Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2004] All ER (D) 289 (Oct)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Judge LJ, Moses and Royce JJ
Representation Charles Judge (instructed by the Registrar for Criminal Appeals) for the defendant.
  Ann Evans (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 21 October 2004

Catchwords

Criminal law - Arson - Damage to property - Recklessness as to whether life would be endangered - Test for determining recklessness - Correctness of trial judge's direction.

The Case

In directions to a jury in respect of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, an objective test for recklessness was no longer appropriate. The question should have been whether the defendant had acted recklessly with respect to: a circumstance when he was aware of a risk that had or would have existed; or a result when he was aware of a risk that it would occur, and it was in the circumstances known to him, unreasonable to take the risk.

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