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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 2014 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed due to unreliable identification, procedural defects in cautioned statement, and failure to tender weapon.
Criminal law – robbery with violence – sufficiency of prosecution evidence – identification at night – inadmissibility/weight of retracted cautioned statement admitted without proper inquiry – failure to tender alleged weapon – appellate interference where lower courts misapprehend evidence.
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30 July 2014 |
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Failure to read a substituted charge and take a fresh plea renders the trial a nullity; convictions quashed.
Criminal procedure — Amendment/substitution of charge — Section 234(2)(a) CPA — Mandatory taking of fresh plea — Failure renders trial a nullity — Not curable under s.388(1) CPA — Appellate revisional powers (s.4(2) AJA) — Convictions quashed.
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2 July 2014 |
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Failure by the courts below to consider the appellant’s defence warranted quashing the conviction and setting aside the sentence.
Criminal law – Appeal – Duty of court to consider accused's defence – Even weak or improbable defences must be fairly and impartially considered – Failure to consider defence amounts to miscarriage of justice – Remedy: quashing conviction and setting aside sentence.
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1 July 2014 |
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Appeal dismissed: confessions by one appellant were voluntary and corroborated; convictions and death sentences upheld.
Criminal law – confession and voluntariness of cautioned and extra‑judicial statements; corroboration requirement for co‑accused confessions (Evidence Act s.33); competency and corroboration of witness living with accused (Evidence Act ss.130, 142); distinction between voluntary confessions and afterthought retractions; accidental killing/drunkenness defence as unsupported.
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1 July 2014 |
| June 2014 |
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A juvenile unlawfully imprisoned may be released by the Court exercising revisional powers to vitiate illegal proceedings.
* Criminal procedure – conviction in absence – duty of trial court under section 226(2) to set aside conviction/remit record upon subsequent arrest. * Sentencing – juvenile offender – section 131(2)(a) Penal Code prohibits imprisonment of a 14‑year‑old; corporal punishment is the lawful sentence. * Appellate jurisdiction – exercise of revisional powers under section 4(2) to vitiate proceedings and order release where imprisonment is illegal and substantive justice so requires.
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30 June 2014 |
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Jurisdictional defect in transfer rendered proceedings null; conviction unsafe due to uncorroborated accomplice evidence and ignored defence.
Jurisdiction — invalid transfer to Principal Resident Magistrate (Extended Jurisdiction) — proceedings nullity; Criminal law — conviction based on uncorroborated accomplice evidence — requirement for independent corroboration; Criminal procedure — failure to consider accused’s defence is fatal; Appellate jurisdiction — invocation of section 4(2) AJA to nullify proceedings and afford substantive relief.
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30 June 2014 |
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Conviction for rape of a girl under fourteen upheld on circumstantial and medical evidence despite discounting her testimony.
Evidence — Child witness — Requirement for voir dire under s.127(1),(2) Evidence Act; omission mandates discounting testimony; Criminal Procedure Act s.388 — curable defect in particulars; Rape — proof by cumulative circumstantial and medical evidence; admissions and eyewitness account as corroboration.
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27 June 2014 |
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27 June 2014 |
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Appeal allowed where both lower courts failed to consider the accused’s defence; conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law — armed robbery conviction — failure of trial and first appellate courts to consider accused’s defence — omission a fatal irregularity — conviction quashed and sentence set aside.
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27 June 2014 |
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Conviction overturned: the appellant's identification, recent-possession evidence and cautioned statement were inadmissible or insufficient.
Criminal law – Armed robbery; visual identification – reliability at night; recent possession doctrine – requirements for application and identification of recovered property; admissibility of cautioned statements – compliance with section 169(1) Criminal Procedure Act; procedural irregularity in admitting search warrants/exhibits.
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27 June 2014 |
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Appellate court affirmed murder conviction: cautioned statement under s57 admissible; retracted confession and cumulative evidence justified conviction.
* Criminal procedure – Cautioned statements – distinction between s57 (answers to questions) and s58 (volunteered statements) – admissibility of question-and-answer cautioned statements.
* Confession – retracted/repudiated confession – court may convict if satisfied of truth (TUWAMOI principle); corroboration desirable but not always required.
* Evidence – cumulative assessment of confessions, medical (post-mortem) evidence and conduct (recovery of stolen property) can support conviction.
* Appeal – appellate re-evaluation of evidence but will not disturb a well-founded trial verdict.
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25 June 2014 |
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Conviction quashed because recent-possession evidence failed: stolen goods were not linked to the appellant and key witness was not called.
Criminal law – Armed robbery – Doctrine of recent possession – Requirements for invoking recent possession (possession, ownership, recent theft, nexus) – Failure to call person found with alleged stolen property undermines prosecution case – Identification issues where eyewitnesses did not identify accused at scene.
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25 June 2014 |
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Identification evidence (lighting, duration, proximity, prompt naming) upheld convictions for robbery and rape.
Criminal law – identification evidence; night-time identification – hurricane lamp illumination; duration of incident; prior acquaintance of witness and accused; prompt naming as indicator of reliability; sufficiency of identification to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 June 2014 |
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Failure to prove payments and absence of vouchers created reasonable doubt, so convictions were quashed and sentence set aside.
Criminal law – Stealing by agent – burden of proof and benefit of doubt; Evidence – requirement of consistent analysis where counts share common features; Documentary proof – importance of payment vouchers to link withdrawals to accused; Appeal – misdirected evaluation of evidence and quashing of conviction.
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23 June 2014 |
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A request for judgment copies did not constitute notice of intention to appeal; extension application showed no notice given, appeal dismissed.
Criminal procedure – extension of time under s.361 CPA – whether request for judgment copies constitutes notice of intention to appeal – difference between "filing" and "giving" notice – s.361 does not require written notice.
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20 June 2014 |
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High Court erred in summarily dismissing appeal; appeal remitted for full hearing on identification, PF3 admissibility and voir dire compliance.
Criminal law – appeal – summary dismissal under s.364 Criminal Procedure Act – duty of first appellate court to consider grounds on merit; Evidence – admissibility of PF3 – compliance with s.240(3) CPA; Evidence – voir dire for child witness – compliance with s.127(2) Evidence Act; Appellate jurisdiction – invocation of s.4(2) Appellate Jurisdiction Act to nullify summary order and remit for full hearing.
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19 June 2014 |
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Appeal struck out for failure to serve notice of appeal as required by Court of Appeal Rules; costs awarded to respondent.
Civil procedure – appellate procedure – notice of appeal – mandatory service under Rule 84(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules 2009 – failure to serve is fatal to appeal; remedy: striking out; costs awarded to respondent.
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19 June 2014 |
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Unsafe visual identification and improperly admitted cautioned statements led to quashing of convictions.
Criminal law – Visual identification – Reliability affected by lighting, sudden attack and first-time sighting; Identification parade – PGO No. 232 compliance (number of persons and multiple parades where more than two suspects); Cautioned statements – requirement to clear documents by asking accused if they object before admission; Procedural irregularities may render convictions unsafe.
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18 June 2014 |
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Procedural irregularities (no preliminary hearing, timing issues) do not invalidate conviction absent demonstrated prejudice.
Criminal procedure – preliminary hearing (s.192 CPA) – failure to conduct preliminary hearing is irregular but does not automatically vitiate trial absent prejudice; Evidence – proof of complainant's age – charge sheet and testimony sufficient where not challenged at trial; Criminal procedure – filing of certificate under s.225(4)(a) – timing calculated excluding non-working days and breach requires demonstration of prejudice to vitiate trial; Delay – undue delay in prosecution/ trial requires showing of prejudice.
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16 June 2014 |
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Court affirmed manslaughter conviction: identification reliable, accomplice evidence corroborated; procedural errors were harmless.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Necessity for convincingly excluding mistaken identity where conviction relies on visual identification.
* Evidence – Accomplice testimony – Competency under s.142 Evidence Act; corroboration and early identification strengthen reliability.
* Evidence – Contradictions – Distinguishing material from minor discrepancies; minor contradictions do not vitiate prosecution case.
* Criminal law – Manslaughter – Elements: death, unlawful causation by accused, lack of intent to kill (reduction from murder).
* Procedure – Trial irregularities (failure to acquit on charge before convicting on lesser offence; wrong statutory citation) can be harmless where no prejudice is shown.
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16 June 2014 |
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Appeal dismissed; conviction for incest upheld on eyewitness, medical and confession evidence.
* Criminal law – Incest – Sufficiency of evidence – Eyewitness account, medical (PF3) findings and accused's cautioned statement as corroboration. * Appellate procedure – Second appeal – Concurrent findings of fact and limits on interference. * Evidence – Failure to cross-examine on alleged motive implies acceptance. * Fair trial – Accused's opportunity to call witnesses and record showing no witnesses called.
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13 June 2014 |
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Charge for attempted rape must disclose statutory mode (e.g. threatening); omission of essential element renders conviction unsustainable.
Criminal procedure — Charge particulars — Requirement to state specific offence and necessary particulars (ss.132,135 CPA) — Attempted rape redefined by SOSPA — ‘‘Threatening’’ as essential element under s.132(2)(a) — Defective charge not curable where essential element omitted — Distinction between rape and attempted rape; evidence must prove the charged offence beyond reasonable doubt.
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12 June 2014 |
| May 2014 |
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Retracted cautioned confessions can ground a murder conviction if warned against and corroborated by independent evidence.
* Criminal law – retracted cautioned/confessional statements – need for warning and corroboration (TUWAMOI principle).
* Evidence – corroboration by admissions, recovered exhibits and post-mortem findings.
* Procedure – extra-judicial statements by Justices of the Peace must comply with Chief Justice's Instructions; failure vitiates statement.
* Homicide – malice aforethought established by nature of injuries and circumstances.
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21 May 2014 |