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Recent Judicial Decisions

NCJ Number
140466
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 66 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1993) Pages: 103-119
Author(s)
J Wood
Date Published
1993
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Four recent judicial decisions in Great Britain have focused on the possession of firearms, fraud regarding employment status, reckless driving, and the power of the judge in a criminal case.
Abstract
In R. v. Pawlicki, the court determined that possession of a firearm is determined by accessibility rather than the exact distance between the defendant and the firearm. In R. v. Callender, the court dismissed an appeal, determining that the concept of employment could be interpreted broadly to include self-employment. In R. v. Reid, it was determined that reckless driving included heedlessness of a risk as well as failure to respond to a known risk. In R. v. Grafton, the judge's request for a police officer to be called as a witness was determined to be wrong, although judges do have the power to call witnesses and have occasionally used it. Notes