The Right of Appeal following a Breach of Probation
| Date | 01 January 1953 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835301700109 |
| Published date | 01 January 1953 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
right of appeal followi
ng
abreach
of Probation
WHE N in 1948
the
existing law relating to
the
probation
of offenders was repealed
and
re-enacted with
modifications and improvements in
the
Criminal Justice
Act, 1948, unfortunately advantage was
not
taken
of
the
opportunity
thus
afforded of removing
the
doubts which
had
arisen under
the
former Acts,
and
which still remain to-day,
concerning
the
right of a defendant to appeal when he has
been brought before
the
courts for
an
alleged breach of a
probation order.
The Criminal Justice Act, 1948, did simplify
the
matter
in one way
by
distinguishing clearly between abreach of a
probation order which is evidenced
by
the
commission of a
further offence during
the
period of probation,
and
that
which is evidenced merely
by
a failure to comply with
any
of
the
requirements of
the
probation order. The procedure
to be adopted in
the
latter
circumstances is laid down in s. 6
of
the
Criminal Justice Act, 1948,
the
essential provisions of
which-for
the
present
purpose-are
that
if
it
appeals
that
aprobationer has failed to comply with
any
of
the
require-
ments of a probation order he
may
be brought before
the
court
by
way of a summons or a warrant,
and
if
it
is proved
to
the
satisfaction of
the
court
that
he has so failed
the
court
may
(a)
impose upon him a fine not exceeding £10, or
(b)
(i)
where
the
probation order was made
by
asummary
court, deal with him for
the
offence in respect of which
the
probation order was made in
any
manner in which
the
court
could deal with him
if
it
had
just
convicted him of
that
offence,
(ii)
where
the
order was made
by
acourt of assize
or quarter session-remand him on bail or in custody to
that
court.
It
should perhaps be noted
that
in R. v. Smith
(1925, 1
K.B.
603)
it
was held
that
an
allegation of
the
breach must be proved as
any
other allegation of fact is
proved in a criminal
court;
and
further
in
R. v.
McGregor
(1945, 109
J.P.
136)
it
was laid down
that
the
defendant
must be told precisely
what
the
alleged breach is,
and
he
In
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