The Key Cases of 2022
![R v Derwood Datson (Luke Steven) [2023] 1 Cr App R 6](https://crimecast.law/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ccldavid.png)
If someone believed he was lawfully importing cannabis with a THC level of less than 0.2%, did he have a defence to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition? Was he caught by the principle 'ignorance of the law is no defence'?
ADDED Thursday 16th March 2023
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The cancellation of a planned vigil in memory of Sarah Everard highlighted how the restrictions on outdoor gatherings at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic had to be subject to the ECHR rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.
ADDED Friday 10th March 2023
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On a count charging the racially aggravated use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, could the public order offence be ‘racially aggravated’ where both the alleged perpetrator and supposed victim were members of the same racial group?
ADDED Wednesday 8th March 2023
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Where two sisters had been brutally murdered in a London Park, and police officers guarding the crime scene took and distributed photographs of the corpses, the CACD addressed important issues in relation to sentencing for misconduct in public office.
ADDED Monday 6th March 2023
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Following a Black Lives Matter rally in Bristol, during which the statue of a slave trader was thrown into the harbour, the court had to synthesise the slew of recent cases on ‘proportionality’ as it applies to prosecutions arising from public protest.
ADDED Wednesday 18th January 2023
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Black cab drivers judicially reviewed TfL's renewal of a private hire vehicle operator's licence to a taxi App service, alleging unfair competitive practices. But were Free Now drivers ‘plying for hire’ under the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869?
ADDED Monday 16th January 2023
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The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) considered whether a police officer, being a servant of the Crown, was exempted from the statutory provisions criminalising the possession of offensive weapons, even when he was not acting in an official capacity.
ADDED Friday 13th January 2023
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A court in Romania had issued an Extradition Arrest Warrant for the return of a transgender woman convicted of shoplifting. What was the impact of the requesting state’s failure to respect and pay proper regard to the requested person's gender identity?
ADDED Tuesday 10th January 2023
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Was the defence of illegality ('ex turpi causa') available against an individual who killed three men but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and acquitted of murder and manslaughter and who then sued for alleged failings in his psychiatric care?
ADDED Friday 6th January 2023
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ADDED Friday 25th November 2022
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Can 'fraud by abuse of position' arise from the relationship of employer and employee? And can misrepresentations in a Certificate of Sponsorship for visa purposes operate a deception on the employee in question as well as on the immigration authorities?
ADDED Monday 21st November 2022
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The case arose from the occupation by HS2 protesters of land subject to a compulsory purchase order. It clarified the ambit of the Supreme Court’s decision in DPP v Ziegler regarding the need for proportionality in a prosecution for non-violent protest.
ADDED Friday 18th November 2022
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In the case of parallel criminal and civil proceedings based on essentially the same facts and evidence, were legal expenses in civil proceedings caught by the same prohibition as prevented a criminal restraint order being varied to enable the defendant to pay privately for his defence?
ADDED Friday 28th October 2022
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The case concerned the jurisdictional consequences of a failure by the prosecution to obtain the consent of the Attorney General before instituting criminal proceedings for an offence of stirring up racial hatred (for which such consent was required).
ADDED Wednesday 26th October 2022
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The case underlines that all are equal before the law. Convicted criminals, even those convicted of the gravest of crimes, who later lie about that fact in civil proceedings will not thereby be shut out from their remedies before the civil courts.
ADDED Friday 14th October 2022
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Following the request to extradite Julian Assange to the US on charges of obtaining and disclosing national security material, the US Govt appealed from a DJ's discharge of Mr Assange based on the conditions in which he was likely to be incarcerated.
ADDED Wednesday 12th October 2022
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Is the offence of wearing, carrying or displaying an article showing support for a proscribed organisation (Terrorism Act 2000, s.13) one of strict liability? And is it compatible with the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the ECHR?
ADDED Monday 10th October 2022
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When considering whether a ‘foreign criminal’ can reasonably be expected to relocate to a particular region within his country of origin, can the Home Secretary make a value judgment as to whether it is his 'due' based on his criminal history in the UK? ADDED Wednesday 5th October 2022
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The case related to an extreme version of 'CV padding' and concerned the proportionality of confiscation proceedings brought against a convicted CV fraudster, who had performed well in his job and given full value for his fraudulently obtained salary. ADDED Monday 3rd October 2022
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Is the provision within s.38 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, authorising the police to detain a suspect for their own protection until they can be brought before a court, compatible with the 'Right to Liberty' in Article 5 of the ECHR? ADDED Wednesday 28th September 2022
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The case concerned the approach to be taken by the trial judge where a jury-in-retirement ask to see again some or all of a complainant’s video-recorded evidence-in-chief. The CACD emphasised once again the potential importance of a witness’s demeanour. ADDED Monday 26th September 2022
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Where a driver used his mobile phone to change music tracks on the sound system of his moving vehicle via Bluetooth, the court considered whether that was an interactive communication with another device and an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988. ADDED Friday 2nd September 2022
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Where a defendant had been convicted of murdering his older male lover for his inheritance, the court considered the circumstances in which an appellant can seek to re-open a concluded appeal and can properly advance grounds of procedural unfairness and bias. ADDED Wednesday 31st August 2022
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A claim for harassment brought by the ex-mistress of the former King of Spain prompted the court to examine the doctrine of state immunity and, in particular, the ambit of personal immunity and functional immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978. ADDED Wednesday 24th August 2022
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When an alleged informant to MI5 perpetrated violent and coercive behaviour against two female lovers, the court considered the often competing public interests of national security and freedom of expression regarding issues of general public concern.
ADDED Friday 19th August 2022
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In the case of a defendant who had kidnapped and tortured a man he thought was an informant, the CACD considered how time spent on remand in custody is to be treated when the Crown Court imposes a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term order.
ADDED Friday 24th June 2022
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In the case of a prisoner serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife and two children, the court considered the lawfulness of the Parole Board’s policy on supplying a summary of the reasons for their decision to the victims' family and the media.
ADDED Wednesday 15th June 2022
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On charges of attempted murder, was the defence of insanity available to a psychotic and deluded defendant, who knew his actions were against the law and morally wrong but believed he was possessed by the devil and was compelled to commit the offences?
ADDED Monday 6th June 2022
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Can a distinction properly be drawn between the actions of a requested person, who has done everything reasonably possible to give notice of appeal against an extradition order within the permitted time limit, and the actions of his lawyer, who has not?
ADDED Wednesday 1st June 2022
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The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) considered whether a police officer, being a servant of the Crown, was exempted from the statutory provisions criminalising the possession of offensive weapons, even when he was not acting in an official capacity.
ADDED Monday 30th May 2022
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The court considered the lawfulness of the Parole Board’s guidance on how to approach unproven allegations. Could it rely upon allegations of a series of serious sexual assaults, where only one of them had been prosecuted and that ended in an acquittal?
ADDED Thursday 26th May 2022
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The court explained what it called the polycentric decision-making process when considering possible criminal prosecution of a young person. It also discussed the approach to be taken where there is a tension between different guidance documents issued by the Crown Prosecution Service.
ADDED Wednesday 11th May 2022
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The case related to an extradition request from the US to the UK following a highly contentious corporate takeover. It threw into sharp relief the question whether it is ultimately for the politicians or for the judges to drive the timetable for a final decision on whether extradition should go ahead.
ADDED Tuesday 10th May 2022
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The case concerned the Health and Safety legislation relating to houses in multiple occupation and, specifically, the ambit of the defence of ‘reasonable excuse’ for failure to obtain a licence to control or manage a property where a licence is required.
ADDED Thursday 5th May 2022
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The Supreme Court considered whether a suspect under criminal investigation, but not yet charged, has a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding the ongoing inquiry.
ADDED Tuesday 3rd May 2022
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The case concerned whether the offence of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 can be committed in respect of an offence which is already underway.
ADDED Thursday 28th April 2022
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![R (Cleeland) v Criminal Cases Review Commission [2022] 4 WLR 8](https://crimecast.law/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Screenshot-2022-04-12-at-17.47.24.png)
In the latest instalment of a long history of attempts by a convicted murderer to overturn his conviction, the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) considered whether it had jurisdiction and what principles are applicable in a judicial review of the CCRC.
ADDED Tuesday 19th April 2022
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![R v Brown (James Hugh) [2022] 1 Cr App R 18](https://crimecast.law/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/miller.png)
The case arose from ‘direct action’ by a group linked to Extinction Rebellion. Where a protester was charged with public nuisance at common law, rather than with the available statutory offences, did that constitute an abuse of the process of the court?
ADDED Wednesday 13th April 2022
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Top Ten Most Talked About Videos from the CrimeCast Archive
“A video mocking the victims of the Grenfell tragedy had been sent via Whatsapp and posted on YouTube. The man who allegedly filmed the video was charged with sending a grossly offensive message by means of a public electronic communications network.”
Re-released: Monday 21st March 2022
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Re-released: Monday 21st March 2022
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The calculation of the default terms of imprisonment where members of a criminal gang are each made the subject of confiscation orders based at least in part on the value of criminal property which they acquired together from a criminal conspiracy.
Re-released: Sunday 20th March 2022
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The lawfulness of steps taken by the Justice Secretary and the Probation Service, following the Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist attack, to tighten the licence conditions of terrorist offenders released on licence.
Re-released: Saturday 19th March 2022
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Re-released: Saturday 19th March 2022
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When will the Court of Appeal give leave to an appellant to make submissions on an additional ground of appeal against conviction, even though the court has already decided that the appeal must be allowed and the conviction quashed on other grounds?
Re-released: Friday 18th March 2022
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The case concerned whether Boris Johnson's advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament for an extended period (advice which she was constitutionally bound to follow) trespassed beyond the limits of the prerogative power and whether it was justiciable.
Re-released: Thursday 17th March 2022
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The case concerned whether the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act 1879 can be deployed in aid of overseas proceedings and whether it extends to business documentation held by a bank other than transactional records (including regulatory compliance documents).
Re-released: Wednesday 16th March 2022
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“The attempts by Shamima Begum, the so-called ‘ISIS child bride’, to overturn decisions by the former Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, stripping her of her British passport and refusing entry clearance and leave to re-enter the UK.”
Re-released: Tuesday 15th March 2022
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One of the most notorious murder cases of recent times prompted the court to consider the scope of the prosecution’s disclosure obligations post-conviction and also the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in correcting miscarriages of justice.
Re-released: Monday 14th March 2022
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The relationship between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service as an independent public prosecution body, and the duty of public bodies to act independently, transparently and not incompatibly with ECHR rights.
Re-released: Sunday 13th March 2022
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Re-released: Sunday 13th March 2022
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The Supreme Court considered whether there is any principle of the common law which prevents HM Government providing to the authorities of another jurisdiction information which might lead to the imposition of the death penalty in that jurisdiction.
Re-released: Saturday 12th March 2022
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