R v Ormskirk Justices, ex parte Davies
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 23 June 1994 |
| Date | 23 June 1994 |
| Court | House of Lords |
Queen's Bench Divisional Court
Criminal evidence - admissibility - determination a non-delegable duty
It was the duty of a magistrates' court, when enquiring into an offence as examining justices in oral committal proceedings, under section 6(1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, to determine any issue relating to the admissibility of the evidence and it should not delegate that particular function to another bench of justices.
The Queen's Bench Divisional Court (Lord Justice McCowan and Mr Justice Buxton) so held on June 7, dismissing the application of Andrew Davies for certiorari to quash the decision of Ormskirk Justices on April 19 to reverse their decision of the previous day to adjourn the hearing of the applicant's case to a differently constituted bench of justices.
LORD JUSTICE McCOWAN said that the duty, difficult or not, cast on the justices was to hear questions on the admissibility of evidence and it was beyond their power to adjourn that matter for another bench to determine.
If one bench did not hear all the evidence, two benches would become...
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