Criminal Appeals Bulletin - Issue 59

Welcome to the January 2023 edition of the DSC Criminal Appeals Bulletin

The Bulletin is aimed at assisting those involved in appellate work in England & Wales, Northern Ireland and the Caribbean.

In this edition we look at a selection of the latest appeal cases from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Guyana Court of Appeal. The citations of the cases are hyperlinked to the judgments.

DSC Criminal Appeal Unit

Doughty Street is renowned for housing many of the leading specialist criminal appeal barristers who have appeared in some of the most important miscarriage of justice cases over the last 30+ years. Our cases frequently involve complex legal or evidential issues. We have built up a particular expertise in cases involving fresh evidence, often from forensic experts including DNA, firearms, and CCTV, and in cases involving appellants with mental health issues.

Please feel free to email Matt Butchard or Marc Gilby or call our crime team on 0207 400 9088 to discuss instructing us in appeal cases. 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 criminal appeal services can be found on the new Criminal Appeals page of our website including links to back copies of the Bulletin and other resources.

Contents of Issue 59

To read each section, please click on the title of the content below.

Latest News

Case summaries and commentary

• Conviction appeals (CACD)
  • False Identification documents/ refugee/humanitarian protection;
  • Jury irregularities 
  • Evidential issues: hearsay; bad character; non-disclosure/fresh evidence; 
  • Abuse of process: Post Office/Horizon; 
  • Drug importation: defences;
  • AG reference: criminal damage/Colston statue
• Sentence appeals (CACD)
  • AG reference: murder/minimum term;
  • Indeterminate sentences v Hospital orders; 
  • Extended determinate/special custodial; 
  • Basis of sentence 
• Sanctions in contempt cases 
• UK Supreme Court
  • Anti-abortion protesters/proportionality
• Northern Ireland Court of Appeal
  • Historic convictions/fair trial v safety
  • NICA approach to sentencing appeals
• Caribbean Appeals – Guyana Court of Appeal
  • Challenge to mandatory death penalty)
• List of contributors

Read the full January issue below.