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DPP V Santana-Bermudez
''Director of Public Prosecutions v Santa-Bermudez'' Divisional Court of Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, considering an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales), Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in a criminal assault case. The defendant, Santa-Bermudez, had lied about the presence of sharp objects in his pocket when being searched by a female police constable and the constable was injured. The defendant was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm but he argued that as he had not actively committed any action that led to the injury, he lacked the required ''actus reus'' for the crime to have been committed. Although convicted at the magistrates' court, the defendant appealed to the Crown Court which found in his favour and dismissed the case. The DPP appealed to the High Court, which ruled that the defendant's willful omission, which put the constable in a dangerous situation, was sufficient ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Court Of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England and Wales High Court) for legal citation purposes. The High Court deals at first instance with all high value and high importance civil law (non-criminal) cases; it also has a supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts and tribunals, with a few statutory exceptions, though there are debates as to whether these exceptions are effective. The High Court consists of three divisions: the King's Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division. Their jurisdictions overlap in some cases, and cases started in one division may be transferred by court order to another where appropriate. The differences of procedure and practice between divisions are partly historical, derived from the separate courts which were merged i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) (1984 c. 60) is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, and provided codes of practice for the exercise of those powers. Part VI of PACE required the Home Secretary to issue Codes of Practice governing police powers. The aim of PACE is to establish a balance between the powers of the police in England and Wales and the rights and freedoms of the public. Equivalent provision is made for Northern Ireland by the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (SI 1989/1341). The equivalent in Scots Law is the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. PACE has been modified by the Policing and Crime Act 2017, "which mean that there is now a presumption that suspects who are released without charge from police detention will not be released on bail," a formality which was written in PACE 1984 Section 30A. Synopsis Although PACE is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statute Law
Statutory law or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities. Codified law The term codified law refers to statutes that have been organized ("codified") by subject matter; in this narrower sense, some but not all statutes are considered "codified." The entire body of codified statute is referred to as a "code," such as the United States Code, the Ohio Revised Code or the Code of Canon Law. The substantive provisions of the Act could be codified (arranged by subject matter) in one or more titles of the United States Code while the provisions of the law that have not reached their "effective date" (remaining uncodified) would be available by reference to the United States Statutes at Large. Another meaning of "codified law" is a statute that takes the common l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratio Decidendi
''Ratio decidendi'' ( Latin plural ''rationes decidendi'') is a Latin phrase meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision". The ''ratio decidendi'' is "the point in a case that determines the judgement" or "the principle that the case establishes".See Barron's Law Dictionary, page 385 (2d ed. 1984). In other words, ''ratio decidendi'' is a legal rule derived from, and consistent with, those parts of legal reasoning within a judgment on which the outcome of the case depends. It is a legal phrase which refers to the legal, moral, political and social principles used by a court to compose the rationale of a particular judgment. Unlike '' obiter dicta'', the ''ratio decidendi'' is, as a general rule, binding on courts of lower and later jurisdiction—through the doctrine of '' stare decisis''. Certain courts are able to overrule decisions of a court of coordinate jurisdiction. However, out of interests of judicial comity, they generally try to follow coordinate ration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recklessness (law)
In criminal law and in the law of tort, recklessness may be defined as the state of mind where a person deliberately and unjustifiably pursues a course of action while consciously disregarding any risks flowing from such action. Recklessness is less culpable than malice, but is more blameworthy than carelessness. ''Mens rea'' and ''actus reus'' To commit a criminal offence of ''ordinary'' liability (as opposed to strict liability) the prosecution must show both the ''actus reus'' (guilty act) and ''mens rea'' (guilty mind). A person cannot be guilty of an offence for his actions alone; there must also be the requisite intention, knowledge, recklessness, or criminal negligence at the relevant time. In the case of negligence, however, the ''mens rea'' is implied. Criminal law recognizes recklessness as one of four main classes of mental state constituting '' mens rea'' elements to establish liability, namely: *Intention: intending the action; foreseeing the result; desiring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R V Miller
''R v Miller'' ( case citation: 982UKHL 6; 9832 AC 161) is an English criminal law case demonstrating how actus reus can be interpreted to be not only an act, but a failure to act. Facts James Miller, a vagrant, was squatting at 9 Grantham Road, Sparkbrook, an inner-city area in Birmingham, England, in August 1980 when he accidentally set fire to the mattress on which he was sleeping with a cigarette butt. Rather than taking action to put out the fire, he moved to a different room; the fire went on to cause extensive damage to the cost of £800. He was subsequently convicted of arson, under Sections 1 and 3 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Miller's defence was that there was no actus reus coinciding with mens rea. Although his reckless inattention to the fire could be said to constitute mens rea, it was not associated with the actus reus of setting the fire. Nevertheless, the defendant was convicted for recklessly causing damage by omission. Judgment Upon appeal to the House o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fagan V Metropolitan Police Commissioner
''Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner'' is a leading case that confirms the need for concurrence (or coincidence) of ''actus reus'' (Latin for "guilty act") and '' mens rea'' (Latin for "guilty mind") in most offences of the criminal law of England and Wales. It also advises realisation that a battery is ongoing will render the omission to act to remove that battery being inflicted a conscious battery, being sufficient ''concurrence''. Facts The defendant, Mr. Fagan, was in his car when a police officer approached him and told him to move his car. In accordance with the directions, Fagan backed his car up, accidentally rolling it onto the foot of the officer. When the officer yelled at him to move his car off his foot, he cursed back at him, told him to wait, and refused to move, which was an act of defiance. At trial, Fagan was convicted of "Assaulting a constable in execution of his duties". Fagan appealed on the grounds that there can be no offence in omitting to ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advice to the police and other investigative agencies during the course of criminal investigations, to decide whether a suspect should face criminal charges following an investigation, and to conduct prosecutions both in the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court. The Attorney General for England and Wales superintends the CPS's work and answers for it in Parliament, although the Attorney General has no influence over the conduct of prosecutions, except when national security is an issue or for a small number of offences that require the Attorney General's permission to prosecute. History Historically prosecutions were conducted through a patchwork of different systems. For serious crimes tried at the county level, justices of the peac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Lawrence
Sir Ivan John Lawrence (born 24 December 1936) is a former British Conservative Member of Parliament and criminal barrister. Early life and legal career Born in Brighton, Lawrence was the only child of parents of Russian-Romanian Jewish descent. Alma Cogan, a successful singer of traditional pop music in the post-war period, was his cousin. Lawrence was educated at the former Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and is President of the School's Old Boys' Association. He read jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ... at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became president of the Oxford University Progressive Jewish Society. From 1955 to 1957, he did Conscription in the United Kingdom, National Service in the Royal Air Force, RAF and served in Malta during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rachel Lawrence
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt Rebecca was Jacob's mother. After Leah conceived again, Rachel was finally blessed with a son, Joseph, who would become Jacob's favorite child. Children Rachel's son Joseph was destined to be the leader of Israel's tribes between exile and nationhood. This role is exemplified in the Biblical story of Joseph, who prepared the way in Egypt for his family's exile there. After Joseph's birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family. Fearing that Laban would deter him, he fled with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve children without informing his father-in-law. Laban pursued him and accused him of stealing his idols. Indeed, Rachel had taken her father's idols, hidden them inside her camel's seat cushio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Case To Answer
No case for the defendant to answer (sometimes shortened to no case to answer) is a term in the criminal law of some Commonwealth states, whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence, because of the insufficiency of the prosecution's case. The motion is infrequently used in civil cases where the defendant asserts that the plaintiff's case is insufficient to prove liability. At the close of the prosecution's case during a criminal trial, the defendant may make a motion that there is no case for the defendant to answer (similar to a motion for a directed verdict in a United States court). If the judge agrees, then the matter is dismissed and the defendant is acquitted without having to present any evidence in their defence. If the judge does not accept the submission, the case continues and the defence must present their case. Because a judge's refusal to uphold such a submission may potentially bias a jury's decision, a submission of no case to answer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middlesex Guildhall
The Middlesex Guildhall is the home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It stands on the south-west corner of Parliament Square in London. It is a Grade II* listed building. Constructed beginning in 1906 in what has been called "art nouveau gothic" style, initially the Guildhall served as an administrative and court centre for Middlesex County Council. That was abolished in 1965, and it later served as a Crown Court building until the establishment of the Supreme Court in the early 21st century. History The site on the south-west corner of Parliament Square was originally the belfry of Westminster Abbey. The first guildhall, designed as an octagon with a Doric portico by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, was built for the justices of the City and Liberty of Westminster and opened as the "Westminster Sessions House" or "Westminster Guildhall" in 1805. In 1889 Westminster became part of the County of London, outside of the jurisd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
