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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions >> R. v Gwynn [2002] EWCA Crim 2951 (19 December 2002) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2002/2951.html Cite as: [2002] EWCA Crim 2951 |
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COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT WORCESTER
HIS HONOUR JUDGE MOTT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL | ||
B e f o r e :
MR JUSTICE BELL
and
MR JUSTICE ANDREW SMITH
____________________
REGINA | ||
- v - | ||
RICHARD MARK GWYNN |
____________________
Mr N Cartwright (instructed by the CPS) for the Crown
Hearing dates : 5 December 2002
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Andrew Smith:
"It is necessary, briefly, to refer to the effect to section 51 and 52 and schedule 3 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. These, in our judgment, make it clear that, if a defendant appears before the Magistrates' Court charged with an indictable only offence and a related offence of criminal damage, the Magistrates' Court must send the defendant for trial for both matters, without making any determination, under section 22 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. When the defendant appears before the Crown Court, the Crown Court must perform substantially the same task as the Magistrates' Court would have performed. If it appears to that court that the value involved exceeds the relevant sum, it treats the offence as an indictable offence. If it appears it does not exceed the relevant sum, it treats the offence as a summary offence. If the Crown court determines it is clear that the damage does exceed £5,000, it must treat the offence as indictable and the maximum sentence will be 10 years' imprisonment, if the defendant is convicted, even if it can be shown subsequently that the value of the damage does not exceed £5,000."
Prosecuting Counsel (having stated the cost of repairing each car): By virtue of the damage each of those counts is plainly summary in nature, it being less than £5,000 in each case".
Judge: So what is the -?
Prosecuting Counsel: Three months".
"At the heart of this appeal is the question of whether such an 8 month sentence would be permissible, which it would not if those three other offences were all summary offences so that the Crown Court's powers of sentencing were limited to those of the justices; that is to say, a total of only 6 months could have been passed in relation to those three offences."
"If an offender appears for sentence before the Crown Court, for criminal damage otherwise than under a particular provision specifically restricting the sentencing powers of the Crown Court, then the maximum sentence available is 10 years. If a defendant appears before a Magistrates' Court charged with an offence of criminal damage, the court must proceed under section 22 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, to determine the apparent value of the damage. If that apparent value is less than £5,000, it must proceed as if the offence were a summary offence. After such a determination, an offence treated as a summary offence is subject to the maximum sentence of 3 months' imprisonment, whether the offender is sentenced by the Magistrates, or, ultimately, sentenced by the Crown Court because the offence has come before the Crown Court on committal by the magistrates, under section 40, or otherwise."