Welcome to the August edition of our monthly Criminal Appeals Bulletin and the launch of our new Caribbean case summary section.

The Bulletin aims to highlight recent changes in case law and procedure 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. 

In this edition, Joel Bennathan QC analyses the CACD’s approach to manslaughter sentence appeals in the aftermath of Jogee. I look at recent decisions from the CACD dealing with the potential impact of judicial interventions at trial, substitution of hospital orders, specific mitigating and aggravating features in sentencing, as well as a decision from the Caribbean Court of Justice that considers the admissibility of confessions obtained in violation of statutory safeguards.

Doughty Street has some of the most experienced appellate practitioners at the Bar, including the authors and editor of the three leading works on appellate procedure.

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

Head of the DSC Criminal Appeals Unit