Courts of Summary Jurisdiction
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836603000101 |
| Date | 01 January 1966 |
| Published date | 01 January 1966 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Journal
of
Criminal Law
VOL.
xxx.
NO.1
JANUARy-MARCH,
1966
Courts
of
Summary Jurisdiction
TAKING AND DRIVING AWAY A MOTOR VEHICLE
UNLAWFULLY-
WHETHER
OWN
INSURANCE
POLICY
EFFECTIVE
D. I. Buchanan v. John D. McLaughlin
THE defendant appeared at Garvagh Petty Sessions before
Mr.
J.
M. Shearer, Resident Magistrate,chargedwithtaking
and driving away a motor vehicle without the consent of the
owner and with using the vehicle when not effectively covered
by insurance.
The
defendant's solicitor admitted the taking and driving
away charge
but
produced a certificate of insurance in respect
of a motor vehicle owned by the defendant which covered him
when driving his own vehicle and "any other motor vehicle
not belonging to him . . ."
The
complainant felt that as the taking and driving away
was illegalpublic policy would not allow him to be covered by
his own policy.
The
defendant's solicitor said he could not find any
decided case on the point and contended that there is nothing
in law which says that defendant's insurance policy allowing
him to drive a motor vehicle not belonging to him becomes
invalidated by the commission of an unlawful act an d that
defendant's use of the motor vehicle, even although unlawfully
taken and driven away, was effectively covered by his own
insurance policy.
The
defendant's contention was accepted and the
"no
insurance" prosecution failed.
WHEN
IS A CLUB
NOT
A CLUB?
The
stipendiary magistrate at Thames Magistrates' Court
was called upon to decide in a recent case whether a back room
of a cafe used by members of a club was "premises to which
CL-I
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