Before arraignment, the judge had heard submissions of law on admitted facts. The judge ruled that if those admitted facts were proved or admitted in the forthcoming trial they would amount to an admission or conclusive evidence of the accused’s commission of the charged offence. The accused, on the advice of his counsel and in the light of that ruling, pleaded guilty.
Held: The appeal failed. There is no statutory provision which entitles an accused to seek a ruling on the law which applies to an accused’s version of facts. Scarman LJ commented on the dangers of seeking the judge’s ruling before arraignment, but also expressed the view that Sections 1 and 2(1)(b) of the 1968 Act entitled the Court to consider whether there had been ‘a wrong decision of any question of law’ and required it to allow the appeal if ‘the agreed facts disclosed no offence known to the law’. He continued: ‘the agreed facts disclosed a case to answer. We doubt if the judge was entitled to go so far as to say there were conclusive of guilt – not because we disagree with the view of the facts formed by the judge but because we believe the question was, upon correct analysis, one of fact even though there was a question of law – namely, the meaning of the statute. No point, however, turns on the judge expressing the view that the admitted facts were conclusive. The appellant pleaded guilty because, upon advice, he had no answer if the agreed facts disclosed a case to answer.’
Judges:
Scarman LJ
Citations:
(1975) 61 Cr App R 48, [1975] 2 ALL ER 945
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Wood, Regina v CACD 25-May-2001
The appellant was a gipsy. He had bought land and occupied it with his family but without planning permission. He now appealed against a conviction for failing to comply with an enforcement notice. He appealed saying that he had not been allowed to . .
Cited – Marshall, Regina v CACD 6-Mar-1998
Sale of Unexpired Portion of Ticket can be a Theft
The defendants had been using London Underground tickets, but selling on the unused balance after their journey. On a ruling at trial, they pleaded guilty to theft, but now appealed.
Held: The appeals failed. Although the tickets had passed to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 12 October 2022; Ref: scu.536024