Results.
22 judgments found.
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| September 1987 |
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A circulation made on a common-interest occasion attracts qualified privilege unless express malice is pleaded and proved.
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Defamation — Qualified privilege — Common interest; Pleading — Necessity to plead express (actual) malice to rebut qualified privilege; Evidence — Inadmissibility of unpleaded documents relied on to prove malice
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21 September 1987 |
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Court suspended a twelve-month theft sentence for two years due to mitigation and good character, conditional on no further dishonesty offences.
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Criminal law — Theft — plea of guilty — abandonment of inconsistent grounds attacking conviction — sentence mitigation — suspension of sentence conditional on no further dishonesty offences.
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15 September 1987 |
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Award for undelivered equipment set aside; animal valuation to be reheard due to reliance on untested affidavit.
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Civil procedure — assessment of damages — valuation of livestock — reliance on untested affidavit and failure to allow cross-examination — prejudice to respondent; Jurisdiction — award without counter-claim; Admissibility — execution of purported agreement (exhibit D1).
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15 September 1987 |
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Defective trial-within-trial and police officer’s theft rendered the applicants’ convictions unsafe.
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Criminal law — admissibility of warned-and-cautioned statements — trial-within-a-trial — requirement to give adequate reasons — safety of convictions — evidence of police misconduct/planting of property — receiving stolen property.
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15 September 1987 |
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Conviction for burglary upheld; sentence increased on appeal was unjustified and substituted with five years' imprisonment.
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Criminal law — burglary and theft — plea of guilty and admission of facts — appellate challenge to plea; Sentencing — appellate enhancement — reliance on prior convictions — improper and excessive sentence; mitigation for guilty plea and partial recovery of property.
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15 September 1987 |
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Identification corroborated by possession of stolen car, but recovered firearm not sufficiently linked to sustain firearm-enhanced conviction.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identity of accused corroborated by possession of stolen vehicle; recovered firearm not proved to be weapon used; failure to take fingerprints raises presumption favouring accused; requirement to prove firearm used capable of firing to sustain s.294(2) conviction; conviction substituted under s.294(1).
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15 September 1987 |
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Uncontroverted prosecution evidence upheld forgery conviction; appeals cannot reduce a statutorily prescribed mandatory sentence.
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Criminal law — Forgery and uttering — sufficiency of prosecution evidence and effect of accused’s silence — photocopied certificate contradictions with school records; Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — mandatory minimum sentence — appeals against statutory sentences incompetent.
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15 September 1987 |
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Convictions based primarily on confessions admitted without adequate reasons, coupled with evidence of third-party possession, were unsafe and quashed.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — admissibility of confessions — trial-within-a-trial — inadequate reasons — unsafe convictions; Recovery of stolen property at accused’s premises; Police officer’s possession and conviction relevant to safety of convictions.
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15 September 1987 |
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Appellate court reduced sentence from seven to four years after finding sentencing misdirection regarding irrelevant deterrence rationale.
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Criminal law — manslaughter — sentencing — irrelevant considerations and misdirection by sentencing court — appellate interference and substitution of sentence.
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15 September 1987 |
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An appeal against a statute-prescribed mandatory 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery is incompetent and dismissed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years — Appeal against a sentence fixed by statute is incompetent — Juvenile exception noted.
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15 September 1987 |
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Appellate court quashed manslaughter conviction due to inconsistent evidence and a defective record supporting the accidental-collision defence.
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Criminal law — manslaughter — sufficiency and consistency of evidence; causation of head injury (collision v. blow); appellate relief where record is defective; retrial discretionary.
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15 September 1987 |
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Conviction quashed where magistrate relied on uncorroborated, possibly interested witnesses and misdirected himself.
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Criminal law — theft by public servant — possession of property reasonably suspected to be stolen — accomplice/interest of witness — corroboration — misdirection by trial magistrate — proviso to s.15(1) Supreme Court Act — sufficiency of evidence.
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14 September 1987 |
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Dismissal without the Regulation 4 approval is ineffectual, but reinstatement is discretionary, not automatic.
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Employment law — Regulation 4, Employment (Special Provisions) Regulations 1975 — dismissal without required written approval — purported termination ineffectual; remedy (reinstatement vs damages) discretionary due to rule against specific performance of personal service contracts
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14 September 1987 |
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A defendant who parks an unlit vehicle on the tarmac without warnings is wholly liable; other drivers need not anticipate such obstruction.
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Tort — Road traffic — Night collision with stationary unlit vehicle — Driver leaving vehicle on tarmac without lights or warning triangles negligent — Following drivers entitled to drive within speed limit without being required to anticipate unlit obstructions — Contributory negligence — Employer vicarious liability — Baker v Longhurst distinguished; Morris v Luton followed
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13 September 1987 |
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Timing objections to an application for a new business tenancy must be raised at trial or are waived; court may permit irregular applications.
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Landlord and tenant — Application for new tenancy — Timing irregularity under s.10(3) — Court’s discretion under s.10(4) — Procedural/time objections must be raised at trial or are waived — Monthly tenancy as term of years certain
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13 September 1987 |
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A non‑contributory pension entitlement in an employment contract obliges the respondent to enroll the applicant; discontinuance breaches contract.
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Employment law — Contract construction — Non‑contributory pension scheme — Employer’s duty to enrol eligible employees — Unilateral discontinuance breaches contractual entitlement — Account and interest awarded.
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8 September 1987 |
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Employee entitled to pension where employer breached contractual pension entitlement by discontinuing scheme after qualifying period.
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Employment contract — pension entitlement — non‑contributory pension scheme — qualifying period — construction of contract — employer's duty to give effect to entitlement — discontinuance of scheme as breach of contract — declaratory relief, account and interest.
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8 September 1987 |
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Belief in witchcraft does not justify anticipatory killing; confession and circumstantial evidence can sustain a murder conviction.
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Criminal law — murder; self-defence and provocation — anticipatory killing based on fear of witchcraft insufficient for self-defence; confession and circumstantial evidence may suffice where medical report absent.
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2 September 1987 |
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Appeal against aggravated robbery conviction dismissed where identification evidence was found reliable and no misdirection occurred.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parade — Witness sobriety and reliability — Risk of mistaken identity — Trial judge’s assessment of credibility — Appeal dismissed.
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1 September 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed: court held the complainant's identification reliable despite minor inconsistencies and no intoxication.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence — Reliability and opportunity to observe — Minor inconsistencies in statements — Alleged intoxication and honest mistake — Identification parade — Appellate review.
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1 September 1987 |
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Appeal against six-year manslaughter sentence dismissed; provocation and first-offender status insufficient for leniency.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentence — Provocation and loss of self-control — First offender — Appeal against sentence — Abatement of appeal on death of appellant.
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1 September 1987 |
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First appellant’s confession and recovered gun upheld his conviction; identification flaws rendered co‑accused convictions unsafe.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — reliability of identification parades and pre-parade contact; admissibility of warn-and-caution/confession after trial-within-a-trial; confession admissible only against maker; sufficiency of independent corroborative evidence (recovered weapon); safety of convictions where identification unreliable and alibi unconsidered.
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1 September 1987 |