The CPS sought leave to appeal against a terminating ruling. It had failed to produce and serve evidence on the defendant even after an adjournment for the purpose. The judge directed an acquittal and refused an adjournment to allow the CPS to consider an appeal. The CPS had failed to give notice under section 58 that the defendant would be acquitted if leave was not given or the appeal was abandoned.
Held: Rix LJ said: ‘if a right of appeal is claimed, then the Crown would naturally seek to rely on the provisions of section 58(3), (10) and (11) to prevent its appeal being ineffective. If an appeal is heard but dismissed, then it is for the court to acquit the defendant (section 61(3)). That leaves, however, the situation where the position is first frozen by reason of the intimation of an intention to appeal, but the appeal is not or cannot then be proceeded with. In that case, the Crown is put on terms that it will not seek to go behind the judge’s ruling, for instance by trying to argue that the ruling is not after all a terminating ruling. Where an acquittal is potentially of no effect, the defendant does need the protection of the Crown’s section 58(8) agreement and its notification to the judge.’
Judges:
Rix LJ
Citations:
[2009] EWCA Crim 2614
Links:
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 2003 58(8)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – NT, Regina v CACD 31-Mar-2010
The prosecutor appealed against a stay of the prosecution as an abuse. The prosecution had failed give the undertaking necessary on lodging the appeal to the court against whose ruling it wanted to appeal, that it agreed that the defendant should be . .
Cited – Regina v SH CACD 3-Aug-2010
The prosecutor had appealed immediately against the judge’s withdrawal of a charge of racially aggravated use of insulting words or behaviour. The judge then ignored his obligation to continue the trial without mentioning the issue to the jury. He . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 02 September 2022; Ref: scu.392903
