Preliminaries to trial in the Crown Court. Application to dismiss

Question 1

Applications for Dismissal

Answer 1

Under the CDA 1998, sch. 3, para. 2(1) the accused may (after the date when the accused is served with the documents containing the evidence on which the charge(s) are based, but before the date of the arraignment) apply orally or in writing to the Crown Court for the charge(s) to be dismissed. Where such an application is made, the judge must dismiss any charge (and quash any count relating to it in the indictment) if it appears that the evidence against the applicant would not be sufficient to ensure a proper conviction.

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

The accused may make an oral application for dismissal only after giving written notice of intention to do so

Question 3

Test on Dismissal Applications

Answer 3

In R (Inland Revenue Commissioners) v Crown Court at Kingston it was held that, on an application to dismiss (under earlier legislation), the judge was required to take into account the whole of the evidence against the accused, and that it was not appropriate for the judge to view any evidence in isolation from its context and other evidence.

The judge is not bound to assume that a jury would make every possible inference capable of being drawn against the accused but, where the case depends on the inferences or conclusions to be drawn from the evidence, the judge must assess the inferences or conclusions that the prosecution propose to ask the jury to draw, and decide whether it appears that the jury could properly draw those inferences and come to those conclusions.

It is submitted that the same principles would necessarily apply to applications to dismiss.

the court in R (Inland Revenue Commissioners) v Crown Court at Kingston should not have entertained the application for judicial review of the decision of the Crown Court judge, but it is submitted that the Divisional Court’s ruling about the test to be applied in such cases remains valid nonetheless.