Indictments
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Author | Patricia Lees,Eleanor Laws |
1
INDICTMENTS
A. Introduction 1.01
B. Particularizing Counts 1.06
C. Duplicity and Multiple Incident
Counts 1.11
D. Drafting a Multiple Incident
Count: The Practicalities 1.16
E. Proving Counts without a Jury 1.21
F. Offences Straddling Implementation
Dates of Different Acts 1.26
G. Drafting Counts where an
Allegation Straddles Legislation:
The Practicalities 1.29
H. Defective Counts: Effect of Drafting a
Count under the Wrong Act 1.35
I. Offenders of Particular Concern:
Drafting Historic Counts
to which Schedule 13 Applies 1.41
J. Alternative Verdicts 1.43
1. e Principle in Courtie 1.45
K. Offences of Attempt 1.49
L. Familial Offences under the Sexual
Offences Act 2003 1.53
M. Defendant under 18: Offences under
the Sexual Offences Act 2003, s 13 1.54
N. Procedure when Either Way or
Summary Only Offences Remain on
an Indictment 1.55
O. Quashing Indictments 1.58
1. Delay 1.60
A. INTRODUCTION
is chapter is intended to provide some helpful tips on draing indictments in sex cases,
although some of the advice will apply generally. As long as the Indictment Rules are not
oended, the contents of an indictment are largely a matter of style; this obviously will
apply more to the Particulars. e law in relation to indictments is primarily set out in the
Indictments Act 1915, which Act is expanded upon by Part 10, Criminal Procedure Rules
(CrimPR) 2020.1 Part 10 itself is supplemented by the 2015 Consolidated Criminal Practice
Directions (CPD).e CrimPR 2020 and the Consolidated Criminal Practice Directions
should be read together.
It remains the ultimate responsibility of prosecution counsel, once instructed, to ensure that
the indictment is in a proper form.2 In cases involving many counts, perhaps over several
years, which are frequently seen in cases involving sexual oences, the style adopted should
be carefully considered in order to assist those using it as a working document. A carefully
drawn indictment in such a case will take time to dra but be invaluable for all involved in
a trial. It should provide the starting point for preparation of the prosecution opening and
clarity of the prosecution case for defence lawyers, judge and jury.
1 SI 20/ 20/ 759 in force from 5 October 2020. e 2020 Criminal Procedure Rules replace the 2015 Criminal
Procedure Rules and consolidate the rules made in 2015 with the 11 sets of amendments made to those rules.
2 R v Newland (1988) 87 C. App R.
1.01
1.02
.
It is important that an indictment covering multiple allegations over a period of time is
carefully balanced to ensure that whilst it properly reects the criminality alleged, it is not
overloaded, though sucient counts should be included to establish the oending period.3
e draing should make clear where counts are specimen or multiple incident counts,
otherwise the Court will be limited to sentencing for one oence in respect of each count.4
e Court of Appeal, constituted as a 5- judge court, in the case of R v Forbes [2016]5 re-
iterated the importance of specifying the criminality alleged in the counts on the indict-
ment and taking care in framing charges. e prosecution must consider the ingredients of
the oence with particular diligence and check that the oences charged are correctly laid,
otherwise, on conviction, the judge could be faced with insucient sentencing powers to
reect the criminality, or in other cases result in convictions being quashed or dierent of-
fences substituted.
B. PARTICULARIZING COUNTS
Although there is no requirement to aver for example the place of an oence, when in-
dicting in a case involving numerous allegations over a period of time it is necessary to be as
precise as possible in particularizing counts so that the act alleged is clear to all on the face
of the document. CrimPR 2020, rule 10.2(1)(b) requires ‘such particulars of the conduct
constituting the commission of the oence as to make clear what the prosecutor alleges
against the defendant’.
In Rackham6 the Court of Appeal, quashing the convictions, ruled that the trial judge should
have acceded to a defence request for better identication by the prosecution of the specic
incidents upon which the dierent counts were based. e court held that the indictment
should be drawn with as much particularity as the circumstances of the case would permit
and that a diculty in being precise in every respect is not a reason for not being precise
when it is possible to be so.
It is therefore suggested that a prudent prosecutor will include details which are apparent
from the statements over and above simply the time frame; for example, the details of the
assault, the place where the act occurred (if that will help to identify it), the day of the week,
and so on. is should be possible within the Particulars but if it is felt to be too cumber-
some by the draer, sometimes (where there is no objection taken) a short summary is
added below a count, for example in italics.
If during trial, on an indictment containing specimen counts, the complainant gives evi-
dence identifying specic occasions alleged to be part of a pattern of conduct and there
is evidence before the jury which could cause a reasonable jury to acquit on the specimen
charge but convict on the particularized occasion or vice versa. e prosecutor should apply
3 R v Tovey and Smith [2005] EWCA Crim 530.
4 R v Younas [2017] EWCA Crim 1.
5 R v Forbes [2016] EWCA Crim 1388; [2016] 2 Cr App R (S) 44.
6 [1997] 2 Cr App R 222.
1.03
1.04
1.05
1.06
1.07
1.08
1.09
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
