N appealed against his conviction for false imprisonment. He had been convicted of aiding an abetting the rape of a young girl by his co-defendants.
Held: The allegation of false imprisonment appeared to have been added against the defendant only as a makeweight. The alleged acts of false imprisonment were also those which amounted to the aiding and abetting. Counsel may have had a theoretical reason for adding the count to the indictment, but the reality was that each of the defendants by their acts was also guilty of the false imprisonment. Much scarce court time and resources both at the trial and at the court of appeal had been wasted considering something which had added nothing to the trial.
Judges:
Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice David Clarke and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 12 April 2022; Ref: scu.414939