The appellants had pleaded guilty to an offence of burglary. The building was a dwelling, but the though the indictment did not refer to that element, they had been sentenced on the basis that it was a dwelling. After plea, the judge had vacated the plea and redrawn the indictment.
Held: The appeals failed. There was power to amend the indictment notwithstanding that the applicants had already entered pleas of guilty to the indictment in its unamended form, and it was not a procedural irregularity for the judge to allow the prosecution to make the amendment. The amendment caused no injustice whatsoever, since it reflected the position as everybody understood it to be and accepted to be correct. Urthermore the judge did have power to vacate the pleas
Judges:
Richards LJ, Globe J, Kramer QC
Citations:
[2013] EWCA Crim 257, [2013] 1 WLR 1987, [2013] 2 Cr App R 4
Links:
Statutes:
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 111, Theft Act 1968 9(3)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.471983
