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criminal courts and lay people (2) - appeals - Coggle Diagram
criminal courts and lay people (2) - appeals
APPEALS FROM MAGISTRATES' COURT TO CROWN COURT
this appeal is only available to the defence
if d pleaded guilty at magistrates' court, appeal can only be made against sentence
crown court can confirm the sentence or increase or decrease it
however, any increase can only be up to the magistrates' maximum powers for the case
if the defendant pleaded not guilty, and was convicted, an appeal can be made against conviction and/or sentence
the crown court consisting of a judge sitting with two lay magistrates will hold a complete rehearing of the case including any evidence that was not available in the magistrates' court
they can confirm or vary the conviction and/or sentence or find the defendant guilty for a lesser offence
CASE-STATED APPEALS
these are appeals on a point of law that go to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, either directly from the magistrates' court or following an appeal to the crown court
both the prosecution and defence can use this appeals route
either court are asked to state their case by setting out their findings of fact and their decision
the appeal is argued on the basis of what the law is on those facts; no witnesses are called, heard by a panel of two or three judges
the approach is that the magistrates came to a wrong decision because they made a mistake about the law - Divisional court may confirm, vary or reverse the decision, or send it back for the magistrates to implement the decision on the law
there are usually fewer than one hundred case-stated appeals made each year - possibility of a further appeal to the supreme court such as in C v DPP (case was appealed to supreme court who overruled decision of divisional court - original conviction confirmed that they needed to prove whether the child had the intent to commit theft)
APPEALS FROM THE CROWN COURT
APPEALS BY THE DEFENDANT
if a defendant has been found guilty following a crown court trial, they should be advised by their lawyers on the possibility of an appeal - it can be made against the conviction and/or sentence to the court of appeal
LEAVE TO APPEAL
Criminal Appeal Act 1995 requires that the defendant must obtain permission to appeal decided by a single judge of court of appeal - aim is to filter out cases without merit and save the court's time
THE CRIMINAL APPEAL ACT 1995
Criminal Appeal Act 1995 simplified the grounds under which the court can allow an appeal - the act states that the court of appeal "shall allow an appeal against conviction if they think that the conviction is unsafe and shall dismiss such an appeal in any other case"
NEW EVIDENCE
the defendant can apply to introduce new evidence but: it must appear to be capable of belief and afford a ground for an appeal, and it has to be considered whether it would have been admissible at the trial, and why it was not produced at the trial
THE COURT OF APPEAL'S POWERS
APPEALS BY THE PROSECUTION AGAINST AN ACQUITTAL
the prosecution has limited rights to appeal against an acquittal as follows:
1.where the acquittal was the result of the jury beings bribed or threatened by associates of the defendant
where there is new and compelling evidence of the acquitted person's guilt, and it is in the public interest for the defendant to be retried
REFERRING A POINT OF LAW AFTER AN ACQUITTAL
following an acquittal, under s36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1972, the Attorney-General can refer a point of law to the court of appeal in order to get a ruling on the law - the decision by the court of appeal on that point of law does not affect the acquittal but it creates a precedent for any future case involving the same point of law
AGAINST SENTENCE AFTER CONVICTION
under s36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Attorney-General can apply for leave to refer an unduly lenient sentence to the court of appeal - cases are brought to the Attorney-General's attention by the crown prosecution service - also possible for a member of the public to contact the Attorney-General's office if they feel that the original sentence was too lenient
FURTHER APPEALS
both the prosecution and defence may appeal from the court of appeal to the supreme court but they need to have the case certified as involving a point of law of general public importance, and to get leave to appeal from either the supreme court or court of appeal - an appeal can only be made against conviction or acqittal - the appeal consists of legal arguments only