Welcome to the September edition of our monthly Criminal Appeals Bulletin.

The Bulletin aims to highlight recent changes in case law and procedure in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Caribbean and Hong Kong and to provide practical guidance to those advising on appellate matters.

Our monthly case summaries illustrate when an appellate court is likely to interfere with conviction or sentence, as well as looking at the courts’ approach to procedural matters. 

The featured article focuses on a current appeal topic - in this edition Sarah Elliott QC analyses the CACD’s approach to prosecutions based on evidence obtained by “Paedophile hunters”.

We highlight some important changes to procedures in the CACD, and the latest appellate decisions on:

• non-disclosure
• inconsistent verdicts
• meaning of “possession” of child pornography on WhatsApp
• Tommy Robinson / Yaxley-Lenon contempt judgement
• An historic appeal in the NICA based on breaches of the Judges Rules

In a new occasional series highlighting important Scottish decisions, Paul Harvey comments on a successful appeal based on prosecution counsel’s prejudicial remarks to the jury.

Finally, my article analysing the Jogee legacy is available in Counsel Magazine click here.

It is hoped that the Hong Kong and Caribbean sections will return in the next issue.

Doughty Street has some of the most experienced appellate practitioners at the Bar, including the contributors to the leading works on appellate procedure - The Criminal Appeals Handbook, Taylor on Criminal Appeals, Blackstones Criminal Practice (appeals section), Halsbury’s Laws (Appeals).

Please feel free to e-mail us or to call our crime team on 020 7400 9088. We also offer our instructing solicitors a free Advice Line, where they can discuss initial ideas about possible appeals, at no cost to them or their client.  More information on our services can be found on our website.

We hope that the bulletin is of interest to you. 

Paul Taylor QC

Head of the DSC Criminal Appeals Unit