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R v Porte

Northern Ireland Law Reports (Digests) Cited authorities 2 Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
JurisdictionNorthern Ireland
Judgment Date01 January 1973
Date01 January 1973
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland)
(C.C.A.)
R
and
Porte

Firearms -Possession - Defence - Reasonable excuse -Principles - Firearms Act (Northern Ireland), 1969 (c. 12), ss. 1 (1) and 17.

The appellant was convicted of possession of a firearm without a certificate under s. 1, sub-s. 1, of the Firearms Act (Northern Ireland), 1969, and of carrying a firearm in a public place under s. 17 of that Act. The appellant had pleaded not guilty to the latter charge, his defence being that he had a reasonable excuse within the meaning of the said s. 17. He was a breadserver and there was evidence of fellow employees being robbed or attacked on seventeen instances; there was also evidence that the area of the bakery had been the scene of hijackings and robberies and that there had been shootings and attacks on industrial concerns nearby. In his direction the trial judge had said that in order to give rise to a reasonable excuse there must be an imminent threat, personal to the accused and not one of general application. Held, on appeal, that the trial judge had erred in his direction. (Per Lowry L.C.J.), the principles to be applied are as follows: —(i) Neither the public as a whole nor any class of persons has a general right in all circumstances to...

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