Case Summaries
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R v Ghosh – 1982
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Meaning of dishonesty under the Theft Act 1968. The defendant, Ghosh, was a locum consultant at a hospital who falsely claimed to have carried out a surgical operation in order to claim money when in fact that operation had been carried out by someone else under the NHS ...
R v Gnango
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The defendant was a London teenager engaged in gang warfare. He had been in conflict with another person known as TC and in… ...
R v Golds
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Golds admitted to killing his partner and prior to the killing he had sexually assaulted her. The question for the jury was whether he was guilty of murder or manslaughter by virtue of diminished responsibility under s. 2(1) Homicide Act 1957. ...
R v Gomez – 1993
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Dishonest appropriation of property by using stolen cheques to mislead shop manager. The defendant, Gomez (G) was an assistant shop manager. G colluded with two accomplices who were in possession of stolen cheques. ...
R v Gotts – 1982
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Gotts, a sixteen-year-old boy, tried to kill his mother as he claimed that his father had threatened to shoot him unless he did so. Gotts stabbed his mother and caused serious injuries from which she survived. ...
R v Graham – 1982
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Paul Graham had been drinking and taking drugs when he and his homosexual partner killed Graham’s wife. Graham claimed he was under duress as his… ...
R v Grewal – 2010
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
At the time of the incident, the defendant was a student who had become drunk after drinking too many free cocktails at a… ...
R v Griffiths
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was a seller of limes who entered into a conspiracy with seven lime farmers to defraud the Ministry of Agriculture… ...
R v Gurpinar; R v Kojo-Smith and Caton
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mr Gurpinar and Mr Kojo-Smith were convicted of murder. Mr Gurpinar claimed self-defence, accident and lack of intent to cause serious injury… ...
R v H – 2005
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant propositioned the victim sexually and attempted to pull her towards him and place a hand over her mouth by grabbing at the pocket of her tracksuit. ...
R v Hale – 1978
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Robbery under Section 8(1) Theft Act 1968, actus reus, immediately before or at the time of stealing using force on any person. Two defendants entered the victim’s house and stole her jewellery box from her bedroom. ...
R v Hall – 1973
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant travel agent received deposit monies from various clients to pay for flights to the United States. He paid the monies… ...
R v Hall – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Hall, was accused of handling stolen property. He denied knowing that it was stolen, stating only that he was suspicious of the property… ...
R v Hampden – Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Ship money was a type of tax originating from medieval times. It was historically collected as part of the Royal Prerogative from coastal… ...
R v Hardie – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mr Hardie was charged with arson under ss 1(2) and (3) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (CDA), for allegedly intending to damage a woman’s… ...
R v Hasan [2005] 2 AC 467
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Criminal law – Defence of Duress – Association with known criminal – Whether statement was a confession. Hasan was charged with the crime of aggravated burglary. He was associated with a gang and relied on the defence of duress. ...
R v Hayward
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A husband and wife had an argument that led to the husband chasing his wife out into the street. The wife collapsed during this altercation and died. ...
R v Heard [2008] QB 43
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The police had been called to the defendant’s house; he had been self-harming at the time, appearing depressive and emotional, as well as… ...
R v Hennessy – 1989
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Diabetes and defences – automatism or insanity in hyperglycaemic cases. The appellant (a diabetic) was apprehended while driving a stolen car. He later collapsed at the police station it became apparent that he was having a diabetic episode. ...
R v Hennigan
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Hennigan drove at eighty miles per hour and hit the side of a car, driven by Lowe, who was emerging from a turning in a road. ...
R v Hinks – 2000
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Unlawful appropriation of “gifted” money under the Theft Act 1968. The defendant (H) was a carer for a man of limited intelligence (D). H persuaded D to make a series of payments to her from his bank account which she contended were gifts. H was charged with theft. ...
R v HM Attorney-General for England and Wales – 2003
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was a New Zealander and former SAS member. In 1992, one of his commanding officers wrote a book and included a chapter… ...
R v Home Secretary, ex p Northumbria Police Authority
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Public disturbances some years earlier resulted in the Home Office opting to create a stock of CS gas (commonly known as riot control gas)… ...
R v Horncastle and Others 2009
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case Summary of R v Horncastle and others [2009] UKSC 14 (SC). Hearsay evidence and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). R v Horncastle and others was an English legal case concerning the rules on hearsay evidence. ...
R v Howard
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The victim was a 6-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by the defendant in her home. On the night in question, the defendant… ...
R v Howe – 1987
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In the first case, the two appellants, Howe and Bannister, and the victim were driven by M to an isolated area, where they assaulted the victim and M killed him. Similarly, the three jointly strangled another victim and a third victim managed to escape. ...
R v Hudson and Taylor
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Hudson and Taylor were two girls who were charged with perjury having given false evidence by failing to identify an individual… ...
R v Hysa
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The complainant was a 16 year old girl who was celebrating the New Year in London. She had been drinking, as well as a suggestion of smoking cannabis… ...
R v Inglis
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Murder – Mercy killing as a mitigating factor for sentencing under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 Schedule 21. The appellant, Frances Inglis (F), was convicted of murdering her son Thomas (T). T was in a vegetative state due to serious head injuries. ...
R v Instan – 1893
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Instan was cared for and maintained by her seventy-three-year-old aunt who was the deceased in this case. The deceased was healthy until shortly before her death before she contracted gangrene in her leg which prevented her from moving and caring for herself. ...
R v Ireland – 1998
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Can silence suffice for a charge of assault and is psychiatric harm sufficient for ABH. The Defendant in this case consistently called three separate women over the course of three months. ...
R v Ireland and Burstow
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Can psychiatric injury be considered bodily harm, and whether ‘inflicted’ ought be interpreted as requiring physical force. The defendant and victim were engaged in a short romantic relationship, which the victim ended. ...
R v Jackson – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Four members of a gang agreed to shoot a friend of theirs in the leg. He was on trial for burglary and it was hoped by the gang members that being shot in… ...
R v JF Alford Transport
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The first defendant was a lorry operator transport company; the second defendant was its managing director while the third was the… ...
R v Jheeta – 2007
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant and the victim were in a consensual sexual relationship. The defendant began sending anonymous threatening messages to the victim… ...
R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Parasitic Accessory Liability, intention and foresight of principal’s act. This joint case involved two separate appellants who had been convicted for murder on the basis of joint enterprise, after a co-defendant had actually killed the victim. ...
R v Johnson – 2007
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
J was convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Following his arrest, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia… ...
R v Jones – 1987
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
There were six appellants to the appeal a conviction under s 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. All had pleaded guilty to at least two… ...
R v Jones and Smith – 1976
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendants, Jones and Smith, entered Smith’s father’s house and stole two television sets. At his trial, Smith said that his father had given him unreserved permission to enter the house. They were convicted of burglary and subsequently appealed. ...
R v Jordan – 1956
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Medical evidence was to the cause of death – new evidence regarding the cause of death. Jordan, who worked for the United States Air Force, stabbed a man as the result of a disturbance. The victim died in hospital eight days later. ...
R v Kelly and Lindsay – 1998
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The first defendant (K) had access to the Royal College of Surgeons to take drawings of anatomical specimens. The second defendant… ...
R v Kemp (1957) 1 QB 399
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant assaulted his wife with a hammer. He had no previous history of violence and no apparent motive. He was charged with causing… ...
R v Kennedy – 2007
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
It was held that as the victim was a fully informed and consenting adult, who had freely and voluntarily self-administered the drug without any pressure from the defendant, this was an intervening act. ...
R v Khan [1990] 2 All ER 783
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Four men, Mohammed Iqbal Khan, Mahesh Dhokia, Jaswinder Singh Banga and Navaid Faiz (A) were charged with the attempted rape of a… ...
R v Kimsey – 1996
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Kimsey (K) and Osbourne (O) were driving at high speeds in extremely close convoy. Whilst doing so, there was an accident in which O’s car clipped a verge and span out of control, collided with the side of K’s car and went into the path of oncoming traffic. ...
R v King
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant had remarried while his previous marriage was still valid. He was prosecuted for bigamy contrary to section 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 ...
R v Kingston – 1994
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Barry Kingston was involuntarily drugged by a friend. While Kingston was intoxicated, his friend encouraged him to perform sexual acts on a 15 year old boy. The incident had been a set up by his friend. Kingston was convicted of indecent assault. ...
R v Konzani
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Feston Konzani was charged with three counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to s 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. Konzani was HIV positive and aware of his condition. ...
R v Lamb 1967
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case Summary of R v Lamb 1967 2 QB 981. Involuntary Manslaughter. The appellate judgment of R v Lamb 1967 2 QB 981 (Lamb) clarifies the requisite elements required to satisfy any of the forms of involuntary manslaughter. ...
R v Latimer – 1886
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Doctrine of Transferred Malice. The defendant was in an argument with another in a pub. The argument escalated and the defendant attempted to hit the other man with his belt, but missed. ...
R v Lewis
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
John Lewis (J), a French-American seaman, injured a German man (G) on board an American ship on the high seas. G died in hospital… ...
R v Lidar | Criminal Law Case | Law Teacher
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
R v Lidar. In December 1998 the appellant Narinder Singh Lidar was charged with murder before Scott Baker J and a jury at the Leicester Crown Court. He was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter by a unanimous verdict. ...
R v Lipman – 1970
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Robert Lipman was convicted of manslaughter for killing his friend while on a bad LSD trip. She suffered two blows to the head and… ...
R v Lockley – 1995
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In R v Lockley the defendant stole cans of beer from an off-licence. The shopkeeper tried to prevent him leaving the shop with the stolen items. ...
R v Lowe – 1973
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The connection between “wilful neglect” under s.1(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and manslaughter by negligence. Mr Lowe, of low intelligence, did not call a doctor to his sick infant child. The child died from dehydration and gross emaciation. ...
R v Lowrie – 2005
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant had made a series of repeatedly false calls to the emergency services. This was a consistent form of behaviour for the defendant… ...
R v M (J) and Another – 2012
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
JM and SM had been involved in a fight with a few doormen in a nightclub. One of the doormen, who had no signs of health problems, had a renal artery aneurysm and died. JM and SM were charged with affray and manslaughter caused by an unlawful act (affray being the unlawful act). ...
R v Majewski
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Voluntary intoxication no defence to offences of “basic intent” such as assault. The appellant (M) was convicted following a brawl in a pub in which he assaulted the landlord and customers and the police officers who arrested him. ...
R v Malcherek and Steel
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Malcherek stabbed his wife in the abdomen. She was treated for the wound and a few days later she collapsed in hospital. She subsequently had surgery to remove a blood clot during which her heart stopped beating for thirty minutes before it was restarted by the doctors again. ...
R v Marangwanda
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was responsible for assisting in caring for two young children, as he was engaged in a romantic relationship… ...
R v Martin – 1881
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant decided to play a practice joke on theatre goers by barring the exits to a playhouse, cutting the lights on the exits… ...
R v Martin – 2001
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Martin had shot two people that were trying to burgle his home. He killed one of them and wounded the other. At the initial trial, Martin attempted to claim self-defence but was unsuccessful. ...
R v McNaughten – M’Naghten
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
M’Naughten murder and pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity. In January 1843, at the parish of Saint Martin, Middlesex, Daniel M’Naghten took a pistol and shot Edward Drummond, who he believed to the British Prime Minister Robert Pell, wounding him fatally. ...
R v Miller – 1954
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Mr Miller, had been the husband of the victim who, at the time of the alleged offence, had left the respondent and filed… ...
R v Miller [1983] 2 AC 161
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The court concluded that as he was responsible for having created the dangerous situation, the defendant was under a duty to take action to resolve it once he became aware of the fire. ...
R v Millward – 1994
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
H, employed by B, was driving a tractor when a trailer became detached from the tractor due to a poorly-maintained tow-hitch… ...
R v Misra and Srivastava
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Two doctors were convicted of gross negligence manslaughters when their post-operative patient became infected with a staphylococcus aureus… ...
R v Moloney – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The House of Lords allowed Moloney’s appeal. He had not intended to kill his stepfather. Knowledge of foresight of the consequences of an action were to be considered at best material from which a crime of intent may be inferred. ...
R v Morris – 1983
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendants were convicted of theft under s.1 of the Theft Act 1968 after switching the labels on products in a supermarket to obtain a lower price. One of the defendants was caught before he paid, while the other was only caught afterwards. ...
R v Mowatt
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant and a friend were out late at night, and came across the victim, at which point the defendant knocked the victim… ...
R v Moys
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A black and white mare worth between £600-£700 was stolen from her livery stables. The defendant sold her the next day for £480 and she was… ...
R v Mullen [2000] QB 520
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mullen was brought back to England from Zimbabwe due to being wanted by the police. Upon his arrival, he was arrested and later convicted of conspiracy… ...
R v Navid Tabassum – Criminal law consent case
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
NAVID TABASSUM. On 30th November 1999 at Preston Crown Court, following a trial before His Honour Judge Livesey QC, the appellant was convicted on three counts of indecent assault, on three different female complainants. ...
R v Nedrick – 1986
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant Nedrick held a grudge against a woman. In the middle of the night he drove to her house before pouring petrol through her letter box and igniting it. The defendant, without warning anyone in the house then drove home. ...
R v Notman – 1994
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant entered a shop from which he had previously been barred and caused a disturbance. A police officer arrived at the scene… ...
R v Olugboja
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant and the co-accused met the complainant and her friend at a discotheque and offered to take them home. However, the defendant… ...
R v Ong [2001] Cr App R (S) 117
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant had planned to switch off the floodlights at a Premier League football game between Charlton and Liverpool… ...
R v Oxfordshire CC, ex parte Sunningwell PC
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
A glebe in Sunningwell, Oxfordshire, was an open space, used by the local people for outdoor activities. In 1978… ...
R v Page – 1954
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A British soldier, Harry Richard Page (HRP), killed an Egyptian national in Egypt and was convicted of murder of an Egyptian… ...
R v Pagett – 1983
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellant shot at a police officer who was trying to arrest him, and subsequently attempted to use a pregnant teenage girl standing nearby as a human shield to defend himself against retaliation by the officer. ...
R v Parker – 1977
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellant had tried (and failed) to place a telephone call in a street telephone booth. This infuriated him and in a rage… ...
R v Parmenter – 1991
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was prosecuted under four counts of grievous bodily harm for injuries inflicted upon his infant son, including bruises… ...
R v Pembliton
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was ejected from a pub and became engaged in a physical altercation in the street. This escalated until he threw a large stone at his… ...
R v Pittwood – 1902
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was employed by a railway company to operate the gate at a level crossing across the track. He lifted the gate to allow a cart to pass across, but then failed to put it back down before going for his lunch break. ...
R v Poulton – 1832
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A mother strangled her newborn baby, and was charged with the murder. Three medical men testified before a jury that a child can die during… ...
R v Powell and English
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In the first case, the appellants Powell (P) and Daniels (D), and another person went to the house of a drug dealer. As soon as he opened the door… ...
R v Prince – 1875
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Where a statute is silent as to the mens rea for an offence, the court is not bound to read a mens rea requirement into the statute. The offence was one of strict liability as to age, therefore a mens rea of knowledge of the girl’s actual age was not required to establish the offence. ...
R v Quayle
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellants appealed against convictions for the cultivation, production and possession of cannabis and cannabis resin. ...
R v Quick [1973] QB 910
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellant (a nurse at a hospital) was a diabetic who suffered from hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). He had taken insulin in the morning for his condition but had not eaten much during the day and had imbibed alcohol. ...
R v R – 1992
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant married his wife (complainant) in August 1984. After the marriage did not work, she moved out in October 1989 and took her son to live with her parents. At the time of the incident in November 1989, they were separated but not legally divorced. ...
R v Rai
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In June of 1996 the defendant, Rai, applied to Birmingham City Council’s social services for a grant in order to adapt the bathroom in his home for his… ...
R v Richardson
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellant, a registered dentist, had her licence to practice suspended by the General Dental Council in 1996 but continued to treat patients… ...
R v Rimmington – 2006
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Rimmington, the defendant, sent 538 separate postal packages to individuals. These were of a crude, racist and obscene nature… ...
R v Rimmington and R v Goldstein
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Rimmington sent hundreds of letters containing racial offensive material to several people. Goldstein sent some salt and a cheque in repayment of a debt to a friend; he intended the inclusion of salt to be a joke but a post worker mistook it for anthrax ...
R v Roberts – 1971
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
After a party the male defendant R, gave the female victim a lift in his automobile. The victim and the defendant had not met before. The defendant began making sexual advances towards the victim which were rejected before attempting to pull off her coat. ...
R v Robinson – 1977
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was owed £7 by a woman. He approached the woman’s husband brandishing a knife, and a fight ensued during which the woman’s husband dropped a £5 note. The defendant picked up the £5 note and demanded the remaining £2 owed to him. ...
R v Rostron – 2003
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Both R and C appealed against their conviction. They argued that the golf balls were abandoned by their original owners and, thus, removal… ...
R v Ruffel – 1991
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant had thrown an ‘acid house’ party which had attracted thousands of people. The party involved very loud music that continued overnight for some 12… ...
R v Ryan – 1996
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Ryan, was discovered in the early hours of the morning stuck inside the window of an elderly person’s house and had to be removed by the fire brigade. He had managed only to get his head and one arm inside the window. ...
R v Saik – 2006
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Saik, operated a bureau de change near Marble Arch in London. Saik changed money that had been gained as proceeds of crime into… ...
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