News Shorts and Other Busyness

Trespassory Assembly

Squall 12, Spring 1996, pg. 5.

CJA clauses outlawing assemblies of more than 20 people have been effectively destroyed by the quashing on appeal of the first convictions under the act.

His honour judge Maclaren Webster QC found that if people involved in peaceful protest were on public land they could not be guilty of trespass and therefore not guilty of trespassory assembly.

Judge Webster was hearing the appeal of Dr Margaret Jones, a senior lecturer in literary studies at the university of West England, in Bristol, and Richard Lloyd, a postgraduate student from Bristol, who had been arrested under Clause 70 of the CJA at Stonehenge in June last year.

Section 70 makes it possible to prohibit gatherings of more han 20 people and was designed specifically to deal with gatherings at the ancient monument in Salisbury. Jones and Lloyd had been arrested after joining a group of people peacefully protesting on the road near Stonehenge.

Salisbury magistrates found both guilty, giving Dr Jones a two year conditional discharge and £100 costs and fining Lloyd £140 and £100 costs. Both appealed and their convictions were overturned.

Judge Webster said: “A right to use the highway for lawful demonstration is just and provided it remains lawful there can be no trespass.”

Solicitors Douglas and Partners, acting on behalf of Jones and Lloyd, commented: “If the case stands, it effectively destroys the trespassory assembly provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.”

The decision is to be appealed.