Welcome to the ICLR Criminal Law Updater for August – October 2014 (owing to the summer vacation, it’s a bumper edition!). Here’s our round up of the reportable and unreportable criminal cases decided in the High Court, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and the UK Supreme Court over the last four weeks. Where a transcript is available on BAILII, a linked reference has been provided.

Reportable Cases

Beezadhur v Independent Commission against Corruption  

07 Aug 2014, [2014] UKPC 27   [2014] WLR (D) 380, PC

MAURITIUS — Crime — Money laundering —  Prohibition of cash deposits in bank above specified limit — Exception for cash deposited where “commensurate with … lawful business activities of the customer” — Defendant depositing sums above limit derived from pension payments — Whether receipt of pension payments amounting to “business activities” — Whether burden on defendant to prove exception applying — Financial and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002, ss 2(d), 5(1) — Constitution of Mauritius, s 10(2)(a)(11)

Q v Q (No 2)  

06 Aug 2014, [2014] EWFC 31   [2014] WLR (D) 372, Fam Ct ( Sir James Munby P )

LEGAL AID — Private law proceedings — Orders relating to children — Unrepresented father seeking contact with child — Court’s approach where funding refused to one party — Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, s 31G (as inserted by Crime and Courts Act 2013, Sch 10) — Human Rights Act 1998, Sch 1, Pt I, arts 6, 8 — Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, s 9, Sch 1

R (Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police) v Independent Police Complaints Commission  

21 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Civ 1367   [2014] WLR (D) 436, CA

POLICE — Complaint — Investigation — Independent Police Complaints Commission investigating and issuing report regarding complaint against police officer — Report making findings of criminal and civil liability — Whether report exceeding lawful ambit — Whether report to be quashed — Police Reform Act 2002 (c 30), s 10(2) (as amended by Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c 15), Sch 12, para 2)

R v Kerrigan  

28 Oct 2014, [2014] WLR (D) 450, CA

CRIME — Sentence — Imprisonment — Offence committed during release on licence in respect of previous sentence — Defendant returned to prison to continue serving earlier sentence — Delay in sentencing for index offence — Credit for days in custody — Whether credit to be given for days in custody in continuing to serve earlier sentence — Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 240ZA (as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, s 108(2))

R v Rogers (Bradley)  

01 Aug 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 1680   [2014] WLR (D) 362, CA

CRIME — Proceeds of crime — Converting criminal property—Defendant living and working in Spain — Defendant permitting money fraudulently obtained in United Kingdom to be received into and withdrawn from Spanish bank account — Whether jurisdiction to try money laundering offence in United Kingdom — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, s 327(1)(c)

United States of America v Abacha  

09 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Civ 1291   [2014] WLR (D) 423, CA

INJUNCTION — Interlocutory — Freezing order — Proceedings in United States to freeze property outside United Kingdom — Application for interim injunction to enforce judgment in rem against persons in England in personam — Whether court in England and Wales having jurisdiction to grant interim injunction — Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, s 25 — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, s 444(1) — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (External Requests and Orders) Order 2005, Pts 4A, 5

Other cases of interest

In re Adams 

11 Aug 2014, [2014] EWHC 2639 (Admin)   [2014] CN 1505, QBD ( Nicola Davies J )

CRIME — Sentence — Confiscation order —  Defendant seeking certificate of inadequacy in relation to confiscation order — Whether Crown permitted to go behind terms of original order

R v Antoine  

15 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 1971   [2014] CN 1738, CA

CRIME — Abuse of process — Stay of proceedings — Defendant already having been convicted and sentenced for lesser offence arising out of same facts — Prosecution not having applied mind to whether to prosecute for more serious offence — “Special circumstances” relevant to exercise of discretion to stay for abuse — Whether prosecution ought to have been stayed as abuse of process

R v B  

22 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 2078   [2014] CN 1792, CA

CRIME — Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) — Jurisdiction — Prosecutor’s appeal — Judge in Crown Court ruling against prosecution application for adjournment of trial — Indication given later in afternoon of intention to apply for permission to appeal — Whether Crown having informed judge of intention to appeal or sought time to decide whether to appeal “immediately after the ruling” — Crim PR r 67.2

R v Brahimi  

15 Oct 2014, [2014] CN 1759, CA

CRIME — Summing up — Judge’s direction — Burglary — Circumstantial evidence — Whether summing up unbalanced — Whether directions to jury inadequate — Whether case to answer

R v Brown (Shenae)  

15 Oct 2014, [2014] CN 1760, CA

CRIME — Offences against the person — Alternative verdicts — Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm — Unlawful wounding — Charge only of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm — Whether alternative offence of unlawful wounding should have been left to the jury for consideration — Offences Against the Person Act 1861, ss 18, 20

R v Childs  

30 Sep 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 1884   [2014] CN 1649, CA

CRIME — Evidence — Fresh evidence — Leave to appeal out of time — Whether offender suffering from severe personality disorder rendering confessions and guilty pleas unreliable

R v Clark  

17 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 1973   [2014] CN 1774, CA

CRIME — Sentence — Confiscation order — Defendants fraudulently inducing mortgage companies to make loans — Whether profits from sale of house obtained in connection with criminal conduct — Whether confiscation order proportionate — Human Rights Act 1998, Sch 1, Pt I, art 1 — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, s 76(4)

R v Esprit  

03 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 1918   [2014] CN 1812, CA

CRIME — Evidence — Robbery — Defendants appealing against conviction on grounds of judge’s directions to jury — Attorney General referring sentences on grounds of undue leniency — Whether judge erring in directions to jury — Whether sentences unduly lenient

R v Foran  

17 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 2047   [2014] CN 1775, CA

CRIME — Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) — Reference by Criminal Cases Review Commission — Whether convictions safe

R v Gadd  

10 Oct 2014, [2014] EWHC 3307 (QB)   [2014] CN 1733, QBD ( Globe J )

CRIME — Indictment — Voluntary bill — Prosecution applying for leave to prefer voluntary bill of indictment — Indictment containing counts alleging historic sex abuse — Whether fair trial possible — Whether application to be granted

R v Haq (Shakeel)  

22 Oct 2014, [2014] CN 1777, CA

CRIME — Evidence — Admissibility — Statement made by defendant at instance of co-accused’s solicitors — Statement found by police in papers relating to earlier trial of co-accused — Whether statement admissible in evidence — Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s 78

R v Halahan  

24 Oct 2014, [2014] EWCA Crim 2079   [2014] CN 1823, CA

CRIME — Abuse of process — Delay in prosecution

R v M (AN)  

10 Oct 2014,  [2014] CN 1703, CA

CRIME — Jury — Discharge — Adjournment of trial during jury’s deliberations — Whether necessary to discharge jury

R v Mansfield  

12 Aug 2014,    [2014] CN 1482, CA

CRIME — Evidence — Disclosure —  Co-defendant’s plea on other indictment disclosed at defendant’s trial but without full factual detail — Whether conviction rendered unsafe

R v Roper 

28 Oct 2014,  [2014] CN 1838, CA

CRIME — Sentence — Confiscation order — Payments made into defendant’s bank account — Defendant allowing third party to use bank account — Whether defendant having ownership of funds in account — Whether amounting to defendant’s benefit

R v Stapleton  

21 Aug 2014,    [2014] CN 1518, CA

CRIME — Evidence — Bad character — Bad character of non-defendant — Assault — Defendant seeking, after admission of own bad character, permission to adduce evidence of bad character of complainant — Judge refusing permission — Whether judge erring in so ruling — Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c 44), ss 100, 101(1)(g)

About the citations in this Updater

There are four types of citation included in this updater:

  • Neutral Citations (e.g. [2014] EWCA Crim 1196) – these are publisher-neutral case references. These references, when clicked, will refer you to BAILII (where a transcript of the decision is available).
  • References to published law reports (e.g. [2014] 1 WLR 123) – these are references to the various series of law reports published by ICLR. These references, when clicked, will refer you to the law report of the case on ICLR Online. Please note that you must be an ICLR Online subscriber to access these cases.
  • References to the WLR Daily (e.g. [2014] WLR (D) 265) – these are references to the case summary service provided by ICLR. The WLR (D) case summaries are reserved for those cases that appear to be reportable and are free to acess.
  • ICLR Case Notes (e.g. [2014] CN 973) – these are summaries of unreportable cases and are only accessible to registered ICLR Online subscribers.