R v Maxwell

R v Maxwell

The majority of the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal did not err in law in ordering a retrial after quashing the conviction for serious prosecutorial misconduct. The discretion under section 7 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 is broad and fact-sensitive, and the Court of Appeal was entitled to conclude that the public interest in retrying the appellant for a grave crime, based on new and compelling evidence (the admissions), outweighed the public interest in marking disapproval of the misconduct. The admissions were made voluntarily and were not the intended product of the misconduct. The decision to order a retrial was not plainly wrong and did not compromise the integrity of...

Parties
Appellant: R v Maxwell; Respondent: Crown Prosecution Service
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
20 July 2011
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From Court of Appeal Decision to Order Retrial After Quashing Conviction
Outcome
Appeal dismissed (majority); retrial to proceed
Legal Topics
Abuse of Process, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Retrial Discretion, Integrity of Criminal Justice System
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Abuse of Process Prosecutorial Misconduct Retrial Discretion Integrity of Criminal Justice System

Case Brief

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Parties

R v Maxwell

Appellant

Crown Prosecution Service

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From Court of Appeal Decision to Order Retrial After Quashing Conviction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Court of Appeal may order a retrial after quashing a conviction for serious prosecutorial misconduct, and in what circumstances
  2. 2 Whether the interests of justice require a retrial where new evidence is available but is causally linked to the original misconduct

Ratio Decidendi

The majority of the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal did not err in law in ordering a retrial after quashing the conviction for serious prosecutorial misconduct. The discretion under section 7 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 is broad and fact-sensitive, and the Court of Appeal was entitled to conclude that the public interest in retrying the appellant for a grave crime, based on new and compelling evidence (the admissions), outweighed the public interest in marking disapproval of the misconduct. The admissions were made voluntarily and were not the intended product of the misconduct. The decision to order a retrial was not plainly wrong and did not compromise the integrity of...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed (majority); retrial to proceed

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed.
  • The order for retrial stands.