R v Murphy, Lillis and Burns
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1971 |
| Date | 01 January 1971 |
| Court | Court of Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
Firearms and ammunition - Meaning of "possession" -Acquittal on some counts - Conviction on other counts arising out of same circumstances - Whether verdict inconsistent - Explosive Substances Act, 1883 (46 47 Vict. c. 3), s. 4 - Firearms Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (c. 12), ss. 1 (1), 14, 18.
Three men who were acquitted of offences under s. 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1883, and s. 14 of the Firearms Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, were found guilty of an offence under s. 18 of the latter Act. They were also found guilty on charges of being in possession of firearms and ammunition without a firearm certificate. They appealed and their main grounds of appeal were that there had been a misdirection on the meaning of "possession", and that the convictions were inconsistent with the acquittals on the first two charges. The circumstances were that the three men had entered premises consisting of a shop and dwelling-house at a time when shooting was taking place and a curfew imposed and that when the premises were searched by the Army the men were found in rooms which contained two rifles and a quantity of ammunition. Held, (i) in s. 1 sub-s. (1) of the 1969 Act "possession"connotes voluntary possession by actual or potential physical control, with knowledge of the nature of what is kept or controlled, and that there was evidence enough to found the convictions under that section; (ii) that while s. 18 of the 1969 Act does not mention the word "possession" the offence clearly involves possession; and a form of possession which is much more personal than that which may suffice in cases under the...
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