R Williams v Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court Crown Prosecution Service (Interested Party)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) |
| Judge | Mr Justice Singh |
| Judgment Date | 28 April 2016 |
| Neutral Citation | [2016] EWHC 3771 (Admin) |
| Docket Number | CO/578/2017 |
| Date | 28 April 2016 |
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
2 Park Street
Cardiff
South Wales
CF10 1ET
Mr Justice Singh
CO/578/2017
and
The Claimant appeared in Person
The Defendant and Interested Party did not attend and were not represented
This is a renewed application for permission to apply for judicial review. Permission was refused on the papers by Hickinbottom J (as he then was) in an order sealed on 14 February 2017.
The background can be summarised for present purposes as follows. On 27 July 2016 there was an incident in which the claimant was involved with his neighbours. The police were called and attended. In the course of the incident the claimant is alleged to have called one of the police officers "a fucking prick". The claimant was charged with two offences at that time. The more serious charge was one of assault on a neighbour, the second charge was one of using threatening or abusive words in a manner which is made an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Subsequently, on 21 September 2016, the case came before the Cardiff Magistrates' Court. On the charge of assault the court found that there was no case to answer and that charge was dismissed. However, the claimant was convicted of the section 5 offence.
The claimant appealed, as was his right. On 16 December 2016 that appeal was heard by the Crown Court at Merthyr Tydfil. The appeal was dismissed.
On 1 January 2017 the claimant applied to the Crown Court to state a case for the opinion of the High Court. Subsequently, in the decision under challenge in these proceedings, on 11 January 2017, His Honour Judge Jeremy Jenkins refused that application. I have seen the written reasons of Judge Jenkins in refusing to grant the application to state a case. I have not however seen the reasons for the decision of the Crown Court in dismissing the appeal on 16 December 2016.
In the light of the decision which I make on this application for permission today, I consider that it would be highly desirable, if not necessary, for this court to be provided in due course with a transcript of the reasons of the Crown Court when it dismissed the appeal in this case.
In any event, I have considered the written reasons which were given on 11 January 2017 for refusing the application to state a case to the High Court. In my judgment, it is arguable that that contains an error of law. This is because it does not arguably address one of the critical elements of the offence which Parliament created in section 5 of the Public Order Act.
For that purpose it is necessary briefly to refer to that section. Section 5 so far as material provides that:
"(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he—
(a) uses threatening [or abusive] words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening [or abusive]
within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby."
It is immediately clear therefore, from the express terms used by Parliament in creating that offence, that it is not enough that words may be threatening or abusive. They must also have been uttered within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby. Furthermore, it is clear from decisions of the courts in previous cases...
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