Criminal Courts - Appeals Flashcards
Appeals from Mags’ Court
D can appeal against sentence or conviction
CC deals with these appeals
D has an automatic right to appeal a Mags’ decision
Appeal from Mags’ Court against conviction
1 Judge 2 Mags (with special hearing) hears this
they can:
uphold D’s conviction
quash the conviction
vary the conviction - change what D is guilty of - must be less serious
Appeal from Mags’ Court against sentence
1 judge 2 Mags (specially trained) hear this appeal
They can:
uphold the sentence
decrease the sentence
increase the sentence (BUT they can only increase the sentence to 6 months, as the Mags cannot go over that)
Appeals from the Crown Court (First Instance)
D can appeal against sentence or against conviction
D must apply for and be granted ‘leave’ - permission to appeal from the court you came from to the court you’re going to
CoA hears these appeals
Appeal from the Crown Court - against conviction
3 judges (Lord Justices of Appeal) hear these appeals
CoA can:
uphold D’s conviction
quash D’s conviction (if unsafe) and may order a retrial
vary D’s conviction
e.g. R v George
R v George
Barry George - convicted of murder in 2001 for the murder of Jill Dando
2007 - he appealed to CoA from CC + retrial was ordered
2008 - not guilty
Appeal from the Crown Court - against sentence
3 Judges (Lord Justices of Appeal) hear these appeals
the CoA can:
uphold the sentence
decrease the sentence
they cannot increase D’s sentence, as it would deter people from appealing if they were scared of facing a life sentence
examples:
R v Herbert
R v Philpott
Appeals by the Prosecution (AP)
Prosecution cannot appeal against D’s conviction or sentence, but can appeal by the following ways (various Criminal Justice Acts):
1) appeal against a judge’s ruling
2) appeal against acquittal
3) appeal by referring a point of law
4) appeal against an ‘unduly lenient’ sentence
AP - against a judge’s ruling (1)
if a judge makes a ruling on a point of law which stops the case, the Prosecution can appeal (Criminal Justice Act 2003) to the CoA
this can order continuation of trial or a retrial e.g. a directed acquittal (R v Counsell)
AP - against acquittal (2)
done for 2 reasons:
Due to jury nobbling
- if D is acquitted due to a juror being bribed or threatened, the prosecution can appeal asking for D’s acquittal to be quashed and for D to be retried
- Brink’s-Mat Robbery
Due to new and compelling evidence
- if D has been acquitted of a crime but ‘new and compelling evidence’ comes to light, then the Prosecution can appeal and ask the CoA to quash D’s acquittal so that D can be retried
- Criminal Justice Act 2003
- (R v Dobson and Norris - D was acquitted of murder but DNA linking D and V was discovered, so D was retried and found guilty)
AP - by referring a point of law (3)
where the trial judge has made an error in the law (resulting in D’s acquittal), the prosecution can ask the AG to ask the CoA to make a ruling on the point of law to clarify what the law says for future cases
- Criminal Justice Act 1972
- AG Ref (3 of ‘94)
AP - against an ‘unduly lenient’ sentence
The prosecution can ask the AG to refer a case to the CoA for D’s sentence to be increased if it is thought to be too soft (unduly lenient)
Criminal Justice Act 1988 - the CoA can increase the sentence up to max available for the crime
- R v Yates - as a deterrence, the sentence was increased by 5 years
Case Stated Appeals
a way that both the prosecution and defence can appeal decisions
- appellant claims that the law has been misapplied or misinterpreted
- the King’s Bench Divisional Court (KBD) consisting of 2 or 3 High Court Judges hears these appeals
- these appeals can be made from the Mags’ or the Crown Courts
If a party doesn’t agree with this decision, it can be appealed to the Supreme Court (with leave), if a point of law is of ‘general public importance’
e.g. Platt
KBD - what powers does this court have?
This court can:
- confirm the point of law
- reverse the decision
- remit (retrial) the case
