Regina v. Pembliton

12 Cox. Crim. Cas. 607 (1874)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was drinking with others at a pub called the Grant Turk. The party was ejected for being disorderly. Upon the street, they began a fight which escalated along with a crow of from 40-to 50 persons watching. D picked up a stone and threw it at some of the other people fighting. It missed everyone and struck a large plate-glass window causing £7 12s. 9d. worth of damage. D was prosecuted under section 51 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861 c.97: “Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously commit any damage, injury, or spoil to or upon any real or personal property whatsoever ….. the damage, injury, or spoil being to an amount exceeding five pounds, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor” (MDA 1861, s.51). The jury found that D threw the stone only intending that it strike those fighting on the street and not the window. Even so, they found D guilty. The case was submitted for appeal.