Raffaelli v Heatly 1949 JC 101
Citation: Raffaelli v Heatly 1949 JC 101
Rule of thumb: Is staring into another person’s property a criminal offence? If it is done excessively, yes.
Judgment:
This is an important case and seen as largely setting the initial parameters of the law in this area – the accused was in someone’s garden and peering in between the curtains. The facts were such that the household where it happened were of a fairly strong minded disposition and they were unbothered and found it humorous, with other people in the neighbourhood reporting the complaint. The defence argued that given the family at hand were not caused reasonable alarm or distressed, it could not constitute a breach of the peace. The Court held that this was a breach of the peace as the test was an objective one, not one based on the people at hand – the reasonable person would be caused upset and alarm by someone peeping in through their window, and the accused was convicted of breach of the peace. This case updated the law of breach of the peace where the test was vaguer and was whether the actions could cause upset or annoyance – this case confirmed that causing initial upset and annoyance was not a criminal offence, ‘...to the alarm and annoyance of the public’, Lord Mackay
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.