Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2003] All ER (D) 521 (Jul)
Court: Divisional Court
Judge:

Maurice Kay and Crane JJ
Representation John Lofthouse (instructed by Coffin Mew & Clover, Portsmouth) for the appellant.
  Stephen Parish (instructed by Crown Prosecution Service, Ludgate Hill) for the respondent.
Judgment Dates: 30 July 2003

Catchwords

Criminal evidence and procedure - Trial - Submission of no case to answer - Justices appearing to accede to submission of no case to answer - Prosecution notifying justices of error following reasons - Justices re-opening case - Entitlement of justices to re-open case.

The Case

Justices were entitled to re-open a case despite acceding to a submission of no case to answer where an error had been identified by the prosecution and it had been agreed by the defendant after the justices had given their reasons. In those circumstances, the process of the adjudication had not been completed and the justices were not functus officio. Furthermore, of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 was not in mandatory terms, and did not preclude evidence being given from another source as to the qualification of the medical practitioner and as to consent. That was made plan by the use of the word 'may' in the section

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