Sweet v Parsley
1970 · AC 132
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Sweet, a schoolmistress, sublet rooms in a farmhouse and kept one room for herself. She visited to collect rent and to see that all was well. Tenants smoked cannabis. She did not know. She was of being concerned in the management of premises used for that purpose.
- Issue
- Is the offence one of ?
- Held
- The House of Lords quashed the conviction. The purpose of smoking cannabis had to be the purpose of the person concerned in the management. Lord Reid held that the offence was not one of strict liability.
- Principle
- A court leans against strict liability, especially where the offence is serious and the accused is not at fault.
- Why it matters
- It is the modern statement of the Sherras presumption.
Words and Latin in this note
- Strict liability
- An offence in which the prosecution need not prove a guilty mind as to one or more elements. The act must still be proved, and it must still be voluntary. The presumption is that mens rea is required, unless the statute or its subject matter displaces it. Open the note.
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