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England and Wales decisions
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The judge was correct to apply the higher value guideline for criminal damage because the aggravated offence was charged and no judicial determination capped sentencing powers. The uplift for religious aggravation was properly applied, and there was no double counting. The sentence imposed was not manifestly excessive.
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On the balance of probabilities, the father either personally carried out or instructed others to carry out the criminal damage incidents targeting the mother's family property, motivated by frustration over contact progression. Identification evidence based on gait and mannerisms is insufficient alone, but cumulative circumstantial evidence, father's evasiveness, prior breaches, and lack of credible alternative explanations support the finding.
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The Court of Appeal held a drug-sentence referral was unduly lenient because it failed to reflect separate periods of offending and the totality principle.
Lewin, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 450 (24 March 2026)
Court of Appeal considered whether identification and alibi directions in a criminal damage trial were flawed. The conviction was upheld and leave on additional grounds refused.
The overall sentence was not manifestly excessive given the seriousness, aggravating features, and risk posed by the appellant; the judge's approach to categorisation, mitigation, and totality was justified; and the prospect of rehabilitation did not outweigh the need for immediate custody.
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The sentence imposed was not manifestly excessive given the seriousness, multiplicity, and aggravating factors of the offending; the judge properly applied the Sentencing Council guidelines, considered aggravating and mitigating factors, and the extended licence period was justified for public protection.
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Webster & Ors v The King [2026] EWCA Crim 9 (20 January 2026)
Appeal against convictions for criminal damage dismissed. The Court of Appeal held the trial judge’s jury directions on conscience, posters and placards did not render the trial unsafe.
The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals against criminal damage convictions arising from Extinction Rebellion protest activity and rejected claims of jury misdirection.
Given the minimisation of conduct in the accepted basis of plea and the circumstances, the court found it would be wrong to hold the two-year suspended sentence unduly lenient, and the sentencing judge did not err in principle.
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MI v AA [2025] EWFC 487 (B) (29 December 2025)
The Family Court found that the father was responsible for repeated criminal damage incidents, or had instructed others to do them, and refused permission to appeal.
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