Against sentence of 6 months after failure to notify a change of address as required by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Held: Two months’ imprisonment should be substituted Citations: [2005] EWCA Crim 3612 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 24 November 2022; Ref: scu.239062
Judges: Sir Brian Leveson P QBD, Walker J Citations: [2015] EWHC 688 (Admin), [2015] 2 Cr App R (S) 25, (2015) 179 JP 187, [2015] WLR(D) 135 Links: Bailii, WLRD Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 20 November 2022; Ref: scu.544835
The basic rule is that anything said in open court may be reported. Withholding the name from the public during the proceedings will provide the basis for the making of an order under section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Citations: [1985] 1 WLR 708 Statutes: Contempt of Court Act 1981 11 Jurisdiction: … Continue reading Regina v Arundel Justices, Ex parte Westminster Press Ltd: 1985
The claimant was serving a prison sentence for serious sexual offences. He would not be released until he had completed a sex offenders programme, but one was not made available, delaying his release. Held: ‘The Secretary of State is not under an absolute duty to devise and provide courses for all who want them and, … Continue reading Regina (on the Application of Cawser) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 5 Nov 2003
The appellants challenged the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment imposed on them on their convictions for murder. They said it was an infringement of their Human Rights, being arbitrary and disproportionate. Held: The case followed on where the Anderson case left off. In these cases the judge had noted that he did not think the … Continue reading Regina v Lichniak: HL 25 Nov 2002
The claimant challenged his continued detention under the 1971 Act after his appeal to the Immigration Appeal tribunal had been successful. He had been accused of rape, but was convicted of a sexual assault, though still serious. Before being released from his sentence, the respondent had authorised his continued detention under the 1971 Act. The … Continue reading Mohamed, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Admn 16 Jun 2003
Judges: The Lord Woolf of Barnes LCJ Citations: [2005] EWCA Crim 732, [2005] 2 All ER 859, [2005] 1 WLR 2005, [2005] 2 Cr App R 149 Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 3 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.659882
The court considered appeals all relating to the application of legislation regarding the imposition of sentences for public protection. Held: Before imposing such a sentence, the court should consider all the alternative ways of providing protection for the public against the risks posed by the particular defendant, including combining such sentences with other provision. Alternatives … Continue reading Stannard and C and Others, Regina v; Attorney-General’s Reference (No 55 of 2008): CACD 26 Nov 2008
The defendant appealed conviction and sentence for sexual assaults on young girls. He complained that the prosecution had been allowed to bring in evidence of previous consistent statements. Held: The evidence of the mother had been admitted in a manner agreed between the defence and prosecutor, and the defence had not gone outside the agreement. … Continue reading Regina v Ali: CACD 14 Nov 2003
A had been charged with various indecent assaults on children. It had been intended that transitional regulations would govern thechange to the regime under the 2003 Act, but no regulations had been published. Held: It was not for the courts to fill the lacuna left by the Secretary of State. The 2003 Act recognised the … Continue reading Regina v A (Prosecutor’s Appeal): CACD 15 Dec 2005
The defendant had been convicted of sexual assaults, and made subject to a detention and training order, and also placed on the sex offenders register. On release he had failed to register as a sex offender, thinking his obligation to do so had expired. Held: The length of the sex offender registration was decided by … Continue reading Regina v Slocombe: CACD 23 Nov 2005
The defendant appealed convictions for sexual assault against four young girls. Held: The admissibility of ‘similar fact’ evidence depends upon the degree of its relevance. If only suggests propensity it is inadmissible. If it goes further and can be shown to be relevant to, and probative of, a particular issue in the case, then it … Continue reading Regina v Venn: CACD 1 Feb 2003
Appeal against the orders made in a Sexual Offences Prevention Order. Judges: Aikens LJ, Royce J, Radford QC Citations: [2010] EWCA Crim 1303 Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 104 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 19 August 2022; Ref: scu.418440
The defendant appealed his conviction of sexual activity with a person wth a mental disorder. He said that the victim had consented. The court had said that her consent was vitiated by virtue of her mental disorder. Held: For mental disorder or incapacity to found such a prosecution, the lack of capacity had to be … Continue reading Regina v C (Mental disorder: Sexual activity): CACD 23 May 2008
Several appeals were heard on references against unduly lenient sentences of sex offenders. Held: Courts faced particular difficulties when sentencing sex offenders, but there exist guideline cases, and a court engagaed in such a sentencing exercise should be conversant with the guideline cases, and act accordingly. Guideline cases are not to be applied mechanically, but … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No 37, 38, 44, 45, 51, 53, 35, 40, 43, 45, 41 and 42 of 2003): CACD 23 Oct 2003
Application for judicial review, with permission directed to a decision made at the Central Criminal Court lifting the notification requirements imposed on the interested party pursuant to Sections 81 and 82 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Judges: Laws LJ, Hickinbottom J Citations: [2013] EWHC 179 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 81 … Continue reading Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis v Central Criminal Court and Another: Admn 15 Jan 2013
This appeal is concerned with a challenge to the legality of legislation of the Scottish Parliament which deprives a person, A, who is accused of sexual activity with an under-aged person, B, of the defence that he or she reasonably believed that B was over the age of 16, if the police had previously charged … Continue reading AB v Her Majesty’s Advocate: SC 5 Apr 2017
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 8 ; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award ; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedings Citations: 24209/94, [2003] ECHR 391, (2004) 39 EHRR 34 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Jurisdiction: Human Rights Cited by: Cited – Re E (A Child); E v Chief Constable of the Royal … Continue reading YF v Turkey: ECHR 22 Jul 2003
ECHR Article 8-1 Respect for private life Positive obligations Failure to protect complainant’s personal integrity in criminal proceedings concerning sexual abuse: violation Facts – In 2001, at the age of 14, the applicant was allegedly victim of repeated sexual assaults by a family friend, X. Following a criminal complaint by the applicant’s mother, investigations started … Continue reading Y v Slovenia: ECHR 28 May 2015
The claimant was a Zimbabwean National who was to be removed from the country. He was unlawfully held in detention pending removal. He sought damages for false imprisonment. He had been held over a long period pending decisions in the courts on the legality of returning failed asylum applicants to Zimbabwe. Held: Despite allegations of … Continue reading SK, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Admn 25 Jan 2008
The claimant’s daughter had made a complaint of rape. She alleged that she was sexually harassed by the investigating police officer, and sought damages also from the defendant, his employer. The officer denied that anything improper or non-consensual had taken place. Held: The taking of the statements was a course of conduct and was plainly … Continue reading KD v Chief Constable of Hampshire: QBD 23 Nov 2005
The defendant appealed against his conviction for causing or inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity following a guilty plea after a direction that it was not necessary for the prosecution to identify any particular child as having been so affected. He had written graffiti in train stations seeking … Continue reading Regina v Jones: CACD 15 May 2007
The defendant had been convicted of repeatedly raping a 12 week old girl, and other sexual offences against young girls. After pleading guilty, the judge had passed a life sentence setting the minimum term at six years which was lower because of the guilty plea. His partner had been convicted as an accomplice but took … Continue reading French and Webster, Regina v (Attorney General’s Reference No 14 and No 15 of 2006): CACD 8 Jun 2006
The defendant youth appealed his conviction and sentence for rape by oral penetration of a six or seven year old boy. He complained that the evidence contained such inconsistences that the case should not have proceeded. Complaint was also made that the court setting had been inappropriate for a thirteen year old witness. Held: The … Continue reading H, Regina v: CACD 25 Apr 2006
The defendant appealed conviction for indecent assault. The charge alleged assault by intercourse per vaginam with a 13 year old girl. He had been 14 years old at the time. The verdict indicated consent by the complainant. Held: The appeal failed. The 2003 Act was not retrospective. However: ‘to hold that the express intention of … Continue reading Timmins, Regina v: CACD 15 Nov 2005
The defendant argued that the 2003 Act was in breach of his article 8 rights. He had been registered as a sex offender, but the offence for which he had been convicted involved no proof of intention. Held: The claimant having brought the proceedings, his name was not to be withheld. The substantial point was … Continue reading Forbes v Secretary of State for the Home Department: QBD 26 Jul 2005
Judges: Rose VP CACD LJ, Richards, Bean JJ Citations: [2004] EWCA Crim 2646, [2005] 1 Cr App R (S) 102 Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 67(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.226797
The defendants had had confiscation orders made against them. They had appealed on the basis that the orders were made more than six months after sentence. The prosecutor now appealed saying that the fact that the order were not timely did not invalidate them. Held: The appeal was allowed. The confiscation orders made by the … Continue reading Regina v Soneji and Bullen: HL 21 Jul 2005
Each applicant sought judicial review of the refusal of the tribunal to authorise their release from detention under the 1983 Act, saying that the Tribunal had accepted evidence to a lower standard of proof. Held: Neither the criminal standard of proof nor the level of proof set down in Addington applied. To raise the standard … Continue reading Regina (DJ) v Mental Health Review Tribunal; Regina (AN) v Mental Health Review Tribunal (Northern Region): Admn 11 Apr 2005
Various sentences were appealed in respect of defendants convicted of sexual offences under the 2003 Act. Held: The Act contained new extended ranges of sexual offences, and these required resvised sentencing guidelines. The starting point for non-penile penetration will be generally lower. No safe guideline could be given for a rape of a child under … Continue reading Regina v Corran, Regina v Cutler, Regina v Heard, Regina v Willams: CACD 2 Feb 2005
The defendant appealed his sentence after conviction for making indeent photographs and pseudo-photographs, saying tha imposition of a restraining order in addition to other sentences was incorrect. Held: The 2003 Act had brought in an extended definition of ‘serious sexual harm’. However at the time when the order wa smposed, the power to make it … Continue reading Monument v Regina: CACD 21 Jan 2005
The court considered appeals by the Attorney-General against sentences considered to be too lenient, and in particular where a community penalty had been imposed rather than a sentence of immediate imprisonment. Held: The Court emphasised the need for the strict care to be taken in selecting such cases, for appeal. The court should not interfere … Continue reading Attorney General’s Reference v Nos. 31, 45, 43, 42, 50 and 51 of 2003; Regina v McInerney; Regina v McLean: CACD 16 Jul 2004
The six claimants sought damages for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. Each had been arrested on an officer’s suspicion. They operated CCTV equipment, and it appeared that tapes showing the commission of an offence had been tampered with. Each was of good character, and the suspicion was based solely on their opportunity to have access … Continue reading Cumming and others v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police: CA 17 Dec 2003
Two defendants appealed in respect of alleged offences under common law of causing a public nuisance. One had sent race hatred material, and the other bomb hoaxes, through the post. Both claimed that the offence was so ill defined as to be an infringement of their rights. Held: The offence of causing a public nuisance … Continue reading Goldstein, Rimmington v Regina: CACD 28 Nov 2003
PC (Jamaica) The defendants appealed against their convictions for capital murder. Held: The appeals were allowed, and non-capital convictions substituted. It is not enough to comply with section 2(2), for the judge to give directions to the jury about the law of joint enterprise and as to whether the murder was committed in the circumstances … Continue reading Hunter, Moodie v The Queen: PC 8 Oct 2003
There had been a racist attack. The victim was set on fire and killed in the street by assailants. His relatives sought compensation. However the assailants were not agents of the state and they were duly prosecuted, convicted and sentenced. No blame attached to state authorities for the killing and no breach of the state’s … Continue reading Menson v United Kingdom: ECHR 6 May 2003
The defendant had been sentenced for offences of violence, but an additional period was imposed to protect the public. He had been refused leave for reconsideration of that part of his sentence after he completed the normal segment of his sentence. He wanted a consideration which would parallel the new won rights of review for … Continue reading Giles, Regina (on the Application of) v Parole Board and Another: HL 31 Jul 2003
The court rejected a challenge to the Home Secretary’s decision to substitute a period of 18 months for the 9 months recommended by the Parole Board to be passed in open conditions before the prisoner’s next review. ‘[The right not to be detained arbitrarily] can be breached as a matter of law if the Home … Continue reading Spence, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 23 May 2003
Certification of point of law for an appeal to the House of Lords: ‘Whether it is an abuse of process for the Crown to prosecute a charge of indecent assault under Section 14(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 in circumstances where the conduct upon which that charge is based is an act of unlawful … Continue reading Regina v Jones: CACD 16 Jan 2003
(Scotland) A detention in hospital which was capable of preventing the deterioration of a psychopathic disorder in a patient was sufficient to bring his detention within the requirement for treatment which might alleviate a condition, which phrase has a wide meaning. ‘Medical treatment’ could include treatment which alleviates or prevents a deterioration of the symptoms … Continue reading Hutchison Reid v Secretary Of State For Scotland and Another: HL 5 Feb 1998
The claimants sought to set aside warrants and executions under them to provide assistance to a foreign court investigating alleged unlawful assistance to companies in Bosnia Herzegovina. Held: The issue of such a warrant was a serious step. The court gave guidance on the practice to be followed, but it was not correct for the … Continue reading Energy Financing Team Ltd and others v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Bow Street Magistrates Court: Admn 22 Jul 2005
The court allowed an appeal against conviction on charges of sex abuse where the underlying offences had taken place many years before. ‘In this case it has to be recognised that because of the delay that occurred, in our judgment the appellant was put in an impossible position to defend himself. He was not . … Continue reading Regina v B: CACD 2003
Each defendant appealed against the imposition of an extended sentence of imprisonment. Held: The The provisions were unduly complicated and about to change again. Courts would see their way clear by focussing on the offence for which the extended sentence was to be considered, and bearing in mind that the purpose of this particular form … Continue reading Regina v Pepper, Regina v Barber, etc: CACD 28 Apr 2005
The defendant appealed a sentence of six years detention in a young offender institution for oral rape. Held: The court should make no distinction in penalty between vaginal, anal or oral rape. The dangers might be different, but they remained real. Cases will vary in the offensiveness to the victim and courts should recognise the … Continue reading Regina v Ismail: CACD 15 Feb 2005
The defendant had approached the complainant as she walked at night to post a letter. When she declined to have sex with him, he grabbed her track suit bottoms by the pcket. She ran off. He appealed conviction for sexual assault, saying that the touching had not been sexual. Held: To decide whether a touching … Continue reading Regina v H (Sexual Assault: Touching): CACD 1 Feb 2005
The Attorney General appealed the sentence of 18 months imposed on the defendant for sexual assault by a digital penetration. Held: The maximum sentences for the offence had been increased to life imprisonment, and accordingly sentence levels generally should be increased beyond what it would have been when classified as an indecent assault. The starting … Continue reading Regina v Garvey, Attorney-General’s Reference (No 104 of 2004): CACD 25 Oct 2004
The respondent appealed against a finding that the provision which made a loan agreement completely invalid for lack of compliance with the 1974 Act was itself invalid under the Human Rights Act since it deprived the respondent lender of its property rights. It was also argued that it was not possible to make a declaration … Continue reading Wilson v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; Wilson v First County Trust Ltd (No 2): HL 10 Jul 2003
The claimant made a claim as regards a sexual assault committed against him in prison. The Panel refused the claim on the basis that he had consented. Held: A claim might succeed where the consent was vitiated in such circumstances as would leave the assault a criminal offence. The claimant was vulnerable and had been … Continue reading Regina (E) v Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel: CA 3 Mar 2003
The claimant dived into a lake, severely injuring himself. The council appealed liability, arguing that it owed him no duty of care under the Act since he was a trespasser. It had placed warning signs to deter swimmers. Held: The council’s appeal succeeded. The risk of injury arose, not from any danger due to the … Continue reading Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council and others: HL 31 Jul 2003
The police were asked by shopkeepers concerned about shoplifting, for photographs of thieves so that the staff would recognise them. The police provided photographs including one of the claimant taken in custody. The traders were told only to show them to staff. Held: A duty of confidence could arise when the police photographed a suspect … Continue reading Hellewell v Chief Constable of Derbyshire: QBD 13 Jan 1995
The complainant asked for the numbers of teaching staff who had been investigated in connection with offences under section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and for details of the outcome of these investigations. The public authority refused to confirm or deny whether it held information falling within the scope of this request and … Continue reading Devon and Cornwall Constabulary (Decision Notice): ICO 25 Aug 2009
In each case the defendant had commited violent or sexual offences and were caught by the new mandatory sentencing provisions, and been made subject to life imprisonment, or detention for public protection, or an extended sentence. Held: The court set out to summarise, not restate the provisions. ‘[T]he offender must be convicted of a ‘specified … Continue reading Lang and Others, Regina v: CACD 3 Nov 2005
Widowers claimed that, in denying them benefits which would have been payable to widows, the Secretary of State had acted incompatibly with their rights under article 14 read with article 1 of Protocol 1 and article 8 of the ECHR. Held: The Secretary’s appeal succeeded. Section 6 of the 1998 Act permitted the discrimination as … Continue reading Hooper and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: HL 5 May 2005
Several lone parents challenged the benefits cap, saying that it was discriminatory. Held: (Hale, Kerr LL dissenting) The parents’ appeals failed. The legislation had a clear impact on lone parents and their children. The intention was to encourage claimants back into work. It was said that thus contradicted the other policy of providing no free … Continue reading DA and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: SC 15 May 2019
Balancing Rights of Prisoner and Society The appellant had been convicted of the murder of three police officers in 1966. His tariff of thirty years had now long expired. He complained that material put before the Parole Board reviewing has case had not been disclosed to him. Held: The appeal failed (by a majority). The … Continue reading Roberts v Parole Board: HL 7 Jul 2005
The appellant was detained under section 37 of the 1983 Act as a mental patient with a restriction under section 41. He sought his release. Held: The standard of proof in such applications remained the balance of probabilities, but that standard was flexible, and varied according to the seriousness of the allegation. The only misdirection … Continue reading AN, Regina (on the Application of) v Mental Health Review Tribunal (Northern Region) and others: CA 21 Dec 2005
An injunction effective against the world, was granted to restrain any act to identify the claimant in the media, including the Internet. She had been convicted of murder when a child, and had since had a child herself. An order had been granted protecting her and her child until the child was 18. She now … Continue reading X, A Woman Formerly Known As Mary Bell v Stephen O’Brien, News Group Newspapers Ltd MGN Ltd: QBD 21 May 2003
The appellant, a boy aged 15, had been warned as to admitted indecent assaults on girls. He complained that it had not been explained to him that the result would be that his name would be placed on the sex offenders register. The Chief Constable appealed a decision that this was an interference in his … Continue reading R, Regina (on the Application of) v Durham Constabulary and Another: HL 17 Mar 2005
Police had discovered quantities of stolen goods at the appellant’s business premises. He was convicted of receiving stolen goods, and confiscation order made. He now appealed from the inclusion in that order of sums of VAT which had already been accounted for to HMRC. Held: (Hughes and Toulson JJSC dissenting) The defendant’s appeal succeeded. Including … Continue reading Harvey, Regina v: SC 16 Dec 2015
The applicant sought to challenge the 2004 Hunting Act, saying that it had been passed under the provisions of the 1949 Parliament Act which was itself an unlawful extension of the powers given by the 1911 Parliament Act to allow the House of Commons to bring into law an Act which had not been approved … Continue reading Jackson and others v Attorney General: HL 13 Oct 2005
The defendant appealed against his convictions for sexual assaults committed in the course of providing articicial insemination of various women. Sir Brian Leveson P QBD, Cranston, Singh JJ [2015] EWCA Crim 632 Bailii Sexual Offences Act 2003 3 England and Wales Crime Updated: 29 December 2021; Ref: scu.545614
The court was asked whether the powers conferred under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (‘the SOA 2003’) enable a person who is subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (‘SOPO’) to be required to wear a Location Monitoring Device, ‘a tag’, when away from the premises at which he is residing or staying overnight. The … Continue reading Richards, Regina (on The Application of) v Teesside Magistrates’ Court and Another: CA 16 Jan 2015
Nine counts of voyeurism, contrary to section 67(3) and (5) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 Lord Justice Edis, Mr Justice Turner, Her Honour Judge Karu, (Recorder of Southwark) [2021] EWCA Crim 1583 Bailii England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 24 December 2021; Ref: scu.670356
UTIAC Country guidance (1) In the aftermath of the armed revolution that brought about the fall of the dictatorial and repressive regime of Colonel Qadhafi, the central government in Libya has relied on various militias to undertake security and policing functions. Those militias and the many others that operate within Libya, often have their own … Continue reading AT and Others (Article 15C; Risk Categories) (CG): UTIAC 14 Jul 2014
Background evidence is admissible ‘Where it is necessary to place before the jury evidence of part of a continual background of history relevant to the offence charged in the indictment and without the totality of which the account placed before the jury would be incomplete or incomprehensible, then the fact that the whole account involves … Continue reading Regina v Pettman: CACD 2 May 1985
The claimant sought damages against the police, and wanted to bring in evidence of previous misconduct by the officers on a similar fact basis. They had been imprisoned and held for several years based upon admissions which they said they had obtained by improper pressure. Held: Evidence in civil cases is dealt with in two … Continue reading O’Brien v Chief Constable of South Wales Police: HL 28 Apr 2005
The claimant sought damages for malicious prosecution, and sought to adduce similar fact evidence. The defendant appealed an order admitting the evidence. Held: Comparisons between admission of similar fact evidence in civil and criminal proceedings were made. In general, the greater the putative force of the evidence the less ready a court should be to … Continue reading O’Brien v Chief Constable of the South Wales Police: CA 23 Jul 2003
The issue raised by this appeal is the relationship between a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (‘SOPO’) under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the powers of a court exercising family jurisdiction under the Children Act 1989 where, as in this case, the order relates to a child of the defendant. [2005] EWCA Crim 3660, [2006] … Continue reading D v Regina: CACD 16 Dec 2005
The appellant was charged with pre-2003 Act sexual offences. He wished to give evidence that he honestly believed the complainant was consenting to sexual activity with him because, earlier on the same evening, he had observed her behaving in a sexually explicit manner on stage in a nightclub. He sought leave to cross-examine the complainant … Continue reading Bahador, Regina v: CACD 15 Feb 2005
peck_ukECHR2003 The claimant had been filmed by CCTV. He had, after attempting suicide, left home with a knife, been arrested by the police and disarmed, but then sent home without charge. The CCTV film was used on several occasions to advertise the effectiveness of the CCTV system, of the police and otherwise. Only in later … Continue reading Peck v The United Kingdom: ECHR 28 Jan 2003
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
Police Officers had been acquitted of misconduct in public office. They had stood by in a police station custody suite as a prisoner lay on the floor and died. Held: The trial took place before R -v- G which had overruled Caldwell. The standard of recklessness to be show was that laid down in Cunningham. … Continue reading Attorney General’s Reference (No 3 of 2003): CACD 7 Apr 2004
amwell_dogherty The claimant had secretly recorded the disciplinary hearings and also the deliberations of the disciplinary panel after their retirement. The tribunal had at a case management hearing admitted the recordings as evidence, and the defendant appealed, saying also that it had been disclosed too late. Held: The evidence contained in the recordings was relevant … Continue reading Amwell View School v Dogherty: EAT 15 Sep 2006
The defendant appealed the making of a sex offender order under 1998 Act. The justices had found that the defendant was a sex offender within section 2(1)(a) and that he had acted on a number of occasions in a way which brought him within section 2(1)(b). Held: The civil standard of proof is flexible and … Continue reading B v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary: QBD 5 Apr 2000
Common Law – Public Nuisance – Extent The House considered the elements of the common law offence of public nuisance. One defendant faced accusations of having sent racially offensive materials to individuals. The second was accused of sending an envelope including salt to a friend as a joke. The envelope had leaked causing a terrorist … Continue reading Regina v Rimmington; Regina v Goldstein: HL 21 Jul 2005
The defendants appealed against their convictions for rape, denying mens rea and asserting a belief (even if mistaken) that the victim had consented. Held: For a defence of mistake to succeed, the mistake must have been honestly made and need not have been reasonably held. Where a defendant had sexual intercourse with a woman without … Continue reading Regina v Morgan: HL 30 Apr 1975
The House gave guidance how it would treat an invitation to depart from a previous decision of the House. Such a course was possible, but the direction was not an ‘open sesame’ for a differently constituted committee to prefer their views to those of the committee which determined the decision unanimously or by a majority. … Continue reading Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent): HL 1966
Second Division, Inner House. The petitioner said that the statutory delay of 15 years after leaving prison before a review of the idenite notification provisions of the 2003 Act were incompatible with his right of respect for his private life in terms of Article 8.1 of the European Convention. Lord Carloway, Lord Justice Clerk [2015] … Continue reading Main Against Scottish Ministers: SCS 22 May 2015
The claimant had decided to go for a midnight swim, but was injured diving and hitting a submerged bed. The landowner appealed a finding that it was 25% liable. The claimant asserted that the defendant knew that swimmers were common. Held: The Act imposed liability if four conditions were met: the premises were dangerous, the … Continue reading Donoghue v Folkestone Properties Limited: CA 27 Feb 2003
Specific Intention as to Damage Caused (Court of Criminal Appeal) The defendant wrenched a gas meter from the wall to steal it. Gas escaped. He was charged with unlawfully and maliciously causing a noxious thing, namely coal gas, to be taken by the victim. Held: Byrne J said: ‘We have considered those cases R v … Continue reading Regina v Cunningham: CCA 1957
In each case complaint was made about the way in which the judge had dealt with applications by the Crown to bring in the defendant’s bad character as evidence of his propensity to commit the crime. Held: The court set out the applicable principles. Parliament had intended to assist evidence based findings of guilt without … Continue reading Regina v Hanson; Regina v Gilmore; Regina v Pickstone: CACD 22 Mar 2005
Reckless HIV transmission – Grievous Bodily Harm The defendant appealed against his conviction for inflicting grievous bodily harm. He had HIV/Aids, and was found to have transmitted the disease by intercourse when the victims were not informed of his condition. It was not suggested that any rape had occurred or that he had intended to … Continue reading Regina v Dica: CACD 5 May 2004
A mandatory lifer is to be permitted to suggest the period of actual sentence to be served. The Home Secretary must give reasons for refusing a lifer’s release. What fairness requires in any particular case is ‘essentially an intuitive judgment’, changes over time, and the requirements are flexible and closely conditioned by the legal and … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Doody and Others: HL 25 Jun 1993
One claimant said that as a foreign resident pensioner, she had been excluded from the annual uprating of state retirement pension, and that this was an infringement of her human rights. Another complained at the lower levels of job-seeker’s allowance payable to those under 25. Held: (Lord Carswell dissented in part.) The claims failed. The … Continue reading Carson, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; Reynolds v Same: HL 26 May 2005
Evidence allowed – Care Application after Abuse Children had made allegations of serious sexual abuse against their step-father. He was acquitted at trial, but the local authority went ahead with care proceedings. The parents appealed against a finding that a likely risk to the children had still been been found. Held: A care order could … Continue reading In re H and R (Minors) (Child Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof): HL 14 Dec 1995
Two defendants accused of murder each sought to place blame for the victim’s death on the other. One sought to rely upon the other’s record of violence as evidence of his co-accused’s propensity to violence.
Held: The record was admissible. By . .
(Scotland) The power to detain a person suffering from a mental illness, in order to ensure the safety of the public, and even though there was no real possibility of treatment of the mental condition in hospital, was not a disproportionate . .
(Trinidad and Tobago) The appellant was an attorney. A complaint was made that he had been given money to buy land, but neither had the land been conveyed nor the money returned. The complaint began in 1988, but final speeches were not heard until . .
Each defendant challenged the use of bad character evidence against them under the 2003 Act.
Held: There is no blueprint for bad character directions. The requirements for a fair trial will depend upon the evidence and the issues which arise . .
The defendants appealed their convictions for being members of proscribed organisations. They were members of the ‘Real IRA’, but only the IRA was actually proscribed.
Held: The appeals failed. In construing an Act of Parliament it may be of . .
Appeal from conviction of having ‘intentionally arranged or facilitated an act which he intended to do which would involve the commission of an offence under any of sections 9 to 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, namely penetrative sexual activity . .
The court faced an appeal against a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment on pleas of guilty to 6 indecent assaults. The judge imposed 2 years’ imprisonment consecutive on each Count totalling 12 years.
Held: The judge was purporting to exercise . .
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The defendant appealed his sentence for the rape of a child under 13. Held: In setting the sentence, the judge had referred to consultation guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. The applicable guide case was Millberry until and unless the consultation was concluded and new guidance given. The sentence was reduced to the starting … Continue reading Regina v Lloyd (BP): CACD 28 Feb 2007
The defendant appealed his conviction for the offence of controlling a prostitute for gain. Held: The appeal failed. ‘Control’ in this context did not require the defendant to be shown to have compelled or otherwise coerced the prostitution. ‘Control’ included but was not limited to compulsion, and could be exercised in many ways. The offence … Continue reading Regina v Massey: CACD 19 Oct 2007
Claim for judicial review of a decision of the Crown Prosecution Service to continue with a prosecution of the claimant for an offence under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Judges: Latham LJ, Sullivan J Citations: [2008] EWHC 2976 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 5 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime … Continue reading Tolhurst v Director of Public Prosecutions: CACD 18 Nov 2008
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
The defendants appealed their convictions for rape of a girl under 13. Held: The appeals were dismissed, but the sentences were reduced to conditional discharges. Judges: Lord Phillips CJ Citations: [2006] EWCA Crim 821, [2006] 1 WLR 2052 Links: Bailii Statutes: Sexual Offences Act 2003 5 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Regina … Continue reading G and R v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CACD 12 Apr 2006
The defendant was fifteen. He was convicted of statutory rape of a 13 year old girl, believing her to be 15. He appealed saying that as an offence of strict liability he had been denied a right to a fair trial, and also that the offence charged was excessive, violating his right to privacy. Held: … Continue reading Regina v G (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening): HL 18 Jun 2008
The defendant appealed against his conviction for sexual grooming. Held: ‘On the face of it, the fact that the description of the offence in the heading is ‘meeting a child following sexual grooming etc’ might be taken to suggest that the behaviour antecedent to any arranged meeting must itself be sexual in nature. The phrase … Continue reading Gaviria v Regina: CACD 19 Jul 2010