08 February 2007
Shaw v DPP [2007] All ER (D) 197 (Jan)
The justices allowed information to be amended to allege a different offence. The new offence carried imprisonment, whereas the original one did not.
HELD The substitution of a new offence with a significantly heavier penalty, especially one where the defendant faces the possibility of a custodial sentence, should have led to the justices reaching the conclusion that it was not in the interests of justice to allow such an amendment.
