In each case the defendant appealed his conviction saying that since the defence which he ran included an admission of a lesser offence, the court should have left a conviction for that lesser offence as an alternative for the jury.
Held: The appeals failed. The case of Coutts did not create a duty on a judge always to leave a lesser verdict as an alternative for the jury. In particular that lesser offence might be disproportionate to the offence alleged. The judge did however have to ensure that the defence was left properly to the jury.
[2007] EWCA Crim 2869, Times 10-Dec-2007, [2008] 1 Cr App Rep 38, [2008] Crim LR 463, [2008] 2 All ER 597, [2008] 1 WLR 1615
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Coutts HL 19-Jul-2006
The defendant was convicted of murder. Evidence during the trial suggested a possibility of manslaughter, but neither the defence nor prosecution proposed the alternate verdict. The defendant now appealed saying that the judge had an independent . .
These lists may be incomplete.
Updated: 15 July 2021; Ref: scu.261639