Joint enterprise after Jogee: foresight is evidence, not the legal test
Being present during another person’s crime and intentionally helping that crime are different questions. Jogee explains why a person’s actions, knowledge and intended assistance must be examined carefully, and why a change in legal reasoning does not automatically reopen every conviction.
Separate what happened from what was intended
After a group incident, accounts can slide between “was there”, “knew someone might do it” and “helped it happen”. Those descriptions are not interchangeable. For a person facing an allegation, a useful case history identifies individual actions and the evidence of what each participant understood, without filling gaps with assumptions about the group.
The correction made in Jogee
In R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8, the Supreme Court corrected the approach that treated foresight of another participant's offence as sufficient for secondary liability. Intentional assistance or encouragement was required; foresight could be evidence of intention, but was not its legal equivalent. The court allowed Jogee's appeal, while leaving the appropriate consequential order for further submissions. It also explained that the correction did not automatically make earlier convictions unsafe or entitle everyone to an out-of-time appeal. Read paragraphs 87–90 and 100–101 of the official judgment.
This article addresses the England and Wales case of Jogee, rather than the separate Jamaican appeal discussed in the same document.
Prepare an individual chronology
Record where you were, what you saw, what you heard and what you did at each stage. Distinguish events you remember from details learned afterwards. If you cannot remember a point, say so. Do not adapt a recollection to match a legal phrase found online.
Preserve complete communications, original photographs and available recordings. Context before and after a selected message may matter. Tell your solicitor which material exists and where; do not delete material because it seems embarrassing or ask other participants to produce matching explanations. A lawyer can advise on lawful evidence preservation and disclosure.
Identify practical sources of independent evidence, such as location records or potential witnesses, without approaching witnesses in a way that could influence their accounts. Explain any language, hearing, learning or health needs affecting interviews or understanding. These are matters for proper assessment, not conclusions that a person must be innocent or guilty.
For an existing conviction, bring the indictment, summing-up, verdict, appeal decisions and previous legal advice where available. A headline about a changed rule is less useful than the actual directions the jury received. Mark dates and any previous applications so a new adviser can assess the procedural position.
Two common misreadings
Jogee does not mean that only the person who physically causes harm can be guilty. Assistance and encouragement can take many forms. It also does not mean that presence in a group always proves assistance. The prosecution case and the evidence concerning the individual must be examined rather than replaced by either slogan.
Questions for a solicitor
Ask what conduct is alleged to amount to assistance, what evidence concerns intention and whether the case involves principal or secondary liability. If reviewing an old conviction, ask about the applicable appeal route and threshold promptly.
This is a review of the 2016 judgment, not an assessment of any pending case. LegalPath can help you browse public cases and lawyer profiles; criminal allegations require advice based on your own evidence and procedural position.