C & Ors, R v, Court of Appeal - Criminal Division, November 26, 2008, [2008] EWCA Crim 2790
Linked as:
Extract
C & Ors, R v, Court of Appeal - Criminal Division, November 26, 2008, [2008] EWCA Crim 2790
Neutral Citation Number: [2008] EWCA Crim 2790
Case No: 2008/04502/A6 (1)2008/04591/A1 (2)2008/04551/A1 (3)2008/04542/A7 (4)2008/04444/A9 (5)2008/04418/A7 (6)2008/04492/A4 (7)2008/04325/A7 (8)2008/04338/A7 (9)IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURECOURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT GUILDFORDHIS HONOUR JUDGE ADDISON (1)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT CANTERBURY HER HONOUR JUDGE W (2)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT BRADFORDHIS HONOUR JUDGE MCCALLUM (3)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT TEESSIDEHIS HONOUR JUDGE BOWERS(4)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT SOUTHAMPTONHIS HONOUR JUDGE BURFORD QC (5)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT NEWCASTLEHER HONOUR JUDGE BOLTON (6)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT ST ALBANSHIS HONOUR JUDGE FINDLAY-BAKER QC (7)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT BLACKFRIARSHIS HONOUR JUDGE MARRON QC (8)ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT NEWCASTLEHER HONOUR JUDGE BOLTON (9) Royal Courts of JusticeStrand, London, WC2A 2LLDate: 26/11/2008Before :THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICEMR JUSTICE OWENandMR JUSTICE SWEENEY- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Between :(On a Reference by the Attorney General)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mr P. Wright QC and Mr O. Glasgow for the Attorney General on the Reference And for the Respondent in the remaining casesMr A Turton for C (1)Miss T Robinson for CO (2)Mr N. Bashir for P (3)Mr B. Russell for D (4)Mr D. Reid for W (5)Mr M Giuliani for Rickman (6)Miss N Cafferkey for Andrews (7)Mr T Smith for Forbes (8)Mr C. Mitford for Douglas (9)Hearing date : 14th October 2008 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -JudgmentThe Lord Chief Justice: 1. These nine otherwise unrelated cases were listed together to enable the court to consider and review the amendments made by the sections 13-18 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (the 2008 Act) to Chapter 5 of Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the 2003 Act). 2. The relevant provisions of the 2003 Act and the 2008 Act amendments were brought into force on 4 April 2005 and 14 July 2008 respectively. These far reaching amendments were expressly declared, by paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2008 (SI 2008 No. 1586) not to have effect in relation to any person sentenced under any of the provisions of sections 225-228 of the 2003 Act before 14 July 2008. The date when an offender is brought before the court and sentenced is largely accidental and depends on the needs and business, and the overall interests of victims and witnesses, as well as defendants, in each Crown Court. The effect of the transitional provisions is that an offender sentenced before 14 July 2008 (and any appeal by him to this court) is governed by sections 225-228 of the 2003 Act (provided the offences were committed after 4 April 2005) and that after 14 July 2008 the amended sentencing regime found in sections 13-18 of the 2008 Act applies.3. The first case, a Reference by Her Majesty's Attorney General, illustrates some of the complications. C committed offences before and after 4 April 2005. For those committed before that date, the relevant sentencing provisions are contained in a number of statutes, of which the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 and the Sexual Offences Acts 1956 and 2003 are the most important. A sentence of imprisonment for public protection or an extended sentence under the 2003 Act could not be imposed. For offences committed after 4 April 2005, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (brought into force on 1 May 2004) and the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (brought into force on 4 April 2005) effectively govern the relevant sentencing decision, although the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act from time to time, continues to be relevant. For these offences a sentence of imprisonment for public protection or an extended sentence would, if appropriate, be available in accordance with the regime created by the 2003 Act itself. However where the offender is sentenced after 14 July 2008 (for whatever reason including the demands on the court, the illness of witnesses, the length of any trial, a sentence delayed because the offender deliberately absented himself) the 2003 Act is to be applied as amended by the 2008 Act, rather than its original form. It is perhaps worth noting that the amendments brought about by the 2008 Act do not impinge on the long established principle, now enshrined in statute, that the court is required to have ``regard'' to ``protection'' of the public as one of the...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
