R v Bow Street Magistrates Court
Date
13 March 2000
Legislation
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ss107, 198
Prosecution of Offenders Act 1985 s18
Keywords
market trader; sentencing; fine; prosecution costs
Counsel
J Boumphrey for Mitchell.
Solicitors
WH Matthews & Co (Staines)
Judge
Judge LJ, Wright J.
Court
Queens Bench Division (Crown Office List)
Reported
[2001] FSR 18
Summary
Mitchell sought to quosh an order made by the Stipendiary Magistrate sitting at Bow Street Magistrates Court by which he was ordered to pay the sum of £8,000 by way of costs of the prosecution which had then been brought against him. Mr Mitchell was convicted by the Bow Street Magistrate after a trial lasting some two-and-a-half days on a total of six charges against either ss 107 or 198 of the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988.
The subject matter of the prosecutions and convictions were the offering for sale by the Carter of a number of pirated compact disks which he was displaying, and offering for sale upon a stall which was run by him. Mitchell's business was that of a trader in tapes and compact disks of that kind. On the six charges of which he was convicted Mr Mitchell was fined £200 on each charge, making a total of £1200, and ordered to pay £8,000 costs. The bill of costs presented by the prosecution after the two-and-a-half day trial, and not apparently challenged by Mitchell at the time, was £16,750, so the sum ordered by the Magistrate was slightly less than half the sum claimed. The total of the fines are not challenged before this court and, it was observed, could hardly be. The focus of Mr Boumphrey's attack upon the Magistrates order was thus limited to the sum by way of costs.
Carter submitted evidence about his ability to pay the costs bill that amounted to the fact that he could only manage a payment of £50 per month.
Decision:
The Court stated that on this basis the £9,200 ordered would take almost 15 years to pay off and that this was overly onerous. They accordingly quashed the order for costs and remitted the matter to the Stipendary Magistrate for his consideration on the basis of a full and exhaustive statement of Mitchell's financial circumstances.