''Regina v. Woodrow'', 15 M. & W. 404 (Exch. 1846) was a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to ca ...

decided by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Court of Exchequer Chamber The Court of Exchequer Chamber was an English appellate court for common law civil actions before the reforms of the Judicature Acts of 1873–1875. It originated in the fourteenth century, established in its final form by a statute of 1585. The ...

that first adopted a

strict liability In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant. ...

standard for the

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

of selling impure foods.

Decision

The defendant was charged with violating a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

that prohibited possession of adulterated

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. The court held the defendant criminally

liable In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agen ...

even though he had no knowledge or reason to suspect the adulteration. The court justified this adoption of strict liability as being in the interests of convenient prosecution. This decision overruled '' Rex v. Dixon'', which had included a

mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action (or lack of action) would cause a crime to be committed. It is considered a necessary element ...

requirement.Bonnie, p. 252

References

W 1846 in case law 1846 in England Court of Exchequer Chamber cases Food safety scandals Tobacco in the United Kingdom Food safety in the United Kingdom 1846 in British law {{England-law-stub