Washington v The King (Bermuda) [2024] UKPC 34

Tom Poole KC Instructed by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP (London) for the Respondant

Case ID: JCPC 2022/0046

Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal for Bermuda

Case summary

Issue

Whether the Court of Appeal erred in affirming the conviction of Mr Washington for murder, attempted murder, using a firearm to commit an indictable offence and handling ammunition.

Facts

Mr Washington was convicted of (i) murder, (ii) attempted murder, (iii) using a firearm to commit an indictable offence, and (iv) handling ammunition in May 2014. In relation to (i)-(iii), the jury returned a guilty verdict by a 9-2 majority. The guilty verdict in relation to (iv) was unanimous. Mr Washington appealed, and his convictions were confirmed by the Court of Appeal in March 2016. Mr Washington now seeks PTA to the JCPC to appeal against his convictions on grounds that (i) there was possible jury bias, (ii) the judge made material errors in relation to evidence laid by the prosecution, and (iii) the DNA evidence adduced by the prosecution at trial was flawed. Mr Washington also seeks to adduce fresh evidence in the form of expert reports (including on DNA analysis) and updated practice guidance in relation to the probity of gunshot residue particle evidence.

Parties

Appellant

Julian Washington

Respondent

The King

Appeal

Justices

Lord Lloyd Jones, Lord Leggatt, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose, Lady Simler

Hearing start date

17 June 2024

Hearing finish date

17 June 2024

Judgment details

Judgment date

31 October 2024

Neutral citation

[2024] UKPC 34

• Judgment (PDF)
• Judgment on The National Archives (HTML version)
• Judgment on BAILII (HTML version)