The defendant appealed against his conviction for assault. He had picked up a sex worker, driven away, but then changed his mind, and forcibly removed her from the car when she delayed. He now argued that he had the same right at common law to remove her from trespassing in his car as he would if she was in his house.
Held: The appeal failed. The implicit agreement was that, having driven away for some distance, he would return her. He had not been acting in self-defence. The law should be reluctant to extend the civil remedy of self help to occasions which might come to violence. There had been no need or right to resort to violence in this case, he could simply have done what he had agreed to do, to return her to where they had started.
Lord Judge LCJ
[2010] EWCA Crim 1023, [2010] WLR (D) 110, [2010] 2 Cr App R 16, [2010] Crim LR 767
Bailii, Times, WLRD
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 47
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Rex v Tabbart 1693
The plaintiff desired the defendant who had come into his house to leave it and accordingly commanded that his wife put the defendant out, molliter manus imposuit – using the minimum force necessary. . .
Cited – Lloyd v Director of Public Prosecutions QBD 1992
Mr Lloyd had parked his car in a private car park with five large notices boards located at the entrance to and exit of this private car park positioned at eye-level for car drivers. All those notices warned that unauthorised vehicles would be . .
Cited – Southwark London Borough Council v Williams CA 1971
No Defence of Homelessness to Squatters
The defendants, in dire need of housing accommodation entered empty houses owned by the plaintiff local authority as squatters. The court considered the defence of necessity.
Held: The proper use of abandoned council properties is best . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.416048