The court upheld a decision to prosecute a 15-year-old applicant for road traffic offences rather than to divert him from prosecution and caution. Penry-Davey J said: ‘It is clear from the case of R v Chief Constable of Kent ex parte L [1991] 93 Cr App R 416 that the discretion vested in the Crown Prosecution Service to continue criminal proceedings commenced by the police is subject to judicial review by this court, but only where it can be demonstrated that the decision was made regardless of or clearly contrary to a settled policy of the Director of Public Prosecutions evolved in the public interest; for example, the policy of cautioning juveniles, a policy which the Crown Prosecution Service is bound to apply where appropriate to the exercise of its discretion to continue or discontinue criminal proceedings. However, as Watkins LJ pointed out in that case, it would be only rarely that a defendant could succeed in showing that a decision was fatally flawed in such a manner as that.’
Judges:
Penry-Davey J
Citations:
Unreported, 6 October 2000
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Chief Constable of Kent ex parte L 1991
The discretion which is vested in the Crown Prosecution Service to continue criminal proceedings commenced by the police is subject to judicial review by the High Court, but only where it can be shown that the decision was made regardless of, or . .
Cited by:
Cited – A, Regina (on the application of) v South Yorkshire Police and Another Admn 9-May-2007
Six youths challenged decisions that they should be prosecuted for offences of criminal damage rather than be given warnings in accordance with the Final Warning Scheme. They said that they had not sought representation at the police station after . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 14 July 2022; Ref: scu.259219