Regina v. Smith
England and Wales High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division
Q.B. 354 (1974)
- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
David Smith (defendant) rented a flat in 1970. Smith’s brother lived with him in the flat, and they installed electric wiring, roofing material, asbestos wall panels, and floor boards in part of the flat. Those modifications were completed with the landlord’s permissions. In 1972, Smith gave notice that he was moving out. Smith asked the landlord to allow his brother to stay in the flat, but the landlord refused. Smith then removed the electrical wiring and damaged the roofing, wall panels, and floorboards in the process. Smith was indicted for damaging property belonging to another. During the trial, Smith presented evidence that he believed he was damaging his own property because he had installed the materials. The trial judge instructed the jury that the only defense under the statute charged was that the defendant had a lawful excuse to damage the property. The trial judge also told the jury that Smith’s belief that the property was his own was a mistake and was, therefore, not a lawful excuse. The trial judge then told the jury that they were bound to find Smith guilty. The jury convicted Smith, and he appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
What to do next…
Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
