On november 22, 1934, three months after his marriage to 17yearold violet kathleen woolmington, his wife left him and went to live with her mother. The paper also takes a look into the concept of reasonable doubt, what it constitutes, its lack of a definite. After sometime, woolmington sawed off the barrel of a double barrel shotgun, cycled to the house his wife was living and shot her. What is the significance of the case woolmington v dpp. Innocence, the burden of proof and fairness in the criminal. The viscount statement of the nature of the legal burden of proof in criminal trials is, simply a restatement of a fundamental presumption, that a person is. A decision of the house of lords, woolmington v dpp 1935 represents the first clear statement in english law that a person accused of a criminal offence is entitled to. Viscount sankey put it in the following words that surface time and again in judgments and journals. The impact of the human rights act 1998 on the law of. Justifications for the woolmington principle law general essay. The case reached the house of lords now the supreme court. The presumption of innocence was first articulated in the case of woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 462, 461 where viscount sankey lc. Viscount sankey said, throughout the web of the english criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoners guilt subject to what i have already said as to the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception.
Oct 16, 2015 the privy council in this ceylonese case has ruled that the burden of proving accident, provocation, or selfdefence rested upon the accused and could not be construed in the light of a decision in woolmington v director of public prosecutions 1935 ac 462 i. Woolmington 1935 ac 462 this case considered the issue of the standard of proof required in a criminal trial and whether or not a judge failed to properly direct a jury on the required onus of proof. On december 10 woolmington stole a doublebarrelled shotgun and cartridges from his employer, rode a bicycle to his motherinlaws house where he shot and killed. Rip woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 642 army rumour service. Woolmington v dpp 1935 beyond a reasonable doubt page.
It has been championed in and by courts as the golden thread of the english legal system, receiving classic formulation in the case of woolmington v dpp. Nevertheless, over the years, many statutory exceptions have been propounded to be the exceptions whereby the legal burden of proof is expressly reversed onto the defendant to prove. Cited mancini v director of public prosecutions hl 1942 ac 1, 1941 3 all er 272 there are exceptional cases to the rule in woolmington for. New fosters crown law and bibliography of law see more books of authority. Did the court of appeal order a retrial and, if so, what was the verdict. On december 10 woolmington stole a doublebarrelled shotgun and cartridges from his employer, rode a bicycle to his motherinlaws house where he shot and killed violet.
Innocence, the burden of proof and fairness in the criminal trial. The woolmington principle primarily asserts that in criminal cases the burden of proof shall lie with the prosecution. Burden and standard of proof in criminal proceedings lexis. Several months prior, ws wife had left him to live with her mother. Books of authority is a term used by legal writers to refer to a number of early legal textbooks that are excepted from the rule that textbooks. Aug 08, 2007 what is the significance of the case woolmington v dpp 1935. W was convicted of murdering his wife, and was sentenced to death. If, at the end of and on the whole of the case, there is a reasonable doubt, created by the evidence given by. Woolmington showed his wife a gun and said he would commit suicide if she left him to live elsewhere. Long before the passage of the human rights act, viscount sankey lc in woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 462 referred to the presumption of innocence as the one golden thread which runs through the web of english criminal law. To what extent has the presumption of innocence enunciated in the case woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 462 visavis criminal cases changed in light of the human rights act 1998. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 is a famous house of lords case in english law, where the presumption of innocence was first articulated in the commonwealth history. In this famous, famous case the court emphasised that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove every element of a criminal offence, and that the duty to prove their innocence never falls on the. New woolmington v dpp and attorney general for england and wales see more.
Conspiracy to corrupt public morals prostitution public morals courts ability to create new offence. Woolmington 1935 ac 462 student law notes online case. A balancing act article pdf available in the cambridge law journal 6601 march 2007 with 6,116 reads how we measure reads. A pdf file extension is mainly used for adobe portable document format, commonly referred to as pdf. A criminal offence may contain several elements and there may be therefore several different allocations of. The burden of proving this guilt is on the prosecution and it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 legal helpdesk lawyers. On the 10th of december, he stole a double barrelled shotgun and cartridges from his employer, sawed off the barrel and cycled to his mother. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 united kingdom house of. The house of lord quashed woolomngtons conviction for murder and sent the case back to the court of appeal. The trial judge directed the jury that once the prosecution had shown. A fundamental principle of criminal law, with regards to the common law is that the prosecution has the element of proving the defendants guilt in every aspect. Could the conviction be quashed on the grounds that the judge said it was for the jury to decide whether woolmington had proved that the evidence was in his favour. Woolmington v director of public prosecutions woolmington. Why is the speech of viscount sankey in woolmington v dpp. But although the language of golden thread is memorable.
Diploma in legal studies criminal law fundamental principles and concepts of criminal law. Throughout the web of the english criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the. It may be that most people are good, honest and free from blame,32 but those. Director of public prosecutions case brief quimbee. All programs that create some sort of documents or projects offer the possibility to export their format to pdf format. Dec 11, 2009 per viscount sankey woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 642 oh how the past is another country. Introduction to components of criminal offences uni study. Dpp hol 1932 facts the accused was charged with murdering his wife. On november 22, 1934, three months after his poor marriage to 17yearold violet kathleen woolmington, his wife left him and went.
Violet woolmington was married to reginald woolmington. The case of woolmington v dpp clarified several uncertainties in regards to this area of the law. Could the conviction be quashed on the grounds that the judge said it was for the jury to decide whether woolmington had proved that the. Her majestys attorney general for england and wales, usually known simply as the attorney general, is one of the law officers of the crown. If a defendant has to prove their innocence than it would automatically and unconsciously bring up the issue that they were never considered innocent until proven guilty. Reginald went to visit her in order to persuade her to come back to him. Woolmington v dpp o must rebutdisprove almost all defences raised by the d or the court brd. Reginald woolmington was a 21yearold farm labourer from castleton, dorset.
Viscount sankey said, throughout the web of the english criminal law one golden thread is always. The presumption of innocence is like a golden thread in. Here, reginald woolmington s wife left him to live with her mother three months after their marriage. Woolmington v dpp burden of proof criminal law uwe. The impact of the human rights act 1998 on the law of evidence in the united kingdom kacper zajac essay law criminal process, criminology, law enforcement publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. In this case, if the report is accurate, a man, mr bowles, is accused of tax evasion, his papers are seized by the state and he is denied access to them for the purposes of mounting a defence. A decision of the house of lords, woolmington v dpp 1935 represents the first clear statement in english. The incorporated council of law reporting for england and wales iclr is the publisher of the official and most authoritative law reports in england and wales. On this day in 1935, the united kingdom house of lords delivered woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 23 may 1935. Dpp 1935 the accused admitted killing his wife but claimed that the gun had gone off accidentally. It is settled law that till such time guilt of a person is proved, he is deemed to be innocent. That the freedom of an individual is of utmost importance and cannot be curtailed for indefinite period, especially when guilt, if any, is yet to be proved. Woolmington v dpp legal v evidential burden of proof prosecution legal burden o must prove every element of the crime brd. Woolmington v director of public prosecution house of lords, 1935 facts.
Woolmington v director of public prosecutions case brief. His finances are frozen and application to release funds to pay. Woolmington was a 21yearold farmer from castleton, dorset. Woolmington v dpp burden of proof criminal law uwe studocu. Pdf the presumption of innocence and reverse burdens.
In woolmington v dpp, the defendant, reginald woolmington, had separated from his wife, violet woolmington. Introduction any student of the law of evidence soon becomes familiar with the dictum of viscount sankey lc in woolmington v dpp where he s. Woolmington v director of public prosecutions woolmington v. Judge correctly identified burden of proof for diminished. Woolmington appealed on the basis that the trial judge had misdirected the jury but his application was refused. This was mention in dpp v woolmington by lord sankey as throughout the english criminal law one golden rule thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to.
Attorney general for state of queensland v colin lovitt qc 2003 qsc 279. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 462, 461 the general principle was. R 123 1946, including the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, key terms, and concurrences and dissents. Some of these issues were discussed in woolmington v dpp. Evidence law imposing legal burden of defendant free. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 is a landmark house of lords case, where the presumption of innocence was first articulated in the commonwealth in law the case is remembered for introducing the metaphorical golden thread running through the law relating to the presumption of innocence. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ukhl 1 united kingdom house. Ian dennis identified in his article 6 factors that have emerged from cases discussing the point on presumption of innocence that would determine if a reverse burden is proportionate. The privy council in this ceylonese case has ruled that the burden of proving accident, provocation, or selfdefence rested upon the accused and could not be construed in the light of a decision in woolmington v director of public prosecutions 1935 ac 462 i. Evidence law assignment 1 table of contents no contents.
A free pdf viewer adobe reader is available for download from adobe website. Bibliography of law, books of authority, michael dodson, nominate reports, woolmington v dpp. Evidence law assignment 1 table of contents no contents 1. Criminal law exam notes lecture notes, lectures 1 studocu. Viscount simondslord reidlord tuckerlord morris of borthygestlord hodson. May 05, 2015 woolmington was a 21year old farm labourer. Get free access to the complete judgment in woolmington v dpp on casemine. Woolmington v dpp 1935 ac 462 per viscount sankey lc at 481. Free trials are only available to individuals based in the uk.
The viscount statement of the nature of the legal burden of proof in criminal trials is, simply a restatement of a fundamental presumption, that a person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Why is the speech of viscount sankey in woolmington v dpp 1935 all er1. In 1934, three months after his marriage to 17year old violet kathleen woolmington she left him and went to live with her mother. Imposing a legal burden upon a defendant will negate the principle of presumption of innocence. On the 22nd of november 1934, 3 months into marriage to kathleen woolmingtion, she left him and went to live with her mother. Viscount sankey put it in the following words that surface time and.
The trial judge directed the jury that, having killed the woman, his actions should be presumed to be murder unless it were proven that there were alleviating. Shaw v dpp 1962 ac 220 united kingdom house of lords. There is no reason to repeat to the jury the warning as to reasonable doubt again and again, provided that the direction. This rule was clarified by the case of woolmington v dpp which involved a farm labourer, reginald woolmington, who had been convicted of killing his wife. Woolmington v dpp presumption of innocence youtube. Woolmington v dpp reasonable doubt burden of proof law. The trial judge instructed the jury that they should find him guilty unless he can convince them he is innocent. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. The defendant created magazines, which contained personal adverts for prostitutes. Woolmington v dpp 1935 beyond a reasonable doubt page 1. This paper considers the standard of proof in criminal cases and how the evidential burden shifts as situation demands.
920 97 1534 317 1547 991 826 152 310 1529 1119 1264 527 1446 404 937 121 1510 24 139 1552 1061 963 77 1397 1458 354 687 509 386 162 1283