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The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from the Court of Appeal, and affirmed the setting aside of an order to withdraw a case from a jury in charges of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The original decision to withdraw was based on the judge's assessment that the circumstantial evidence presented could not support a conviction. However, the Supreme Court found that the trial judge failed to properly consider the statutory inferences that could be drawn from the accused's refusal to account for certain evidence. The Supreme Court agreed, stating that the evidence, combined with the statutory inferences, could reasonably lead a jury to convict.
Supreme Court, attempted murder, possession of a firearm, intent to endanger life, circumstantial evidence, statutory inferences, refusal to account, directed acquittal, Criminal Justice Act 1984, Firearms Act 1925, Criminal Justice Act 2006, Criminal Justice Act 2007, Criminal Damage Act 1991, Galbraith test, error of law, corroboration, retrial, s. 23 of the 2010 Act, s. 18 and s. 19 of the 1984 Act (inferences from failure to account), The People (DPP) v. Pires, Corrigan and Gannon, The People (DPP) v. McHugh, The People (DPP) v. O’Shea (No 2), Rock v. Ireland.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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