Criminal Appeals Appeal routes differ for defence and prosecution Previously only the defence was actually allowed to appeal but now there are limited rights of appeal for the prosecution Routes also differ depending on whether the case has been heard in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court Also depends on whether the appeal is on a point of law or other reasons

Party Appeals from... Appeals to...GroundsRemedies Draw a table with the column headings as below but don’t draw the rows as yet....

Appeals from the Mags... Appeals to the Crown Court: This is the normal route of appeal and is only available to the defence If D pleaded guilty, then can only appeal against sentence If found guilty after trial can appeal against both conviction and sentence This is an automatic right to appeal and does not require leave (permission) from the Mags or Crown Court to appeal

The case is completely reheard at the Crown Court by a judge and 2 magistrates If it is an appeal against conviction they can: Confirm the conviction Reverse the decision of the magistrates Vary the conviction (find D guilty of a lesser offence) If it is an appeal against sentence they can: Confirm the sentence Decrease the sentence Increase the sentence (only to the maximum of the Magistrates’ Court’s powers)

There are approximately 14,000 cases appealed to the Crown Court each year Approximately 50/50 in terms of appeals against conviction and sentence

If it becomes apparent that there is a point of law to be decided – it is possible for the Crown Court to decide this However, it is possible to make further appeal on point of law to the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court (QBD) by way of a Case Stated Appeal

Task: 1. Who can make an appeal to the Crown Court from the Magistrates’ Court? 2. If D pleaded not guilty, what can he appeal against? 3. What is the method of hearing an appeal in the Crown Court? 4. Who hears this appeal?

Case Stated Appeals Appeals on points of law that go straight to the QBD These are available to both defence and prosecution D can only use it against conviction P can only use it against an acquital Can be following an appeal to the Crown Court or it can be direct from the Magistrates’ Court The magistrates (or Crown Court) are asked to state the case by setting out: Their findings of fact What their decision was

Appeal is made on the grounds that the magistrates came to the wrong decision, having made a mistake about the law Asking the higher court its opinion on the point of law There is no re-hearing of the case at the QBD, instead the appeal is argued on the basis of what the law is, in relation to the facts of the case as stated by the lower court The higher court is restricted to consideration of the law alone and is required to accept the statement of facts submitted to it by the lower court.

The appeal is heard by a panel of 2 or 3 High Court Judges from the QBD Occasionally, a judge from Court of Appeal may sit on the panel The QBD can then: Confirm decision Vary decision Reverse decision Remit (i.e. Send back to the Mags with directions for them on the point of law Only about 100 of these appeals per year

Appeal to the Supreme Court Possible to appeal the decision of the QBD to the Supreme Court Can only be made with leave and only if: QBD certifies that point of law of general public importance is involved QBD or Supreme Court gives permission to appeal because the point is one which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court

Important case... C v DPP (1994) – concerned with the age of presumed criminal responsibility for children between the age of Until this case it was accepted that yr olds could only be convicted if P could prove beyond reasonable doubt that they knew that what they were doing was wrong QBD held that times had changed and children were more mature now and so the rule was not needed – presumption should be that they did know the difference between right and wrong

Case was appealed to the House of Lords on point of law They overruled the QBD, holding that P still need to prove that child between actually knows what they are doing is wrong

Task: 1. Who can make a case stated appeal? 2. Explain the process of a case stated appeal 3. On what grounds is it possible to make an appeal to the Supreme Court from the QBD? 4. Give an example of a case that dealt with an appeal from the QBD.

Appeals from the Crown Court Again, the types of appeal are different for defence and prosecution Appeals by defendant: Has the possibility of appealing against conviction and/or sentence to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Unlike at the Magistrates’ Court, D needs leave to appeal

At the end of the trial at which D has been found guilty, his lawyer should advise him on the possibility of appeal Should do this verbally at the court; or In writing within 14 days This is because in order to appeal, notice of appeal must be filed at the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) within 28 days of conviction

Criminal Appeals Act 1995 (CAA 1995) This lays down the rules for requesting leave to appeal In all cases, D must get leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal; or A certificate that the case is fit for appeal, from the trial judge What is the idea behind this? Cases that have no merit are filtered out and the court’s time is saved

The CAA 1995 simplified the grounds under which the court can allow an appeal The Act states that the Court of Appeal: a) Shall allow an appeal against conviction if they think that the conviction is unsafe; and b) Shall dismiss such an appeal in any other case Since the Human Rights Act 1998, there has been a very broad approach to the interpretation of the word ‘unsafe’ E.g. Convictions held to be unsafe where D has been denied a fair trial (breach of Art 6 European Convention on Human Rights)

Procedures in an appeal before the Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal reviews the decision of the lower court it is not a re-hearing...why? The court is loathe to overturn jury verdicts New evidence can be admitted but it must be: Capable of belief; and afford a ground for appeal They would also consider this in light of whether it would have been admissible at the trial and why it was not produced at the trial

Powers of the Court of Appeal If they consider conviction is unsafe, they will quash the conviction If they consider it is not unsafe they will dismiss the appeal If they consider it may be unsafe, they will order a re- trial (rarely used) They also have the power to vary the conviction to that of a lesser offence which they believe the jury could have convicted D The court can also decrease the sentence of D but does not have the power to increase it

Appeals by the prosecution: Originally the prosecution had no right to appeal but recently Parliament has awarded some limited rights There are now 4 areas in which the prosecution can appeal: 1. Against a judge’s ruling 2. Against acquittal 3. Referring a point of law 4. Against sentence

Against a judge’s ruling If the judge gives a ruling which effectively ends the case against D, P has the right to appeal against that ruling E.g. if judge says D has no case to answer at the end of P’s evidence in the trial Given by Part 9 Criminal Justice Act 2003 Idea is to make sure that an error in law by the judge does not lead to an acquittal

Appeal against acquittal: There are 2 limited situations in which P can appeal against an acquittal by a jury: 1. Where the acquittal was as a result of a ‘nobbled’ jury There needs to be a conviction in place for jury nobbling and if there is the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 allows for an application to the High Court to quash the conviction; once quashed P can then start new proceedings for the same offence This power has not been used to date

2. Where there is new and compelling evidence of the acquitted person’s guilt and it is in the public interest for that person to be retried Introduced under Part 10 Criminal Justice Act 2003 Available in approx 30 serious offences circumstances including murder, manslaughter, rape, terrorism offences etc Known as the ‘Double Jeopardy’ rule because people are being tried twice for the same offence

DPP has to consent to re-opening investigations into the offence Then, once evidence has been found, the prosecution has to apply to the Court of Appeal for the original acquittal to be quashed… They will then start the prosecution afresh Most often used in cases where new techniques in forensic testing (DNA, blood analysis etc) have been developed since the original acquittal

The first time that this power was used was in the case of Billy Dunlop who murdered Julie Hogg in 1989

Referring a point of law: This is a special power available to the prosecution where D is acquitted Under s36 Criminal Justice Act 1972 – the Attorney- General has the power to refer a point of law raised in the trial, to the Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal will rule on the point of law – this will not affect the acquittal of the defendant but it will stand as precedent for use in future cases involving the same point of law

Appealing against sentence: The Attorney-General has the power under s36 Criminal Justice Act 1988 to apply for leave to the Court of Appeal for re-sentencing This gives him the power to refer sentences he considers to be unduly lenient Until 1994 was only available on indictable offences but is now available on many either-way offences (as long as the trial took place in the Crown Court) Used successfully in a number of cases each year – especially those which attract high levels of media attention

Lulan Palicki – was found guilty in 2004 of taking young girls from Eastern Europe inc. offences of kidnapping, living off prostitution and procuring girls for sex At trial was sentenced to 10 years in prison On referral by the Attorney-General, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 23 years

Appeals to the Supreme Court Both prosecution and defence have opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court but it is necessary to have: 1. The case certified as involving a point of law of general public importance; and 2. To get permission to appeal either from the Supreme Court or from the Court of Appeal Usually only per year

Task: 1. When D is tried at the Crown Court, to which court can an appeal be made? 2. What is the test used by that court to decide if the appeal is successful? 3. When can the prosecution appeal against an acquittal? 4. Which Act gave the Attorney-General the power to refer and unduly lenient sentence to the Court of Appeal? 5. There is the possibility of a further appeal: a) To which court would this appeal be made? b) What conditions must be met before such an appeal will be heard?