Rex v Gibbins and Proctor: CCA 1918

Wretched parents were accused of murder after their children starved to death. The court was asked whether they should be tried together: ‘The rule is, that it is a matter for the discretion of the judge at the trial whether two people jointly indicted should be tried together or separately but the judge must exercise his discretion judicially.’ If a single transaction is said to have been one in which a number have participated, it is desirable that one jury should hear the whole of the matter and give its verdicts as to who was involved and, when the charges give scope, the extent of their involvement.

Judges:

Darling J

Citations:

(1918) 13 Cr App R 134

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedAiredale NHS Trust v Bland HL 4-Feb-1993
Procedures on Withdrawal of Life Support Treatment
The patient had been severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster, and had come to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). The doctors sought permission to withdraw medical treatment. The Official Solicitor appealed against an order of the Court . .
MentionedIn Re A (Minors) (Conjoined Twins: Medical Treatment); aka In re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation) CA 22-Sep-2000
Twins were conjoined (Siamese). Medically, both could not survive, and one was dependent upon the vital organs of the other. Doctors applied for permission to separate the twins which would be followed by the inevitable death of one of them. The . .
CitedRegina v Pieterson; Regina v H CACD 8-Nov-1994
The defendants appealed against their convictions for robbery. A dog had been used to follow scents from the scene, picking up items taken in the raid. The defendants objected to admission of evidence of the dog’s activities and reliability.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Practice

Updated: 12 May 2022; Ref: scu.180378