The appellant was waiting for a train when his bag was stolen. After a search, the thief tried to deter the appellant from calling the police by suggesting that the bag contained items the appellant should not be carrying. From the bag the appellant produced a curved martial arts sword, in its sheath. He testified that he was a Buddhist and that he practised Shaolin, a traditional martial art. He had taken the sword and knife with him because he did not like to leave them in the place where he was staying in Clacton, and he liked to stop at remote and uninhabited places to practise Shaolin. The police were called and a small Ghurkha style knife was also found. He suggested he had a defence of lawful excuse. The judge directed that no defence had been put forward, and that the jury should convict. The Court of Appeal certified a question as to when if ever a judge was entitled to direct a jury to return a guilty verdict.
Held: ‘Had the learned judge left the present case to the jury and directed them in the ordinary way, it seems very likely that they would have convicted. There could then have been no effective appeal. As it is, the Court of Appeal’s judgment highlights the dangers of judicial intervention. It may well have been ‘very far from clear’ what the appellant’s intentions were. The nature and extent of the appellant’s religious motivation had been the subject of evidence. The appellant’s evidence of not wanting to leave the weapons at home with no one to look after them may well have given rise to nuances . . not recognised by the judicial mind. These were pre-eminently matters for evaluation by the jury.’
Judges:
Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Steyn, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe and Lord Carswell
Citations:
[2005] UKHL 9, Times 11-Feb-2005, [2005] 1 WLR 661
Links:
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 1988 139(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Stonehouse HL 1977
The defendant had been charged with attempting to obtain property by deception by fabricating his death by drowning in the sea off Miami in Florida. The final act alleged to constitute the offence occurred outside the jurisdiction of the English . .
Appeal from – Regina v Cheong Wang CACD 10-Dec-2003
. .
Cited – Woolmington v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 23-May-1935
Golden Thread of British Justice – Proof of Intent
The appellant had been convicted of the murder of his wife. She had left him and returned to live with her mother. He went to the house. He said he intended to frighten her that he would kill himself if she did not return. He wired a shotgun to . .
Cited – Regina v Bown (Mark) CACD 23-Jun-2003
The defendant was charged with having in his possession a locked blade. His defence was that he had good reason, relying upon the explanation given at the police station. The judge withdrew the defence from the jury. He appealed, saying the judge . .
Cited – Regina v Bown (Mark) CACD 23-Jun-2003
The defendant was charged with having in his possession a locked blade. His defence was that he had good reason, relying upon the explanation given at the police station. The judge withdrew the defence from the jury. He appealed, saying the judge . .
Cited – Regina v Thompson 1984
The appellant, in Kuwait, had fraudulently caused a bank there to credit his bank balances in England.
Held: The court discussed its jurisdiction: ‘It is of course a basic principle of our criminal law that no British subject can be tried . .
Cited – Joshua v The Queen PC 1955
The Board of the Privy Council considered the possibility of a judge directing a jury to find guilt.
Held: In a jury trial the judge has no fact finding role
Lord Oaksey said: ‘On the second question their Lordships are of opinion that it . .
Cited – Chandler (TN) v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 12-Jul-1962
The defendants appealed from conviction for offences under the 1911 Act. They were supporters of an organisation seeking to prevent nuclear war, and entered an Air Force base attempting to obtain information they would later publish. They pursued a . .
Cited – Kelleher, Regina v CACD 20-Nov-2003
The defendant, out of strong conviction, entered an art gallery and knocked the head from a statue of Margaret Thatcher.
Held: The court examined the breadth of the defence of ‘lawful excuse’ to a charge of criminal damage, and whether a court . .
Cited – Regina v Gordon (Note) CACD 1987
. .
Cited – Regina v Challinor CACD 1984
. .
Cited by:
Appealed to – Regina v Cheong Wang CACD 10-Dec-2003
. .
Cited – Quayle and others v Regina, Attorney General’s Reference (No. 2 of 2004) CACD 27-May-2005
Each defendant appealed against convictions associated variously with the cultivation or possession of cannabis resin. They sought to plead medical necessity. There had been medical recommendations to move cannabis to the list of drugs which might . .
Cited – Regina v F CACD 16-Feb-2007
The defendant was charged with offences for having been in possession of a document or record containing information of a kind ‘likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism’. It was thought he was associated with a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 29 June 2022; Ref: scu.222690