The death of a drug seller ~ Fixing the minimum term of imprisonment

Adam Vincent was a drug addict and in bad health as a result.  He sold drugs on the streets for the Griffiths family who operated their drug operation from a bungalow in Grimsby.  Lee Griffiths, Luke Griffiths, Thomas Griffiths and Mark Jackson were convicted before a judge and jury of the brutal murder of Vincent.  They appealed against the minimum terms of imprisonment determined by the trial judge who applied the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sections 269 and 270 and Schedule 21.

Lee Griffiths, Luke Griffiths, Thomas Griffiths and Mark Jackson v R [2012] EWCA Crim 2822 Hughes LJ, Ramsay and Irwin JJ

Guilty Pleas ~ sentence reduction

The last day of the Michaelmas Law term 2012 was 21st December and no less than nine Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments and four Criminal Division judgments were handed down that day.  These can all be seen on the Bailii website along with the numerous judgments of other courts and tribunals.

The Criminal Division considered the effect of guilty pleas in relation to sentence - Caley and others (Guilty Pleas) v R [2012] EWCA Crim 2821 Hughes LJ, Wilkie and Popplewell JJ.

It has been long standing practice to give a "discount" on sentence when there is a guilty plea.  The amount of the discount depends on the time at which the defendant indicates "his intention to plead guilty."  Here is a powerful incentive to indicate an intention to plead guilty at the earliest possible stage since the discount can be as high as one-third.  Such a discount can amount to several years in cases where lengthy sentences of imprisonment are inevitable.

The Lord Chief Justice warns

In a light hearted speech with a serious message, the Lord Chief Justice has warned of the need for vigilance where the rule of law is concerned.

"I am not sounding a clarion call against any imminent threat to the rule of law.  What I am, however, saying is that even in a country with the values with which we are blessed, it is unwise to take them for granted or to assume that we can be sure that in years to come that some new force may not emerge to undermine them; it may be insidious, maybe almost imperceptible. Indeed if insidious and almost imperceptible it is probably more dangerous. So in this context the “may be” is enough.  The future, after all, is long as well as short and the world is changing fast."

Speech at Mansion House, London.

The tragedy is that, in 2012, Parliament enacted the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which will soon come to remove access to justice for thousands of people who, when in conflict with authority, need an advocate with good understanding of the law and its practical application.

Seasons Greetings

The Greetings of the Season to all readers.  Thank you for your interest in the various stories and for your interesting comments.  All much appreciated.


Christmas tree in the foyer of the Supreme Court.

Please return to the blog over the coming period for some more stories.

It's interesting to note that Fairytale of New York (The Pogues & Kirsty McColl) has recently been voted the nation's favourite Christmas song.   For me, there is no doubt that the greatest of all Christmas songs is "In the Bleak Midwinter" - here it is sung by Sissel.

Sentencing ~ Common assault

A father attends a school and assaults the Head Teacher.  Should this merit a custodial sentence?  This was the issue in the case of Paul Stratford  - see Daily Mail 21st December.   The Head Teacher wished to exclude Stratford's son from school for 1 day for 'racial abuse.'  On attending the school, Stratford punched and pushed the teacher and later claimed that he was protecting his son's eye from the teacher's pointing finger.  Stratford's attack on the teacher ended when the caretaker intervened and it is reported that Stratford 'continued to rant' as he left the school.  The Daily Mail commented:  "Despite the gravity of the offence, magistrates decided to impose only a community sentence, telling Stratford to pay his victim £100."  Of course, here was a case which is grist to the mill of a "get-tough-on-criminals" newspaper but it is not unreasonable to think that many ordinary people will agree that the sentence was light.

Let us leave aside Stratford's case for a while since we just have a media report and do not know every detail.  Instead, let us focus on the sentencing guidelines to see what they indicate as a sentence for an assault on a teacher when, perhaps fortuitously, there is no injury despite the teacher being punched once and pushed.

Drinking and driving ~ the government's consultation

With the festive season upon us, here is a timely reminder that the government has plans to amend the law of drinking and driving. 

Have a look at the government's consultation:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/enforcement-procedures-against-drink-drivers-and-other-offenders

This consultation encompasses the legislative changes the government proposed in its response of March 2011 to the reports by Sir Peter North and the Transport Select Committee on drink and drug driving (“the government’s response”). The changes covered in this consultation do not, however, include creating a new offence related to driving with a specified impairing drug in the body, which is also being progressed by the government.

The only safe advice which can be given about drinking / driving is do not do it. 

The changes are considered in an excellent post on CharonQC's blog - Timely advice on the drink driving laws from Jeanette Miller - solicitor.

A man and his bicycle on an important street

The original event:

On the evening of 19th September 2012, the former government Chief Whip (Mr Andrew Mitchell MP) cycled along Downing Street in the direction of Whitehall.  The Guardian (19th December) has some CCTV pictures - Pleb row: what does CCTV show?    Mr Mitchell can be seen, on his bicycle, at time 19:36:01 proceeding toward Whitehall.    A short time later, he arrived at the gates across the entrance to Downing Street.  The Police Officers on duty can be seen by the gates.  He probably arrived at the gates by around 19:36:20 (latest).  At time 19:36:47, Mr Mitchell can be seen, with his bicycle, walking out of the side gate - a further CCTV picture of him leaving via the gate is here.  An Officer opened the gate for him and closed it afterwards.

There is no sound recording with the CCTV.  What happened in the short time between Mr Mitchell arriving at the gate and him leaving the street - a period of time of around 27 seconds?   It appears that the officers did not wish to open the main gates and so Mr Mitchell was asked to exit via the side gate.  Mr Mitchell has admitted making some remarks to the officers and, afterwards, he apologised for whatever he had said and the apology was accepted.   Two Police Officers stated that Mr Mitchell had called them "fucking plebs" but Mr Mitchell has consistently denied using those words.

The event was reported