Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2012] All ER (D) 185 (Feb)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Aikens LJ, Blake J and the Recorder of Redbridge (judgment delivered extempore)
Representation Arash Abzarian (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the defendant.
  Amanda Kelly (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 28 February 2012

Catchwords

Criminal Law - Trial - Judge - Direction to jury - Defendant being charged with aggravated vehicle taking - Discrepancies between description of driver given by victim and defendant - On arrest, defendant stating friend had just dropped him off at scene - Subsequently remaining silent in interview as to 'lift' given by friend - Judge giving jury standard directions as to identification evidence - Giving jury direction could draw whatever inferences they thought proper in circumstances as to defendant's silence in interview - Judge giving direction as to 'aggravated' element of offence of aggravated vehicle taking but no definition of driving 'dangerously' - Defendant being convicted - Whether judge erring - Whether conviction unsafe.

The Case

Criminal Law Trial. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, in dismissing the defendant's appeal against conviction in respect of aggravated vehicle taking, accepted that the trial judge ought to have given further directions to the jury as to inferences that could be drawn from the defendant's silence in interview and as to the meaning of driving 'dangerously'. However, the court was entirely satisfied that the lack of directions did not render the conviction unsafe.

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