The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal reiterated the approach set out in R. v McKeown (Gary) [2013] NICA 28, namely that although assistance might be derived from the aggravating and mitigating features identified by the England and Wales Sentencing Guidelines Council in its definitive guidance, judges and practitioners in Northern Ireland were not constrained by those guidelines.
ATTEMPTS CORONERS AND JUSTICE ACT 2009 s.125(1) DOMESTIC BURGLARY NORTHERN IRELAND SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING SENTENCING GUIDELINES SEXUAL OFFENCES
The court gave guidance on a jury direction required in relation to establishing the elements of the offence of indecent assault.
CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE INDECENT ASSAULT JURY DIRECTIONS SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 1956 s.14(1) UNSAFE CONVICTIONS
A judge in an historic sexual offences trial had not erred in declining to discharge a juror who had known a witness’s husband through work only well enough to say hello to in passing. The judge had ascertained that the juror felt that she could remain faithful to her oath and there had been no objectively justified or legitimate doubt as to her impartiality.
BIAS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DISCHARGE OF JURY NORTHERN IRELAND SEXUAL OFFENCES WITNESSES
The court gave guidance regarding the assessment of a complainant’s mental capacity in a criminal trial when the alleged offences involved proof of a lack of consent.
ASSESSMENT OF COMPLAINANT’S MENTAL CAPACITY BURDEN OF PROOF CONSENT CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (INSANITY) ACT 1964 s.4A EXPERT WITNESSES MENTAL CAPACITY MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 2005 s.2 MENTAL HEALTH PERSONS LACKING CAPACITY s.1 s.1(2) s.2(1) s.2(4) s.30 s.30(2)(a) s.31 s.31(2)(a) s.32 s.32(2)(a) s.33 s.33(2)(a) s.4 s.4(5) s.42 s.44 s.74 s.75 s.76 SEXUAL ASSAULT SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.3 SEXUAL OFFENCES INVOLVING PROOF OF LACK OF CONSENT STANDARD OF PROOF
The Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland did not have jurisdiction to hear a purported appeal under the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980 against the lifting of reporting restrictions following a young offender’s conviction for serious sexual offences as the order had not been made on conviction as was required by s.8. The interim reporting restriction order had been made shortly before the giving of sentence.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ANONYMITY APPEAL AGAINST LIFTING OF REPORTING RESTRICTIONS ON YOUNG OFFENDER APPEALS AGAINST SENTENCE art.22(1) art.22(2) art.22(3) art.3 art.8 CRIMINAL APPEAL (NORTHERN IRELAND) ACT 1980 s.8 CRIMINAL JUSTICE (CHILDREN) (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1998 art.22 CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1988 s.159(1)(c) CRIMINAL PROCEDURE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 1950 art.6 JURISDICTION NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN JUSTICE ORDER NOT MADE ON CONVICTION REPORTING RESTRICTIONS s.159 SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES (AMENDMENT) ACT 1992 s.1 YOUNG OFFENDERS
An offender’s convictions for historic offences of rape, buggery, attempted rape, indecent assault and murder were deemed safe, as the judge had given the jury adequate directions as to the dangers of delay and its effect on the evidence.
“HISTORIC” OFFENCES ADMISSIBILITY ADMISSION OF HISTORIC EVIDENCE ATTEMPTS BUGGERY CONFESSIONS CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DELAY EFFECT ON FAIRNESS OF TRIAL INDECENT ASSAULT JURY DIRECTIONS MURDER POLICE INTERVIEWS PREJUDICE RAPE SEXUAL OFFENCES SIGNIFICANT DELAY IN CHARGING OFFENDER
An offender’s conviction for assault by penetration of the vagina had not been inconsistent with his acquittal for offences of attempted rape and sexual assault by anal penetration. Nor could his conviction be overturned on the grounds that the judge had given the jury a Watson direction at the same time as a majority verdict direction, as there was no evidence that the jury had been pressured into delivering compromise verdicts.
ASSAULT BY PENETRATION CONVICTIONS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE INCONSISTENT VERDICTS JURY DIRECTIONS MAJORITY VERDICTS OFFENDER CHARGED WITH THREE COUNTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT ON YOUNG WOMAN SAFETY OF CONVICTION SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING SEXUAL ASSAULT SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.2 WATSON DIRECTION GIVEN AT SAME TIME AS MAJORITY VERDICT DIRECTION WATSON DIRECTIONS WHETHER CONVICTION ON ONE COUNT INCONSISTENT WITH ACQUITTAL ON OTHER TWO COUNTS
A 30-year delay on the part of a complainant did not render an offender’s convictions for indecent assault, indecency with a child, and rape unsafe as the judge had sufficiently dealt with any prejudice to the offender in his summing up and directions to the jury and there had been other evidence that supported the complainant’s evidence.
“HISTORIC” OFFENCES 30-YEAR DELAY BETWEEN INCIDENT GIVING RISE TO ALLEGATIONS AND COMPLAINANT’S ALLEGATIONS ABUSE OF PROCESS BAD CHARACTER CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL LAW DELAY FAIRNESS INDECENCY INDECENT ASSAULT PREJUDICE TO OFFENDER PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS PROPENSITY RAPE SAFETY OF CONVICTIONS SEXUAL OFFENCES STAY OF PROCEEDINGS
An appeal against convictions on 12 counts of sexual assault by penetration, four counts of rape and a count of unlawful wounding was dismissed where a judge had been correct not to treat as evidence the offender’s admissions made in a written statement and police interview as the prosecution had only relied on them to a very limited extent.
ADMISSIONS CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE JURY DIRECTIONS NATURE OF MIXED STATEMENTS POLICE INTERVIEWS SEXUAL OFFENCES SUMMING UP WHETHER NEED FOR WARNING EVIDENCE NOT GIVEN ON OATH
Although the delay in the appellant’s prosecution for historic sexual offences was extreme, the resulting missing evidence was not of a degree of cogency that could amount to a finding of serious prejudice in its absence. The trial judge had given the jury appropriate directions regarding the effect of the delay and the appellant’s convictions were safe.
“HISTORIC” OFFENCES CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DEFENCE EVIDENCE DELAY EFFECT OF EXTENSIVE DELAY ON DEFENCE CASE PREJUDICE RAPE SEXUAL OFFENCES STAY OF PROCEEDINGS
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