Welcome to the July 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 (with an occasional series on appeal cases from Scotland) 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 Patrick O’Connor QC looks at the CACD’s approach to disputed bad character issues.
In this edition we also look at:
- CACD conviction appeals: SOPO and SHPO; inconsistent verdicts, consent, multiple hearsay “confession” evidence; disclosure of electronic records held by prosecution witnesses; guilty pleas as a result of judicial pressure; Victim of Human Trafficking;
- CACD sentence appeals: Drugs offences involving test purchase operations;
- A recent health and safety appeal: Meaning of “Exempt facility”;
- Caribbean appeals: ECSC decision on USI, corroboration warning, and judicial interventions; Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decision on Antigua money laundering legislation.
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.
I hope you and your families are keeping safe and well.
Paul Taylor QC
Head of the DSC Criminal Appeals Unit
