England and Wales Overturn Joint Enterprise Law

sunshine and showers

Supreme Court of England and Wales says that the law on joint enterprises has been wrongly interpreted for the last 30 years.

The supreme court declared on Thursday that a key test imposed by judges in assessing guilt in joint enterprise cases – where the accused acts in conjunction with the killer but does not strike the blow that causes death – had been incorrectly applied.

The judges’ unanimous decision is likely to trigger a rush of applications to the court of appeal by those convicted under a specific category of evidential rules, where defendants have “foresight” of what would happen before the murder was committed.

The five supreme court justices said that, for decades, courts had been in “error” in treating the fact that a secondary, co-accused had foresight that the principal attacker might carry out a killing as sufficient proof of guilt in assisting or encouraging them.

“The correct position is that … foresight of what the principal might do is evidence from which the jury may infer that he intended to assist or encourage to do so,” Lord Neuberger, the president of the supreme court said, “but it is for the jury to decide on the whole evidence of whether he had the necessary intent.”

Interesting turn of events. Bring on thirty years worth of appeals!

MarkAnthony

sunshine and showers wrote: »

Interesting turn of events. Bring on thirty years worth of appeals!

Is it not the same as here, that the law stands as it was at the time and it was for them to appeal it at the time? Or is it different because they've said the law was incorrectly interpreted?

sunshine and showers

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Is it not the same as here, that the law stands as it was at the time and it was for them to appeal it at the time? Or is it different because they've said the law was incorrectly interpreted?

You're quite right. They are expecting sentencing appeals, though, through attempts to lessen murder charges to manslaughter.