Joint enterprise is a 'lazy prosecutor's dream'

The controversial legal principle of joint enterprise has been described as a 'lazy prosecutor's dream' which disproportionately impacts upon young black men.

The Supreme Court is hearing two appeals in cases where convictions were gained under the doctrine. Ameen Jogee and Mohammed Hirsi were given life sentences after being convicted of the murder of former Leicestershire police officer Paul Fyfe in 2012.

The Supreme Court is to consider 'whether the prosecution must prove that a secondary offender, who encouraged the primary offender to commit some harm, foresaw the primary offender's acquisition and use of a weapon for murder as "probable" rather than "possible" in order to establish joint enterprise'.

Commenting on the Supreme Court hearing, Sandra Paul, a senior associate and solicitor advocate at Kingsley Napley, said a review of joint enterprise was long overdue.

'The principle of joint enterprise is the lazy prosecutor's dream,' she remarked. 'The doctrine results in the occasional triumph, such as the conviction of Stephen Lawrence's killers, but these are far outweighed by its disproportionate application to groups such as young people, particularly black young men.'

The criminal lawyer said the current guidelines fail to take into account the immaturity of most young people and inevitably lead to conviction, even when there is only a 'peripheral involvement' in the crime.

'There is no need for a judge to consider the differing roles or culpability of individuals so long as it can be shown that at some level, spoken or unspoken, planned or on the spur of the moment, they acted in concert.'

Paul explained how she had recently acted for a client convicted of grievous bodily harm (GBH) under joint enterprise despite being 20 feet away from the victim at the time of the stabbing.

'The judge found that it was "reasonably foreseeable" that "serious harm might" result irrespective of whether that was what my client intended,' she added.

'Guilt by association is a hard lesson for a young person to carry through life without feeling hard done by, and the danger is that the joint enterprise doctrine contributes to young people's disrespect of the law if their experience of it or the experience of those around them seems unfair.'

While the doctrine is also being used to curb protestors and in fraud cases, Paul said joint enterprise should be applied carefully to offences such as murder and GBH to avoid 'unjust outcomes'.

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal
john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD