The defendant appealed against his conviction for being an occupier of premises used for smoking cannabis. The Appellant lived at the premises together with his common law wife and children as a family. On the facts the magistrates found that the nature, extent and degree of the Appellant’s possession was sufficient to find that he was indeed the occupier of the premises.
Held: The Appellant’s argument on this appeal lies the very sort of legalistic submission which the Court of Appeal in Tao were so plainly concerned to deprecate. There is no doubt that the findings of facts reached here amply supported the view that this Appellant was indeed the occupier of the family home at the material time when he invited in his friends to smoke cannabis.
Citations:
[1997] EWHC Admin 578
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Ben Nien Tao CACD 1976
Tao was an undergraduate at Cambridge who had occupied a room in a college hostel. He appealed a conviction for being an occupier of premises used for the smoking of cannabis.
Held: His conviction was upheld. Roskill LJ: ‘On those facts it . .
Cited – Regina v Mogford 1976
(Glamorgan Assizes) The two daughters of parents who owned, but were away from, a house in South Wales had invited some friends in to smoke cannabis.
Held: The daughters could not in those circumstances properly be charged as occupiers of . .
Cited – Campbell v Campbell CC 1982
(Kingston Crown Court) Two brothers, in their mother’s absence but with her permission, held an overnight party at her house. During the evening cannabis was smoked by their guests. The judge had applied Mogford. Judge Oddie: ‘To be ‘the occupier’ . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.137523