Lee & Ors v Solihull Magistrates Court & Anor

Lee & Ors v Solihull Magistrates Court & Anor

The warrants failed to comply with Section 15(6)(b) of PACE 1984 as they did not identify with sufficient specificity the articles to be seized, rendering the entry, search, and seizure unlawful. However, the information before the Magistrates was sufficient to satisfy Section 8(1)(c), so the issue of the warrants was not itself unlawful.

Parties
Claimant: Robin Lees; Claimant: Anne Lees; Claimant: Karl Morgan; Claimant: Joanne Morgan; 1st Defendant: Solihull Magistrates' Court; 2nd Defendant: The Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
05 December 2013
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Judgment After Substantive Hearing
Outcome
Declaration of unlawfulness; no quashing of warrant; conditional order for return of seized items
Legal Topics
Search Warrants, Unlawful Search, PACE Compliance, Excise Duty Fraud, Money Laundering, Disclosure Obligations
Criminal Law Judicial Review Search and Seizure Search Warrants Unlawful Search PACE Compliance Excise Duty Fraud Money Laundering +1 more

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Parties

Robin Lees

Claimant

Anne Lees

Claimant

Karl Morgan

Claimant

Joanne Morgan

Claimant

Solihull Magistrates' Court

1st Defendant

The Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Judgment After Substantive Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the search warrants complied with Section 15(6)(b) of PACE 1984 regarding specificity of articles to be seized
  2. 2 Whether the Magistrates had reasonable grounds under Section 8(1)(c) of PACE 1984 to issue the warrants
  3. 3 Whether there was a failure of full and frank disclosure by HMRC to the Magistrates

Ratio Decidendi

The warrants failed to comply with Section 15(6)(b) of PACE 1984 as they did not identify with sufficient specificity the articles to be seized, rendering the entry, search, and seizure unlawful. However, the information before the Magistrates was sufficient to satisfy Section 8(1)(c), so the issue of the warrants was not itself unlawful.

Court Disposition

Declaration of unlawfulness; no quashing of warrant; conditional order for return of seized items

Orders

  • Declaration that the entry, search and seizure on 6th February 2013 was unlawful due to defective warrants
  • HMRC to return all property and copies seized under the warrants within 14 days unless an application is made to the Crown Court under Section 59(5) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001