the offence had been committed in part in England. He had absconded and been convicted. Application was made for his return to serve his sentence. The offences associated with organisation of illegal immigration, fell within the European framework list, but section 65(2)(a) was not satisfied. Held: ‘the … Continue reading Office of the King’s Prosecutor, Brussels v Cando Armas and others: HL 17 Nov 2005
The claimant had been imprisoned, but his conviction was later overturned. He had been a victim of a gross abuse of executive power. The British authorities had acted in breach of international law and had been guilty of ‘a blatant and extremely serious failure to adhere to the rule of law with regard to the … Continue reading Mullen, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: HL 29 Apr 2004
J sought habeas corpus to avoid her extradition to California on a charge of manslaughter arising from a motor accident. Her counsel argued that the unlawful killing of another by the reckless driving of a motor vehicle on a road was no longer manslaughter by the law of England, since the enactment of the Road … Continue reading Regina v Government of Holloway Prison, Ex parte Jennings: HL 1983
Mr Harrison was convicted by the Sheriff-substitute of an offence under section 7(4) of the 1930 Act on the ground that, while disqualified from holding a driving licence, he had driven a vehicle on a specific road. The Sheriff-substitute stated a case for appeal to the High Court. The facts admitted or proved included the … Continue reading Harrison v Hill: 1932
A 15-year old (Deacon or Deakin) who drove a motor car on a Council housing estate was charged with offences of driving a vehicle on a road A road in a housing estate, used only by those who resided in the estate or the visitors, and not by the public generally was held not to … Continue reading Deacon v AT (a minor): QBD 1976
The system under which the registered keeper of a vehicle was obliged to identify herself as the driver, and such admission was to be used subsequently as evidence against her on a charge of driving with excess alcohol, was not a breach of her right to a fair trial. The right not to give evidence … Continue reading Stott (Procurator Fiscal, Dunfermline) and Another v Brown: PC 5 Dec 2000
Plea of Autrefois Acquit is Narrow in Scope The defendant had been tried for and acquitted of murder. The prosecution then sought to have him tried for robbery out of the same alleged facts. The House considered his plea of autrefois convict. Held: The majority identified a narrow principle of autrefois, applicable only where the … Continue reading Connelly v Director of Public Prosecutions: HL 1964
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy. Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law because it is the antithesis of fairness. It brings the law … Continue reading Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza: HL 21 Jun 2004
The defendant was convicted under the 1994 Act of producing counterfeit CDs. He argued that the affixing of the name of the artist to the CD was not a trade mark use, and that the prosecution had first to establish a civil offence before his act could become criminal. The prosecutor appealed the decision of … Continue reading Regina v Johnstone: HL 22 May 2003
The applicants had been imprisoned and held without trial, being suspected of international terrorism. No criminal charges were intended to be brought. They were foreigners and free to return home if they wished, but feared for their lives if they did. A British subject, who was suspected in the exact same way, and there were … Continue reading A v Secretary of State for the Home Department, and X v Secretary of State for the Home Department: HL 16 Dec 2004
The claimant appealed against refusal of judicial review of decisions of the parking adjudicator as to the correctness of 39 penalty charge notices. In each case, they said that the signage supporting the notice, in particular single and double yellow lines and flashes was inadequate or wrong. It was said that a failure of any … Continue reading Herron and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v The Parking Adjudicator: CA 27 Jul 2011
The court considered the proper approach for the court to adopt, and the proper orders for the court to make, in confiscation proceedings where a number of criminals (some of whom may not be before the court) had between them acquired property or money as a result of committing an offence for which all or … Continue reading Ahmad, Regina v: SC 18 Jun 2014
