Divisional Court Cases
| Published date | 01 April 1962 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836202600203 |
| Date | 01 April 1962 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Divisional Court Cases
NOTICE OF INTENDED PROSECUTION
Hosier o, Goodall
THIS (1962 W.L.R. 157) is another of
the
many cases in
which the High Court has had to consider whether notice
of intended prosecution has been duly given.
On
20 March,
1961 an information was heard against
the
defendant charging
him
that
on 20 December 1960 he had contrary to s. 3 of
the
Road Traffic Act, 1960 driven amotor vehicle without due
care and attention, an offence in respect of which
the
provision
of s. 241 of
the
Act as to giving notice of intended prosecution
is applicable.
The
information came on for hearing before
Kent
justices sitting at Sevenoaks magistrates' court when
the
preliminary objection was taken
that
the
prosecution had not
complied with
the
requirements of s. 241.
Mter
hearing
evidence in support of this contention
the
magistrates found
the
following facts.
That
on
the
day of
the
alleged offence
the
defendant was involved in an accident as a result of which
he was taken unconscious to hospital.
On
the
following day a
police officer called at
the
hospital to see
the
defendant
but
was
told
that
he was seriously ill and was in an oxygen
tent
where
he might remain for
the
next seven days. On
znd
January
1961 (9 days later)
the
police officer returned to
the
hospital
but
was told
that
he could not see
the
defendant. On
the
same day notice of intended prosecution was sent by registered
post to
the
defendant's home where
the
letter was accepted
and opened by
the
defendant's wife, who decided not to show
the
notice to him.
In
fact 7 days after
the
accident
the
defend-
ant had sufficiently recovered to be able to read letters includ-
ing letters from his wife.
The
defendant's wife told him of
the
notice about a
month
after
the
accident.
The
magistrates held
that
the
notice
had not been duly served because
the
police had acted
un-
reasonably in
that
they failed to make adequate inquiry as to
101
To continue reading
Request your trial