ABSTRACT
A discharge (or dismissal) at a preliminary enquiry is not an acquittal.30 Apart from the fact that the enquiry is not a trial, the defendant would not have even pleaded. In R v Manchester City Stipendiary Magistrate ex p Snelson [1978] 2 All ER 62 it was specifically held that a discharge at a preliminary enquiry is not an acquittal. A court thus has the jurisdiction to entertain committal proceedings in respect of a charge on which the defendant has been discharged whether as a result of offering no evidence or after a hearing. As a result, there are several options open to the prosecution after a discharge to still proceed to trial without any suggestion that the defendant will suffer double jeopardy. The prosecution may: (a) relay the charge; (b) if statute specifies, hold a further enquiry on the discovery of additional evidence; (c) obtain a committal otherwise; or (d) proceed by way of voluntary bill.
