Category: Crime

Pace and Another v Regina: CACD 18 Feb 2014

The defendants, scrap metal merchants, appealed against convictions for attemption to deal in stolen metals. The court was asked as to the mental element required for criminal attempt under section 1 of the 1981. The context here was an accusation of concealing, disguising or converting criminal property contrary to s.327(l) of the 2002 Act, under which it was necessary to establish that certain elements were suspicious.
Held: The appeals against conviction were allowed. Section 327(1) required the defendant to have known that the property was criminal property. Mere suspicion of that fact was insufficient.

Davis LJ, Blake, Lewis JJ
[2014] EWCA Crim 186, [2014] WLR(D) 81, [2014] 1 Cr App R 34, [2014] Lloyd’s Rep FC 319, (2014) 178 JP 133, [2014] 1 WLR 286
Bailii, WLRD
Criminal Attempts Act 1981 1, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 327(1)
England and Wales

Crime

Updated: 30 November 2021; Ref: scu.521484

Regina v Lally: CACD 7 Jul 2021

Appeal from conviction of attempted murder.

Lady Justice Simler DBE,
Mrs Justice Cutts DBE,
And,
His Honour Judge Picton,
(Sitting as a Judge of the Cacd)
[2021] EWCA Crim 1372
Judiciary
England and Wales

Crime

Updated: 30 November 2021; Ref: scu.670127

Richardson and Another v Director of Public Prosecutions: SC 5 Feb 2014

The defendants had protested against the activities of a shop, by trespassing. They were said to have committed the offence of aggravated trespass under section 68 of the 1994 Act. They objected in part that this infringed their article 10 right of free speech.
Held: The postulated offences all were either not demonstrated to have been committed by the occupants of the shop at the time of the defendants’ trespass or were at most collateral to the core activity of selling rather than integral to that activity. The occupants of the shop were, accordingly, engaged in the lawful activity of retail selling at the time and section 68(2) provided no defence to the defendants.
The article 10 claim also failed. Article 10 does not confer a licence to trespass on other people’s property in order to give voice to one’s views.
Lord Hughes spoke abot section 68 of the 1994 Act: ‘The intention of the section is plainly to add the sanction of the criminal law to a trespass where, in addition to the defendant invading the property of someone else where he is not entitled to be, he there disrupts an activity which the occupant is entitled to pursue. Section 68(2) therefore must mean that the additional criminal sanction is removed when the activity which is disrupted is, in itself, unlawful, which may be either because the occupant is himself trespassing, or because his activity is criminal. Mr Southey’s realistic concession is correct, for not every incidental or collateral criminal offence can properly be said to affect the lawfulness of the activity, nor to render it criminal. It will do so only when the criminal offence is integral to the core activity carried on. It will not do so when there is some incidental or collateral offence, which is remote from the activity. The decisions in Hibberd and Nelder are both consistent with this approach. The certified question ought thus to be answered ‘Yes’.’

Lady Hale, Deputy President, Lord Kerr, Lord Hughes, Lord Toulson, Lord Hodge
[2014] UKSC 8, [2014] 1 Cr App R 29, [2014] 2 WLR 288, [2014] 1 AC 635, [2014] WLR(D) 52, [2014] Crim LR 817, [2014] 2 All ER 20, UKSC 2012/0198
Bailii, Bailii Summary, WLRD, SC Summary, SC
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 68, European Convention on Human Rights 10
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Nero and Another v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 29-Mar-2012
Parties appealed against convictions for aggravated trespass under the 1994 Act arising from trespassing demonstrations. They argued that the lawfulness of the activity being carried out on the land subject to the trespass is an ingredient in the . .
Cited – Regina v Jones (Margaret), Regina v Milling and others HL 29-Mar-2006
Domestic Offence requires Domestic Defence
Each defendant sought to raise by way of defence of their otherwise criminal actions, the fact that they were attempting to prevent the commission by the government of the crime of waging an aggressive war in Iraq, and that their acts were . .
Cited – Ayliffe and others v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 21-Apr-2005
The case concerned actions taken at military bases by way of protest against the Iraq war. Each raised questions arising from the prosecution of the appellants for offences of aggravated trespass. The defendants asserted, among other things, that . .
Cited – Hibberd v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 27-Nov-1996
The defendant trespasser set out to stop the clearance of land for the construction of a new by-pass. He gave evidence that one or more of the tree-fellers was using a chainsaw but not wearing gloves and suggested that that raised the real . .
Cited – Nelder and Others v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 3-Jun-1998
Hunt saboteurs set out to disrupt a hunt, and were accused of offences of aggravated trespass under the 1994 Act. They defended saying that they had been prevening unlawful activities. They brought evidence that at the outset of the hunt, two . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Crime

Updated: 29 November 2021; Ref: scu.521158

Khan and Others, Regina v: CACD 12 Mar 2009

The court discussed constricting of the classes of individual liable for duty on tobacco products which the 2001 Regulations introduced.

Hughes LJ VP, King J, Gordon HHJ
[2009] EWCA Crim 588
Bailii
Tobacco Products Regulations 2001 12(1)
Cited by:
Cited – Mackle, Regina v SC 29-Jan-2014
Several defendants appealed against confiscation orders made against them on convictions for avoiding customs and excise duty by re-importing cigarettes originally intended for export. They had accepted the orders being made by consent, but now . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Crime

Updated: 29 November 2021; Ref: scu.520856

Regina v Smith: CACD 24 May 2011

Appeal from conviction of murder on one ground – the difficulties faced by the defence at trial when a decision was made not to call its fingerprint expert and the fresh fingerprint evidence now available.

Lord Justice Thomas
[2011] EWCA Crim 1296, [2011] 2 Cr App Rep 16
Bailii
England and Wales

Crime

Updated: 28 November 2021; Ref: scu.440135

Campaign Against Antisemitism v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 9 Jan 2019

The CAA challenged the decision of the DPP to take over and discontinue its private prosecution of Mr Ali under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 for statements he made at a rally which he led in Central London on 18 June 2017. Under section 5, it is an offence to use abusive words within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby. The DPP took the view that, in all the circumstances, the words used were not ‘abusive’ within the meaning of that provision so that a prosecution was more likely than not to fail. As a result, under the DPP’s policy in respect of private prosecutions, she was bound to take over the prosecution and discontinue it, which she did. The CAA submits that, on the undisputed facts, that decision was irrational. The DPP maintains that the decision was lawful.

[2019] EWHC 9 (Admin)
Bailii
England and Wales

Crime

Updated: 28 November 2021; Ref: scu.632088

Powlesland v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 9 Dec 2013

The defendant apealed against his conviction for having taken part in a public procession, a a Critical Mass Cycle Ride, knowingly in breach of conditions attached to it by the Police. The defendant had argued that the ride was not a procession.
Held: The appeal failed. ‘The power to give directions is to be used, not just when the organisers of a procession have been co-operative enough to tell the police in advance of their intentions as to a specific route, but and perhaps more importantly when they have not done so. It would be an absurd interpretation if a direction, aimed at preventing serious disruption, could not be given unless the police knew as a matter of objectively provable fact that the procession would follow a specific route from A to B via particular roads, despite disruptive organisers masking their intentions. It cannot be that, until the police know the specific route, they cannot use s12 to prevent the use of a reasonably possible but seriously disruptive route. The power to give directions would not be useable when most needed; and it could always be objected that the police did not know what the route was to be, but had merely believed, however reasonably, that it could take a disruptive route.’

Goldring LJ, Ouseley J
[2013] EWHC 3846 (Admin), (2014) 178 JP 67, [2014] 1 WLR 2984, [2014] WLR(D) 139
Bailii, WLRD
Public Order Act 1986 12(5)
Citing:
Cited – Kay v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis HL 26-Nov-2008
The claimant had been involved in a monthly cycle ride through central London which had continued for many years. The ride took place without any central organisation and without any route being pre-planned. They objected to being required to apply . .
Cited – Kay v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Admn 27-Jun-2006
For many years and in many large cities, once a month, cyclists had gathered en masse to cycle through the city in a ‘Critical Mass’ demonstration. There was no central organisation. Clarification was sought as to whether the consent of the police . .
Cited – Flockhart v Robinson 1950
A challenge was made to the organising of a procession. Its route was determined by Mr Flockhart as he went along.
Held: For the purposes of section 3(4) of the 1936 Act, a procession ‘is a body of persons moving along a route’ and that, by . .
Cited – Jukes and Others v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 16-Jan-2013
Two of those participating in a march demonstrating against cuts in the education budget, left that march to join the Occupy Movement’s demonstration in Trafalgar Square against the excesses of capitalism. They were, convicted at Westminster . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Crime, Road Traffic, Police

Updated: 28 November 2021; Ref: scu.519993

Hinds and other v The Queen; Director of Public Prosecutions v Jackson, attorney General of Jamaica (Intervenor): PC 1 Dec 1975

The Gun Court Act 1974 of Jamaica established special courts at different levels to deal with varieties of crimes involving guns. There was provision for hearings to be held in camera. Certain offences carried mandatory life sentences reviewable only by a panel appointed by the Governor-General. The appellants each appealed convictions by the courts complaining that Magistrates had had assigned to them cases properly only triable by High Court judges, that the system infringed the duty to provide an open system of trial, and that the review panels included non-judiciary exercising judicial duties, infringing the doctrine of separation of powers.
Held: Though the courts themselves were validly constituted, certain powers which under the Constitution were reserved to High Court judges had been wrongly assigned to magistrates. The provisions allowing hearings in camera were valid, since there was sufficient reason in the need for public safety to support them. The review panel effectively set terms of imprisonment, a function which was assigned under the Constitution to the judiciary. The creation of the panel was an attempt by the executive to exercise the duties of the judiciary, and was unconstitutional. Diplock L: ‘In the field of punishment for criminal offences, the application of the basic principle of separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers that is implicit in a constitution on the Westminster model makes it necessary to consider how the power to determine the length and the character of a sentence which imposes restrictions on the personal liberty of the offender is distributed under these three heads of power. … In the exercise of its legislative power, Parliament may, if it thinks fit, prescribe a fixed punishment to be inflicted upon all offenders found guilty of the defined offence – as, for example, capital punishment for the crime of murder. Or it may prescribe a range of punishments … What Parliament cannot do, consistently with the separation of powers, is to transfer from the judiciary to any executive body whose members are not appointed under Chapter VII of the Constitution, a discretion to determine the severity of the punishment to be inflicted upon an individual member of a class of offenders.’ Elements of the statute providing for mandatory life sentences to be imposed by lower courts were void, but the provisions were severable, and the remainder were valid for superior courts. In each case the convictions stood, but the cases were remitted to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica for re-sentence. ‘[constitutions] differ fundamentally in their nature from ordinary legislation . . . They embody what is in substance an agreement reached between representatives of the various shades of political opinion in the state as to the structure of the organs of government through which the plenitude of the sovereign power of the state is to be exercised.’ The Constitution established a regime which provided, in respect of the higher Jamaican judiciary ‘that their independence from political pressure by Parliament or by the executive in the exercise of their judicial functions shall be assured by granting to them such degree of security of tenure in their office as is justified by the importance of the jurisdiction that they exercise.’ This independence was assured by the provisions enacting that ‘They can only be removed from office upon the advice of the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council in the United Kingdom given on a reference made upon the recommendation of a tribunal of inquiry consisting of persons who hold or have held high judicial office in some part of the Commonwealth.’

Diplock L, Dilhorne Viscount (Dissenting), Simon of Glaisdale L, Edmund-Davies, Fraser of Tullybelton L (dissenting)
[1976] 1 All ER 1976, [1976] 2 WLR 366, (1975) 119 SJ 864, [1976] Crim LR 124, [1977] AC 195
(Jamaica) Gun Courts Act 1974
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Attorney General for Ontario v Attorney General for Canada PC 1924
A provincial legislature was said to have exceeded its powers and contravened the British North America Act.
Held: Any provision made by the constitution as to the security of status and tenure of the judiciary applies to all individual judges . .
Cited – Attorney General v Antigua Times Ltd PC 1975
The Board should not seek to determine questions not directly raised in the appeal before it. . .
Cited – Liyange v Regina PC 1966
The appellant, who had been involved in an attempted coup in Ceylon, sought to argue that a retroactive law relating to his trial was void.
Held: The argument succeeded. The separation of powers inherent in the Constitution had been infringed, . .
Cited – Ladore v Bennett PC 1939
Parliament cannot sidestep a restriction in the constitution by a colourable device. . .
Cited – Deaton v Attorney General and Revenue Commissioners 1963
(Supreme Court of Ireland) The court looked at a law in which the choice of alternative penalties was left to the executive: ‘There is a clear distinction between the prescription of a fixed penalty and the selection of a penalty for a particular . .
Cited – Attorney General for Alberta v Attorney General for Canada PC 1947
The Board considered the severability of statutory provisions viewed for constitutionality: ‘The real question is whether what remains is so inextricably bound up with the part declared invalid that what remains cannot independently survive or, as . .
Cited – Attorney General of Australia v The Queen and the Boilermakers’ Society of Australia; Kirby v The Queen and Boilermakers’ Society of Australia PC 1957
When looking at a new court having a different name, the courts must ask the nature of the jurisdiction exercised, and test the method of appointment of judges for conformity with the constitution. It would be a travesty of the constitution if . .

Cited by:
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions of Jamaica v Mollison (No 2) PC 22-Jan-2003
(Jamaica ) The appellant had been convicted of murder as a youth. He was sentenced to be detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure. The actual length of time to be served was decided by the Governor-General. The decision by the Governor was clearly a . .
Cited – Browne v The Queen PC 6-May-1999
(St Christopher and Nevis) The appellant had been convicted of murder whilst still a youth. He had accordingly been sentenced to be detained ‘during [the Governor-General’s] pleasure; and if so sentenced he shall be liable to be detained in such . .
Cited – Reyes v The Queen PC 11-Mar-2002
(Belize) The Criminal Code of Belize provided that any murder by shooting was to be treated as Class A Murder, and be subject to the mandatory death penalty. The applicant having been convicted, appealed saying this was inhuman or degrading . .
Cited – Regina v Carroll and Al-Hasan and Secretary of State for Home Department Admn 16-Feb-2001
The claimants challenged the instruction that they must squat whilst undergoing a strip search in prison. A dog search had given cause to supect the presence of explosives in the wing, and the officers understood that such explosives might be hidden . .
Cited – Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (1998) Ltd and others v Marshall-Burnett and Another PC 3-Feb-2005
(Jamaica) A bill was presented to the Jamaican parliament to transfer the appellate jurisdiction from the Board of the Privy Council to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Held: Whilst there was a duty to recognise and respect alternate courts, . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Constitutional, Crime

Updated: 28 November 2021; Ref: scu.211405

Macklin v Her Majesty’s Advocate: HCJ 24 Oct 2013

The defendant had been convicted in 2003 of possession of a firearm and other offences. The prosecution had failed to disclose an eye witness statement describing someone incompatible with the defendant.
Held: The appeal was refused.

Lord Mackay of Drumadoon, Lord Hodge, Lord Wheatley
[2013] ScotHC HCJAC – 141
Bailii
Scotland

Crime

Updated: 27 November 2021; Ref: scu.519292