bar national mock trial
competition
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
CASES
bar national mock trial competition 2009/10
The Queen v Myers1
Summary of facts
The Defendant, Alex Myers, is charged with possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
The drugs, along with an alleged customer list, were found by a police officer who
attended Hillside school to give a talk. Alex Myers has admitted that s/he had cannabis on
him/her. On a previous occasion Alex Myers therefore pleaded guilty to simple possession
of the drugs. However, Alex denies intending to supply it to anyone and to that charge he
has pleaded not guilty.
The question for the jury is therefore not whether the defendant was in possession of the
drugs, but whether he intended to supply them.
The Law
Possession
Alex Myers has already pleaded guilty to possession of the cannabis. Possession is itself a
criminal offence.
Section 5(3) of the Misuse of drugs Act 1971 provides that “it is an offence for a person
to have a controlled drug in his possession in contravention of section 4(1) of this Act”.
For a first offence of possession of cannabis the defendant is likely to receive a caution
from the police. Repeat offenders will end up before either the Magistrates’ Court or the
Crown Court, where they will receive a fine or a more serious penalty, depending on the
quantity. The maximum sentence is one of five years’ imprisonment.
Possession with intent to supply
Alex Myers denies any intent to supply. The element of intent to supply makes the offence
much more serious.
Section 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 provides that “…it is an offence for a
person to have a controlled drug in his possession…with intent to supply it to another in
contravention of section 4(1) of this Act”.
The supply does not have to be for money. For example, intending to pass a ‘spliff’
between friends or looking after drugs for someone else would be enough for the offence
to be committed.
The most likely outcome for such a conviction is imprisonment. The length of any
sentence will depend on the quantity of drugs and whether the supply is ‘social’ or for
money.
1
Written by Alexander Mills
© Citizenship Foundation
Charity Reg. No. 801360
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Indictment
IN THE CROWN COURT AT HILLSIDE
The Queen
-vAlex Myers
Alex Myers is charged as follows:
Statement of Offence
Possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply, contrary to section 5(3) of the Misuse
of Drugs Act 1971.
Particulars of Offence
nd
ALEX MYERS, on the 2 day of April 2009, had in his possession a controlled drug of Class
B, namely cannabis, with intent to supply it to another in contravention of section 4(1) of
the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Notes
All the witness statements that follow are signed by the witness and bear this declaration:
“This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that,
if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated in it
anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.”
Only the underlined evidence is in dispute, either because (it is suggested) the witness is
not telling the truth or because the witness has made an honest mistake as to what s/he
saw or heard. There is no dispute as to those parts of the statement that are not
underlined.
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STATEMENTS OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES
Prosecution Witness 1
Name: PC 40425 Mayell
Age: 35
st
Date of Birth: 31 March 1974
Occupation: Police Officer
Address: Hillside Police Station, Hillside
rd
Date: 3 April 2009
I am a Police Constable attached to the Drug Enforcement Unit of Hillside Police. I have
worked in this unit for 5 years after being taken off mainstream duties. I had to change
nd
roles when I lost my hearing in my left ear. A suspect bit it while resisting arrest. On 2
April 2009 I attended Hillside School to present a talk about the dangers of cannabis to a
group of around 25 sixth-form students. I took my police dog ‘Hudson’ with me. He is a 2
year old Alsatian trained to sniff out cannabis.
At about 11am the students came into the school hall. A student went to sit down on the
front row because there were no other seats left. He seemed a bit reluctant to sit there
and avoided eye contact. Hudson immediately jumped up and started barking at that
student. He started to paw at the student’s bag. This indicated to me that Hudson had
found drugs.
I ordered the student to sit still and called Hudson off. I asked for the student’s details, and
they gave me their name as Alex Myers. I explained that I had reasonable grounds to
suspect that there was cannabis in their bag and that I was going to exercise my powers of
2
search. Alex replied ‘don’t bother, I have a couple of spliffs and 4 eighths on me ’.
Alex went into his bag and handed over 2 spliffs. They were made of herbal cannabis
wrapped in National Lottery tickets. The 4 ‘eighths’ referred to little clear plastic food bags
containing an eighth of an ounce of cannabis. I am aware that cannabis is sold on the
street in eighths of an ounce. The amount of cannabis was too much for personal use by
an ordinary cannabis user in a day.
I told Alex I was going to fully search their bag. Alex replied ‘no problem’, and opened the
bag for me. In it was a piece of paper containing 14 names. Next to each of those names
was a number between 1 to 8. I have come across lists in this sort of format with names
and amounts many times before. They are the details that are commonly found on ‘tick
lists’, which are used by drug dealers to keep track of their orders. The numbering from 1
to 8 again suggested to me sales by eighths of an ounce. I said to Alex ‘What’s this? S/he
replied ‘it’s my tick list’.
I arrested Alex and gave a full caution. Alex replied ‘Brilliant. Now everyone is gonna know
I’m a dealer’.
2
If asked the officer will accept that Alex was fully co-operative during the search.
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Alex was transported back to Hillside police station and I stayed behind to interview the
other students in the hall about Alex Myers. I sent the drugs for forensic examination in
exhibit bag XZ01A.
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Prosecution Witness 2
Name: Chris Jones
Age: 18
th
Date of Birth: 12 December 1990
Occupation: Student
Address: 16 Hull Road, Hillside
rd
Date: 3 April 2009
nd
I am a sixth-form student at Hillside School. On 2 April 2009 PC Mayell told me that Alex
Myers had been found with a list of names on him, which he suspected were people who
s/he had dealt drugs to.
My name was not on the list. I have never taken drugs in my life. I am fully focussed on
my studies and I don’t want to mess up my chances of getting into university. I have
known Alex since we were 12. S/he bullied me for 5 years at secondary school, but that
stopped when we moved to sixth form. I believe in forgiving and forgetting so I don’t hold
a grudge.
nd
I was asked if Alex had ever offered me drugs. That morning, 2 April, Alex came up to me
when I was at the bike shed. He told me that he had a ‘great new batch of weed’ in. He
told me that I needed to chill out more and that some cannabis would help me to
‘mellow out’, showed me a spliff and told me that I could have my first one for free. I was
really shocked and told him to get lost. I think I caught sight of a spliff in his bag, but I can’t
be sure. I think it was wrapped in brown parcel paper.
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Prosecution Witness 3 (Section 9)
Name: Sam Peters
Age: 27
th
Date of Birth: 26 March 1982
Occupation: Forensic Scientist
Address: Hillside Forensic Service, Green Lane, Hillside
rd
Date: 3 April 2009
(This statement will be read to the jury, there being nothing challenged in the statement
and the defence have no questions to ask of the witness)
I am a forensic scientist working for the Hillside Forensic Service. I have 6 years experience
in testing alleged drug samples using a number of scientific techniques.
nd
On 2 April 2009 I received exhibit bag XZ01A from PC Mayell. The contents were 2
‘wraps’ or ‘spliffs’ and 4 plastic bags. I tested the contents of each of the wraps and found
them to contain herbal cannabis, a controlled drug of Class B. There was 1/8 oz of
cannabis in each wrap.
I then tested the contents of each of the 4 plastic bags and found that they too contained
herbal cannabis, a controlled drug of Class B. There was 1/8 oz of cannabis in each bag.
© Citizenship Foundation
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STATEMENTS OF DEFENCE WITNESSES
Defendant (Defence Witness 1)
Name: Alex Myers
Age: 18
st
Date of Birth: 6 December 1990
Occupation: Student
Address: 5 Brick Kiln Lane, Hillside
th
Date: 17 April 2009
I was arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis with intent to supply. I accept that I
had cannabis on me that and I have pleaded guilty to simple possession. However, I deny
I have ever supplied or intended to supply cannabis to anyone.
When I went to the talk I sat on the first row out of choice. There were a few spare seats
on the back row. I sat there because I didn’t have anything to hide. I did make eye contact
with the officer because I do take cannabis and I wanted to ask the officer questions about
why he thought it should be illegal.
When the dog barked at me I was a bit shocked, but I didn’t run away or try to hide my
drugs.
I co-operated fully with the officer and handed over everything I had on me. I am quite a
heavy user and it was all for my personal use that day.
The piece of paper in my bag was actually a bit embarrassing. It wasn’t a tick list. This was
a list of names of people in the sixth form. For a laugh my mates and I rated how attractive
our mates were from 1 to 10. None of them were amazing, so no-one rated above 8.
When the officer asked me what it was I replied “it’s my fit list”. I said it quite quietly
because I was embarrassed by it. The officer arrested me for possession with intent to
supply. I replied ‘Brilliant. Now everyone is gonna think I’m a dealer’.
I admit that I used to bully Chris Jones at secondary school. I think he still has a grudge
against me. I didn’t go to the bike shed that day. I certainly didn’t offer Chris any drugs. I
have never offered cannabis to anyone.
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Defence Witness 2
Name: Frances Miles
Age: 18
nd
Date of Birth: 2 January 1991
Occupation: Student
Address: 32 High Road, Hillside
rd
Date: 3 April 2009
nd
I am a sixth-form student at Hillside School. On 2 April 2009 PC Mayell told me that Alex
Myers had been found with a list of names on him, which he suspected were people who
s/he had dealt drugs to.
My name was on the list. I have no idea what this list is or why my name is on it. I do get
stressed and I have heard that cannabis can chill you out. But I have never taken drugs in
my life and I never will.
I have been offered a place at Hillside University to study Sports Science. I am a very keen
cyclist and I am hoping to represent the country one day. I wouldn’t take cannabis
because I care too much about my body. Athletes in sports clubs get tested all the time
for drugs, although I admit that I’m not a member of a sports club at the moment because
I am using my membership fee to buy myself a new state of the art bike. A conviction for
drugs offences would also harm my chances of getting sponsorship in the future. I
wouldn’t be so stupid as to harm my future.
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Exhibit A
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The Queen v Kerrie1
Summary of facts
The Defendant, Frankie Kerrie, is charged with robbery. The Defendant has denied robbery
and has pleaded not guilty. The victim, Sam Simmonds, was on a bus at around 9pm one
evening when a group of youths got on to the bus and started making a nuisance of
themselves. The victim asked them to be quiet. The youths then surrounded the victim,
threatened the victim with a knife and took the victim’s phone, wallet and a watch that
was wrapped up as a gift. The prosecution’s case is that the leader of the group was the
Defendant.
The Defendant denies that s/he was there, claiming that s/he was with a friend at the
time.
The Law
Section 8(1) of the Theft Act 1968 provides that “A person is guilty of robbery if he steals,
and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on
any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to
force”.
There is no dispute in this case that there was a robbery. The question for the jury is
whether the defendant was the person who the victim thought was called ‘Kazza’, who
was the ringleader in the robbery.
Identification Evidence
A Video Identification Procedure (‘VIPER’) was conducted in this case and the defendant
was positively identified. The second prosecution witness, PC Blackford, explains how a
VIPER works. In cases where identification evidence is a large part of the prosecution case,
juries are warned of ‘the special need for caution’ before convicting on the basis of that
evidence. Honest and convincing witnesses can be mistaken – we are all familiar with
having been convinced that we saw someone we know when in fact it turns out to be
someone else entirely.
Under the ‘Turnbull’ guidelines (named after the case of R v Turnbull [1977]) the jury
would be directed to examine closely the circumstances in which the identification is
made. For example the jury is invited to take into account (amongst other things):
“How long did the witness have the accused under observation? At what distance? In what
light? Was the observation impeded in any way?...How long elapsed between the original
observation and the subsequent identification to police?”
The defence in this case may wish to challenge the circumstances in which the
identification was made in order to cast doubt on the positive identification.
1
Written by Alexander Mills
© Citizenship Foundation
Charity Reg. No. 801360
Page 1
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Indictment
IN THE CROWN COURT AT HILLSIDE
The Queen
-vFrankie Kerrie
Frankie Kerrie is charged as follows:
Statement of Offence
Robbery, contrary to section 8(1) of the Theft Act 1968.
Particulars of Offence
th
FRANKIE KERRIE, on the 18 day of February 2009, together with persons unknown,
robbed Sam Simmonds of a watch, mobile phone and a wallet and its contents.
Notes
All the witness statements that follow are signed by the witness and bear this declaration:
“This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that,
if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated in it
anything which I know to be false or do not believe to be true.”
Only the underlined evidence is in dispute, either because (it is suggested) the witness is
not telling the truth or because the witness has made an honest mistake as to what s/he
saw or heard. There is no dispute as to those parts of the statement that are not
underlined.
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STATEMENTS OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES
Prosecution Witness 1
Name: Sam Simmonds
Age: 30
st
Date of Birth: 31 March 1979
Occupation: Physiotherapist
Address: 38a Andrew Street, Hillside
th
Date: 19 April 2009
th
At about 21:00 on 18 February 2009 I was taking the 193 bus into the centre of Hillside
for a birthday party. There was only 1 other passenger apart from me. I was carrying a
present, a Timelyne X80A watch that had been wrapped up in a gift-box, on my lap. I was
sitting near the back of the bus.
After about 10 minutes we pulled up at a bus stop on Lavender Street. A group of 5
youths, all around 18, got on. They were all wearing different coloured ‘hoodies’ and
trainers. They jumped up and sat on the backs of the seats about 4 rows in front of me.
They were laughing and swearing at each other. It was quite intimidating. You could not
see their faces because of their hoods and the lights in the back half of the bus were not
working. You had to rely on street lighting from outside to see anything. The street lights in
Hillside are not very bright.
One of them was wearing a grey hooded top. S/he got out their mobile phone and
starting playing music very loudly. This person seemed to be called ‘Kazza’, because they
kept saying something like ‘turn that up Kazza’. The lyrics were obscene and I had had
enough. I thought it was about time that someone stood up to these youths, so I said
‘excuse me, do you mind turning that down?’
Kazza looked at his/her mates and said “you speaking to us?” At this they all jumped
down from their seats and surrounded me. I was terrified. I would say that Kazza was
about average height and build for a 18 year old.
Kazza said “what’s that, a present for your mum?” The youths were now crowded around
me. Kazza reached into his waistband, pulled out a knife and held it to my throat. S/he
yelled ‘give us the box, your phone and your wallet’. The youths all jumped on me. One of
them went into my pocket and grabbed my phone and wallet while another grabbed the
box. I kicked out and in the commotion Kazza’s hood fell down. I got a brief glimpse of his
face for a couple of seconds before he put his hood back up. This was enough for me to
clearly see what Kazza looked like. There was nothing distinctive about his/her face apart
from a gold stud eyebrow ring above the left eyebrow. I remember that his/her hair was
short.
The bus driver immediately stopped and called the police. I was taken to the hospital for a
th
check-up. I was shaken and bruised, but otherwise fine. On 18 April 2009 I was asked to
attend Hillside police station to identify ‘Kazza’. I did have to watch the DVD with pictures
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of suspects on a number of times because to start with I was unsure. None of the people
th
had eyebrow rings in. By the 4 time it had all come back to me and I am 100% sure that
the person I picked out was Kazza.
I was later told by the police that the person I had picked out was called Frankie Kerrie.
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Prosecution Witness 2
Name: PC Blackford
Age: 34
nd
Date of Birth: 2 April 1975
Occupation: Police Officer
Address: Hillside Police Station, Hillside
th
Date: 19 April 2009
st
On 1 April 2009 I was on duty at Hillside bus station when I saw a youth wearing a greyhooded top get off a number 193 bus. I was aware of a robbery by a youth wearing such
a top on that bus a couple of months earlier and so I ran over to ask them some
questions. The youth gave me their name as Frankie Kerrie. I exercised my powers of stop
and search and found that Frankie was wearing a Timelyne X80A watch of the type that
was stolen in the robbery.
I did not find anything else incriminating, but this was sufficient evidence for me to arrest
Frankie and take him/her to Hillside police station. I took the watch off Frankie without
examining it further and I booked the watch into the property store.
I interviewed Frankie Kerrie. Frankie admitted that s/he was often called Kazza by mates.
Frankie denied involvement in the robbery and stated that the word on the street was that
the robbery had been led by a youth called Jo Gareth, whose nickname was Gazza
I made enquiries with the Police National Computer and discovered that a youth called Jo
st
Gareth, who was also known as Gazza existed. On 1 March 2009 Jo Gareth moved to
Spain with the whole Gareth family. I therefore have not pursued this line of enquiry
further. I know I have a duty to investigate all reasonable lines of enquiry but I thought that
it would be more hassle that it was worth to get a statement from Jo Gareth.
th
On 18 April 2009 I conducted a Video Identification Procedure. This involved the victim
of the robbery, Sam Simmonds, coming to the police station and looking through images
of 8 people. Frankie Kerrie was one of them and the others were all about the same age
and looked similar. Frankie Kerrie had been asked to remove his eyebrow ring to make the
procedure fair. I did not have a picture of Jo Gareth so I didn’t include one. After watching
the video 4 times, and being unsure on each of the first 3 occasions Sam Simmonds
picked out Frankie Kerrie.
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Prosecution Witness 3 (Section 9)
Name: PC 2458 Button
Age: 27
th
Date of Birth: 25 March 1982
Occupation: Property Store Manager
Address: Hillside Police Station, Hillside
th
Date: 10 April 2009
(This statement will be read to the jury, there being nothing challenged in the statement
and the defence have no questions to ask of the witness)
I am the Police Constable in charge of the property store at Hillside police station. The
st
property store is separate from the main building, next door to a local bakery. On 1 April
2009 I received into the property store a Timelyne X80A watch that had been seized from
th
a suspect in a robbery case called Frankie Kerrie. Unfortunately, overnight on 9 April 2009
there was a large fire at the bakery. The fire spread to our property store and destroyed
the building and its contents, including this watch.
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STATEMENTS OF DEFENCE WITNESSES
Defendant (Defence Witness 1)
Name: Frankie Kerrie
Age: 18
th
Date of Birth: 28 March 1991
Occupation: Student
Address: 5 Plough Road, Hillside
th
Date: 20 April 2009
I am a student and I am currently studying at Hillside Secondary School.
th
On 18 February 2009 at 21:00 I was around at my friend Andi Russell’s house. There
was nothing special about that day, but I always go around to Andi’s on a Wednesday
night to play computer games. I was not involved in any robbery. I cannot comment about
what happened to Sam Simmonds because I was not there. I am average height and
build and I do own a few grey hooded tops, but that doesn’t mean I was involved in the
robbery.
I have heard rumours that Jo Garethwas the ring-leader of the robbery. I do have the
nickname Kazza, but Jo Gareth had the nickname Gazza, which sounds very similar. I told
PC Blackford that it was him. Jo and I look quite similar. We are the same sort of build and
height. He had an eyebrow ring like me, but his was over his right eyebrow. I even gave
PC Blackford a photo of Gazza that he could use in his investigation.
When PC Blackford stopped me at the bus station I had just arrived on the number 193
bus. There is a stop a few minutes walk from my house and it brings me right into town.
I was wearing a Timelyne X80A watch when I was stopped because Andi Russell and my
th
mates had clubbed together and bought me one for my 18 birthday. It had an engraving
on the back that read “Have a good one Kazza”. I showed the engraving to PC Blackford. I
have heard that the watch was destroyed in a fire and I am very angry. It was a gift and it
also showed that I was innocent.
Defence Witness 2
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Name: Andi Russell
Age: 18
rd
Date of Birth: 23 January 1991
Occupation: Student
Address: 93 London Road, Hillside
th
Date: 20 April 2009
I am a student at Hillside School. I am good friends with Frankie Kerrie.
I can confirm that me and 3 mates had bought Frankie a watch for his birthday. I don’t
remember what make or model it was. We had it engraved but I don’t remember what
the engraving said. We bought it from ‘Julaz’, the jewellery shop in the high street that
closed down a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t keep the receipt.
Frankie would nearly always come over on a Wednesday night to play computer games.
th
He definitely came over on 18 February. I remember because we ordered pizza from
Speedies Pizza and it took about 2 hours to come. We ended up getting the pizzas for free
because it took so long.
th
I remember seeing Jo Gareth in town on 19 February. He offered me a mobile phone. I
asked him ‘how much’ and he winked at me and said “it’s a steal”. I didn’t trust him so I
said no.
© Citizenship Foundation
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