Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2008] All ER (D) 325 (Apr)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers CJ, Pitchford and Dobbs JJ
Representation Lawrence Bruce (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the defendant.
  David Matthew (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 23 April 2008

Catchwords

Criminal law - Trial - Plea - Guilty - Lesser offence - Defendants being charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - Co-defendant's plea of guilty to lesser offence of unlawful wounding being accepted by prosecution - Prosecution refusing to accept guilty plea to lesser offence in case of defendant - Judge refusing defendant's application to vacate plea - Whether judge erring - ss 18 and 20.

The Case

Where the defendant and his co-defendant, F, had been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm contrary to s18 of the and where the prosecution subsequently accepted a plea of guilty by F to a lesser charge of unlawful wounding contrary to s20, the prosecution had been entitled to pursue the defendant for the s18 offence. Authority supported the proposition that the prosecution had a discretion whether or not to accept pleas to a lesser offence than charged, and it was open to the prosecution to accept pleas of a lesser charge from some defendants but to proceed on the original charge with others.

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