The defendant appealed by case stated against his conviction under the 1988 Act of possessing a bladed article in a public place. He had been found in the forecourt of a hostel by the police seeking to re-enter after being excluded. He said that it was not a public place.
Held: The appeal succeeded. Sedley LJ said: ‘the open area between the bail hostel building and the road was, on the face of it, part of private premises. There was no evidence before the District Judge that public access to it was either invited or tolerated. The District Judge placed weight upon the undoubted fact that access from the street was unimpeded, whether physically or by displayed notices. But this is, in my judgment, not enough to turn a private place into a place to which the public has access. ‘
Sedley LJ, Mitting J
[2005] EWHC 965 (Admin)
Bailii
Criminal Justice Act 1988 138 139(7)
Citing:
Cited – Harrison v Hill 1932
Mr Harrison was convicted by the Sheriff-substitute of an offence under section 7(4) of the 1930 Act on the ground that, while disqualified from holding a driving licence, he had driven a vehicle on a specific road. The Sheriff-substitute stated a . .
Cited – Williams v Director of Public Prosecutions QBD 1992
The defendant’s conviction for possessing a bladed article in a public place was quashed on the ground that the landing of a block of residential flats where the appellant had been drunk and disorderly, and to which access was restricted to . .
Cited – Deacon v AT (a minor) QBD 1976
A 15-year old (Deacon or Deakin) who drove a motor car on a Council housing estate was charged with offences of driving a vehicle on a road A road in a housing estate, used only by those who resided in the estate or the visitors, and not by the . .
Cited – Pugh v Knipe 1972
Where land is on the face of it private land, the prosecutor accusing the defendant of driving on a public road, must establish the fact of public access, as here in relation to the forecourt of a private members club. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.384444
