The respondents had been convicted by the magistrates of using a vehicle without insurance. They were fined and disqualified from holding a licence for 12 months. The Crown Court quashed their fines and disqualifications and substituted conditional discharges. The prosecutor appealed by case stated.
Held: The conditional discharges were quashed. There was no evidence upon which it could be said that it was inexpedient to inflict punishment. Moreover no special reasons had been advanced to avoid what would otherwise be a mandatory disqualification.
Lord Goddard CJ discussed the use of conditional discharges: ‘Considering also that s 12(2) of the Act of 1948 provides that the conviction of an offender who is discharged absolutely or conditionally shall in any event be disregarded for the purposes of any enactment which imposes any disqualification or disability upon convicted persons, or authorises or requires the imposition of any such disqualification or disability, and that no reference is made to the Road Traffic Act, 1930, so that convictions under that Act are in no way excluded from the provisions of s 12(2), there can be no doubt that there is jurisdiction in the court to discharge conditionally and thereby to avoid the necessity of disqualification.’
Judges:
Lord Goddard CJ
Citations:
[1950] 2 All ER 887
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act of 1948 12(2)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Clarke v Regina CACD 12-Jun-2009
The defendant had pleaded guilty to concealing criminal property. He was conditionally discharged but also made subject to a confiscation order. He appealed saying that one could not be made if only a conditional discharge was imposed.
Held: . .
Cited – Varma, Regina v SC 10-Oct-2012
The defendant had been convicted of offences under the 1979 Act, but then conditionally discharged. He had appealed against a confiscation order. The prosecutor now appealed against an order quashing the confiscation.
Held: The appeal was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.375145