Results.
18 judgments found.
|
|
|
| December 1996 |
|
|
A conviction based on an equivocal guilty plea and bare facts for receiving stolen property was unsafe and quashed.
-
Criminal law — receiving stolen property — plea of guilty must be supported by unequivocal facts — accused’s knowledge or reason to suspect — accused’s understanding of plea (illiteracy) — unsafe conviction quashed.
|
30 December 1996 |
|
Whether eligible but unregistered voters may obtain interlocutory relief to halt a by-election until registration disputes are adjudicated.
-
Constitutional and electoral law — right to registration and to vote — interlocutory relief — application of American Cyanamid principles — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience in election disputes.
|
9 December 1996 |
| November 1996 |
|
|
|
20 November 1996 |
| October 1996 |
|
|
Age and first‑offender status do not preclude custodial sentences for serious housebreaking; the imposed imprisonment was confirmed.
-
Criminal law — Housebreaking and theft — Seriousness of burglary offences — Age and first‑offender status not by themselves grounds for non‑custodial sentence or suspension — Sentencing confirmed
|
31 October 1996 |
| March 1996 |
|
|
Appeal allowed where identification parade was defective, pre-parade exposure occurred, and visibility was poor.
-
Identification evidence — Defective identification parade (conducted by investigating constable) — Pre-parade viewing/suggestiveness — Poor visibility at dawn — Lack of descriptive particulars — Identification evidence unsafe
|
29 March 1996 |
|
High Court confirmed concurrent sentences but found them inadequate, affirmed DPP's right to appeal sentencing on questions of law.
-
Sentencing — Breaking into building (s311 Penal Code) — Adequacy of sentence; starting point three years — Multiple offences as aggravation — DPP right to appeal on question of law (s346 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code) — Delay in review process undermining remedy
|
5 March 1996 |
| February 1996 |
|
|
Convictions for cheating set aside where borrowed items were not returned but no evidence of trick or device existed.
-
Criminal law — Cheating (s.321 Penal Code) — Requirement of a trick or device — Borrowed goods not returned does not constitute cheating absent evidence of deception
|
29 February 1996 |
|
Unspecified "intimidation" did not satisfy robbery-with-violence requirements; conviction substituted to theft and sentence adjusted.
-
Criminal law — Robbery with violence — statutory requirement of actual violence or threat of actual violence — allegation of "intimidation" insufficiently particularised — conviction substituted to theft from a person (s278 read with s282(a) Penal Code) — sentence varied on review
|
22 February 1996 |
|
Section 329 conviction unsustainable where accused lacked possession at time of charge; past sale does not attract liability.
-
Criminal law — Possession — Section 329 Penal Code — Requires contemporaneous possession when charged; past possession insufficient for conviction
|
22 February 1996 |
|
Plaintiff entitled to recover taxed costs from a successful co‑defendant; K24,913.70 awarded.
-
Civil procedure — Costs — Taxed costs — Entitlement to recover taxed bill from a successful co-defendant — Authority: Bullock v London General Omnibus Co. (1907) KB 264.
|
15 February 1996 |
|
Robbery conviction quashed where no violence or threat to obtain/retain property; convicted of theft and sentenced to three years.
-
Criminal law — Robbery — Elements of robbery require violence or threat to obtain or retain property — Subsequent assault unrelated to retention cannot support robbery; substitution to theft from a person and sentence reduction
|
14 February 1996 |
|
Assessment of personal injury damages, hearsay inadmissibility of medical reports, rejection of vehicle claim due to discharge.
-
Damages for personal injury — distinction between pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses — assessment by comparison and adjustment for local economic conditions; admissibility of medical reports — hearsay unless doctor called; proof required for special damages; discharge as bar to vehicle claim; interest and exemplary damages not recoverable.
|
13 February 1996 |
| January 1996 |
|
|
A first-time theft offender should not be denied suspension merely because the offence is commonplace or crime has increased.
-
Sentencing — suspension of sentence under s.340 — first offenders — commonplaceness of offence not sufficient to refuse suspension — distinction between sentencing purposes and principles — upsurge in crime addressed by sentence severity, not denial of suspension
|
31 January 1996 |
|
Court increased the respondent's burglary sentence to three years, finding two years inadequate to deter crime.
-
Criminal law — Burglary and housebreaking — Sentencing principles — Starting points for repeat offenders (5–6 years) — Mitigating factors reduce sentences — Public interest and deterrence may justify enhancement on review — Concurrent sentences
|
29 January 1996 |
|
A nine-month sentence for stealing one oxcart tyre was manifestly excessive and required suspension and release.
-
Sentencing — Theft (low-value property) — Proportionality of sentence — Mitigating factors (youth, first offender) — Joint commission not automatically aggravating — Suspension of sentence
|
29 January 1996 |
|
Five-year sentence for armed, concerted rape confirmed; sentencing reasons required and guilty plea warranted only modest mitigation.
-
Criminal law — Rape — Sentencing — Requirement for sentencing reasons — Weight of mitigation (youth, first offender, guilty plea) — Aggravating factors (armed, in concert, assault, humiliation) — Confirmation on review
|
24 January 1996 |
|
A court cannot impose disparate sentences based on untested co-defendants' statements without giving the defendant a chance to respond.
-
Criminal law — Sentencing — Disparate sentences — Degree of participation — Reliance on co-defendants' or police statements — Plea of guilty requires opportunity for accused to present version — Caution with self-serving statements (R v Smith)
|
24 January 1996 |
|
Appeal dismissed: arrest injuries and guilty plea insufficient to outweigh aggravating group violence and injury to victim.
-
Criminal law — breaking into building and committing felony — sentence — mitigating factors — injury during arrest — guilty plea reduction — starting point three years — aggravation by group, violence and injury — appeal dismissed
|
11 January 1996 |