The Case

When dismissing a case stated the court made the following observations: when appealing by way of case stated it was highly unsatisfactory that the High Court should be presented with a case which was poorly laid out. In order to avoid that Pt64.6 of CrimPR2005 should be followed. It also had to be borne in mind that the High Court was only concerned with the state of the evidence in so far as it was said to demonstrate an error of law. A case stated should contain clear findings of fact and identification of the questions of law which arose. It should also clearly separate evidence from findings of fact. Justices should decline to pose questions if they were not ones of law. The weight to be attached to evidence could only be a question of law if the justices' decision was one which was said to be unreasonable. If the justices had reached a finding on the evidence which should not have been reached then the defendant should appeal to the Crown Court. Headings should also be used and paragraphs should be numbered in a sequential manner.