Case Summaries
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R v Secretary of State for Wales
Example case summary. Last modified: July 4, 2019
The appellant was the owner of a Grade II listed building which was subject to a notice of removal in respect of a carillon……
R v Latimer – 1886
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Tabassum – 2000
Example case summary. Last modified: June 27, 2019
The appellant had deceived a number of women into participating in what was claimed to be a breast cancer survey, for the purposes of helping……
R v Gotts – 1982
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
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 Hall – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: July 5, 2019
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 Slingsby – 1995
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
The defendant, Simon Slingsby, penetrated the complainant’s vagina and rectum with his fingers, accidentally cutting her with the signet ring he was wearing. The complainant did not notice the internal cuts, which later became infected, causing the complainant to develop septicaemia and die….
R v Ireland – 1998
Example case summary. Last modified: October 1, 2021
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 Stewart [2009] 1 WLR 2507 Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: July 5, 2019
Case Summary of R v Stewart [2009] 1 WLR 2507. Issues surrounding intoxication as a defence…
R v Quick [1973] QB 910
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Horncastle and Others 2009
Example case summary. Last modified: September 6, 2021
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 Calhaem
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
The defendant was convicted of murder under s.8 of the Accessories and Abettors Act 1861. She had counselled Z to murder the victim….
R v Inglis
Example case summary. Last modified: October 6, 2021
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 Clouden – 1987
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The defendant approached the victim from behind whilst she was carrying a shopping basket in her left hand. He wrenched the basket down from her grasp and ran off with it….
R v Sharp (David Bruce) – 1987
Example case summary. Last modified: June 27, 2019
Sharp joined a gang of robbers that he knew possessed and used firearms. He participated in a robbery of a post office, in which the leader……
R v Flattery – 1877
Example case summary. Last modified: October 22, 2021
The defendant, John Flattery (JF) posed as a medical doctor and surgeon. The complainant, a young woman aged 19, consulted JF with respect to an illness she was suffering, accompanied by her mother….
R v Miller – 1954
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
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 Malcherek and Steel
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Cheshire – 1991
Example case summary. Last modified: September 28, 2021
Chain of causation – Death in hospital following shooting. Cheshire shot a man during the course of an argument. The victim was taken to hospital to have surgery and shortly after developed respiratory issues….
R v Brind 1991 | Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: June 27, 2019
The applicants sought a judicial review of directives issued by the Home Secretary. The directives placed limits on the broadcasting permission……
R v Taaffe – 1984
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
Paul Desmond Taafe (T) was enlisted by a third party in Holland to import cannabis into England, which was prohibited to import under the……
R v R – 1992
Example case summary. Last modified: September 29, 2021
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 Clinton – 2012
Example case summary. Last modified: October 1, 2021
In the first case, Clinton killed his wife in their family home because of her sexual infidelity. He was convicted of murder and arson by the Crown Court. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum specified term of 26 years….
R v Blaue – 1975
Example case summary. Last modified: October 25, 2021
After the victim refused the defendant’s sexual advances the defendant stabbed the victim four times. Whist the victim was admitted to hospital she required medical treatment which involved a blood transfusion….
R v Dawson and James – 1976
Example case summary. Last modified: July 5, 2019
One defendant pushed the victim who lost his balance enabling the second defendant to steal his wallet. The two defendants were convicted……
R v Home Secretary, ex p Northumbria Police Authority
Example case summary. Last modified: July 5, 2019
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 Golds
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Clarence
Example case summary. Last modified: December 29, 2020
The defendant, Charles James Clarence (CJC) was charged for unlawfully inflicting grievous bodily harm upon his wife Selina Clarence (SC) and……
R v G (2003) – Recklessness in Criminal Law
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
Prior to the case of R v G, there were two main approaches to recklessness. The first was derived from the case of R v Cunningham were the interpretation of recklessness was when the defendant foresees the risk of harm yet does the act anyway….
R v Shillam – 2013
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
Shillam bought cocaine from R, in order to sell. He had been observed by police surveillance units meeting with R and was arrested driving a van and……
R v Poulton – 1832
Example case summary. Last modified: July 5, 2019
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 Gomez – 1993
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
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 Hardie – 1985
Example case summary. Last modified: June 27, 2019
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 Foreign Secretary ex parte Abbasi
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
The first claimant was a British national who had been captured by United States forces in Afghanistan and detained in Guantanamo Bay……
R v Lowe – 1973
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Constanza – 1997
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
Whether words alone could constitute an assault and the temporal element of fear of immediate violence. A man was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm of a female ex-colleague. …
R v Burgess – 1991
Example case summary. Last modified: July 13, 2019
The appellant (B) was charged with wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. His defence was that during the event he was sleep……
R v Gurpinar; R v Kojo-Smith and Caton
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
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 Ciccarelli
Example case summary. Last modified: July 13, 2019
The incident took place at a house party with the complainant in attendance, as well as the defendant and his girlfriend. They had met three……
R v Bunch – 2013
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
The defendant, Bunch, murdered the victim in front of her husband by stabbing her more than 20 times after the relationship between the two ended….
R v Chan Fook
Example case summary. Last modified: July 3, 2019
The appellant, Mr Chan-Fook, had accused the victim, a lodger, of the theft of his fiancé’s engagement ring. The appellant, after striking the victim……
R v Collins – 1973
Example case summary. Last modified: October 5, 2021
The defendant, Collins, climbed up to the window of a young woman at 4:00 a.m. When she awoke and saw him on her window sill. She mistook him for her boyfriend and beckoned him in. …
R v Johnson – 2007
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
J was convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Following his arrest, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia……
R v Instan – 1893
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
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 Lamb 1967
Example case summary. Last modified: October 22, 2021
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 Cato – 1976
Example case summary. Last modified: October 28, 2021
Mr Cato and the victim prepared their own syringes and then injected each other with heroin. The victim died. Mr Cato was convicted of manslaughter and administering a noxious thing contrary to s. 23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861….
R v Evans – 2009
Example case summary. Last modified: September 30, 2021
Manslaughter by gross negligence – duty of care. Evans purchased heroin and gave it to her half-sister who later self-ingested the drug. Evans recognised that the victim had symptoms akin to those of an overdose and remained with her mother and the victim, without calling for medical assistance as they feared getting into trouble….
R v Hayward
Example case summary. Last modified: July 3, 2019
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 Smith – 1959
Example case summary. Last modified: September 28, 2021
Causation – The defendant was a soldier who stabbed one of his comrades during a fight in an army barracks. The victim was taken to receive medical attention, but whilst being carried to the hospital was dropped twice by those carrying him….
R v Kelly and Lindsay – 1998
Example case summary. Last modified: June 27, 2019
The first defendant (K) had access to the Royal College of Surgeons to take drawings of anatomical specimens. The second defendant……
R v Steer
Example case summary. Last modified: June 28, 2019
Steer went to his business partner’s property rang the doorbell and after no answer, fired a rifle at the bedroom and sitting room windows and the door……
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