1. English Legal System
Courts and Routes of Appeal
G151 Miss Hart
2010-11

2. Starter:
Find the Courts!
Find eight courts and assign them to appellate or first instance
First Instance:
Appellate:
O S Q X E V I W N H T S S N G
K W U V G Z P L F R N F E Q U
S F O P E N G I U D A S T U O
Z X T Q R J X O K M Y X A E K
Z L Z J M E C X I D T H R E X
A R A N C N M L E N Y D T N F
G R I N W V Y E S K H W S S X
C P B O A C U M C O N R I B W
K Y R S O F N K D O X T G E G
I C H U B H O T H W U I A N F
W L R T Q Y L G Y S C R M C O
H T R U O C Y T N U O C T H Z
C H A N C E R Y W Z G Y W Q O
I R J D U J P X G R O M B Q U
C O U R T O F A P P E A L T U
Too easy?
1. What’s missing?
2. Highlight the criminal ones…
3. What’s wrong with this one?

3. Highlight the
ones you
think are
vital to this
topic
This is the easy part
How do they fit together?

4. What about outside England and Wales?
Court: Court of Justice of the
European Union
European Court of Human Rights
Key Act;
Who can
appeal
there?
What
grounds?
From
which
domestic
Courts?
Example:

5. Key Vocabulary
Before we begin to look at appeals, it’s important you understand some of the key vocabulary
that we will use. How many of the following terms can you define?
First Instance Appellate Quash
Leave Point of fact Point of law Affirm
Permission to
appeal. Either from
the court they are in,
or the court they
wish to appeal to
Uphold their
conviction
A court which hears
only appeals
A court which hears
cases for the first
time (trials)
Interpretation by the
judge Replace the
conviction with an
acquittal.
D is appealing
against the
conviction.

6. Thinking:
What is the point in having an
appeal system?
… if you are a defendant?
…if you are the prosecution?

7. The Basic Routes
1. A Summary Trial
Summary Trial
Means:
Supreme Court
QBD
Crown Court
If D plead Guilty, can
appeal against
sentence only
If D pleads NG, then
appeal or conviction
– known as point of
fact.
Point of law
(interpretation) only.
Needs leave.
Appeal by way of case
stated (Magistrates
have to recap the case
and say what they
decided and why)
Point of Law
Appeal by prosecution
or defence
Certified point of law of national
importance.

8. Two Examples!
One old… One new
Hill v Baxter
Pled a defence of
automatism to a charge of
careless driving.
MAGISTRATES  QBD
Does this ring a bell?
Boddingtons v British
Transport Police 1998

9. Basic Routes:
2. A Trial on Indictment
Trial on Indictment
Means:
Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
Prosecution
Appeal for retrial (double jeopardy
no longer exists in some
circumstances)
Attorney General’s reference on a
point of law (Where D is found NG,
but P thinks the court got the law
wrong)
Appeal against unduly lenient
sentences
Jury Nobbling (via the QBD)
Defence
If D pleads guilty, can only appeal:
•Point of Law
•Sentence
However, if pleads NG, can appeal:
• point of law
•Point of fact
•Sentence
CCRC for miscarriages of justice
Certified point of law of national
importance.

10. Some examples…
All of these are cases you
have met elsewhere on
the course, or in
independent study.
All of you should be able
to name the case or the
facts.
Most of you should be
able to tell me the
outcome of the case.
Some of you may be able
to identify the grounds of
appeal (and so tell me
which is the odd one
out!).

11. Finally have you got the basics?
Putting that knowledge into practice
Before we go over a little more detail on the
role of the courts, lets see how good you are
at giving advice to a client.
Student Task:
Each pair or three has 6 problems*. Can you, using
only the knowledge you already have, complete the
challenges below:
1. All of you should be able to decide who can
appeal and who can’t
2. Most of you will be able to determine what
grounds they can apply under.
3. Some of you may be able to determine which
court(s) they can appeal to, and factors which
might affect their success.
*Careful! We’re going to come back to these later

12. The person who I think is most likely to
win their appeal is…
E grade… pick someone.
D Grade… give me a reason
C grade… give it a legal basis
B grade… give me another reason!
A grade… spot and explain a problem!

13. What’s the word or phrase?
S
Point of Law Leave
Attorney General’s ReferenceUphold
Lenient Sentence Quash

14. The Courts’ Powers:
Supreme Court
Used to be known as the Judicial
Committee of the House of Lords
 They are the supreme appellate court for England and Wales
They sit in groups of or or .
They can only hear appeals on points of law of general public importance
You will need leave to appeal here.
They may quash, affirm or vary the conviction
They heard appeals last year, were criminal cases
Of applications were granted leave

15. The Courts’ Powers:
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Can quash, dismiss, confirm, order a re-trial, vary the sentence.
Procedure for
appealing:
Should be lodged within
28 days
Firstly, goes to a single
judge of the CA…
If they refuse leave,
then D can ask the full
court for permission
‘unsafe’
The only grounds under which a
conviction may be quashed by the court
s.2 Criminal Appeal Act 1968
How many appeals?
Thinking: Is this approach fair? Should the court be able to
quash on other grounds?

16. What rights does the defence have to appeal to the
Court of Appeal?
From which court?
Sentence
D’s plea at first instance:
Reason for appeal:
Does D need leave?
Consequences:
Point of Fact
D’s plea at first instance
Reason for appeal:
Does D need leave?
Consequences:
Point of Law
D’s plea at first instance
Reason for appeal:
Does D need leave?
Consequences:

17. Criminal Cases Review Commission:
Criminal Justice Act 1995
After conviction, if D still feels that
they were the subject of a
miscarriage of justice, they can
write to the CCRC and ask them to
review the case.
There must be new evidence.
If the CCRC feel that there is
grounds, they will remit it to the CA
for them to review.
The CA can then apply any of its
usual powers.
Independent Study:
You will discover more about
the working of the CCRC
through your own research
skills.

18. What rights do the prosecution have to appeal?
Power One: Against Lenient Sentences
1. Who appealed and on what grounds?
2. What was the outcome of the appeal(s)?
3. What was the basis of their decision(s)?
4. Do you agree with the decision? Yes/no? Why?
s.36 Criminal Justice Act 1988
Attorney-General’s Reference No.3 of 1993 [1994]
s.36 Criminal Justice Act 1972
Power Two: On a point of law
“Attorney General’s Reference”

19. Power Three: Jury Nobbling
Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996
This is where D has been
acquitted, but there is evidence
of jury nobbling.

20. Wendell Baker: A case for the change in the law?
Prosecution Power Four:
Double Jeopardy
s.75 Criminal Justice Act 2003
P can now appeal against acquittal for a limited number of serious
offences, which involve a life sentence where there is ‘compelling new
evidence’
Student Task: Look at the enclosed article. Using the information and your
own arguments complete the table explaining at least three reasons for each side:
For Against
Reason Evidence Reason Evidence

21. The Courts’ Powers
Queen’s Bench Division
Appealing from court
Heard by:
Powers: Confirm, reverse, vary
or remit back to
Magistrates with the
opinion of the court.
Type of appeal?
By whom?

22. The Courts’ Powers
Crown Court
Appealing from court “by way of case stated”
 Only may appeal here
It is heard by a judge and 2
magistrates
They will be appealing on the grounds
of or
 If it is an appeal against conviction,
then it equates to a retrial.
Only a very small amount of D appeal
against conviction each year.
Powers: confirm, reverse, vary
sentence, remit to
Magistrates with advice

23. Consolidation
Answer the question!
Evaluate whether the rule change on double jeopardy is fair in
the interests of justice.
Explain two grounds under which P may want to appeal.
Describe what is meant by an “appeal by way of case stated”
State what powers an appellate court has.
Identify which courts D may appeal to from the Magistrates’
court
A
B
C
D
E

24. Can you complete the dominoes?
Lollipop Brilliance? No handouts
Sticker acceptance? A little help from the
handout or a textbook
Too easy? Can you use the information on the
dominoes to create, and annotate t
he routes of appeal for a defendant?

25. Got it?
What’s wrong with each of the statements below?
1. Simon is appealing on a point of fact, as he believes the judge was wrong
when he said that he was in possession of the banana.
2. Susan is appealing her sentence as she was given 6 months for theft and
thinks this is too long.
3. Sammy is appealing from the Magistrates Court and wants the Court of
Appeal to quash her conviction.
4. Suranne pled guilty to assault, and now wants to appeal the conviction in
the Crown Court.
5. Steve is appealing to the Supreme Court on the grounds that he is
innocent and the CCRC will not help him.
6. Spiros has upset the Attorney General, who wants to appeal his
conditional discharge for manslaughter.

26. Applying all that knowledge
You have each been allocated
one of the cases.
You are going to advise your
client as to their rights of
appeal, and what they will need
to be certain of.
Remember: There may be more
than one route of appeal!
Why the colours?
E – can you clearly state whether
they can appeal or not and why?
C - Can you outline the legal basis
of the powers?
A – can you provide extra
information or conditions which
must be met?
My example:
Stevie is not able to appeal herself. However, she could
approach the AG and complain that the sentence was too
lenient and she would like him to appeal against this. This
would be done under s.36 Criminal Justice Act 1998. If he felt it
was unduly lenient, he could refer it to the Court of Appeal to
reconsider. However, the AG might refuse as he does not think
it is unduly lenient and outside all reasonable sentencing
guidelines and Stevie would have to be aware that Sam’s
sentence may not be increased, and may even be decreased as
a result.

27. Swap and mark!
In their answer, highlight the section which
has determined the grade you have given
them.

28. Describe the process by which the defendant or the prsecution
may appeal from the Magistrates and the Crown Court [18]
What can you tell me about how to answer this
question?

29. *if you ask nicely, I might even help!
What’s your plan*?
On the back desk are three plan sheets. You need
to pick one of them. There is some guidance as
to which below, but the final choice is up to you!
Sheet A:
You are confident
with the structure
of an essay, and
the depth of
content.
Your style of
essay writing is
clear and you
have been
successful on
previous essays.
Sheet B:
You are confident
with the topic (with
the help of the
handout!) and are
happy determining
your own detail.
Your essay
structure is ok, but
may lack detail or
key definitions.
Sheet C:
You have been
absent for part of
this topic; or
You are very
unsure about the
content and need
clear guidance.
You may have a
low aspiration or
attainment at the
minute.

30. Describe the process by which the defendant may
appeal from the Magistrates and the Crown Court [18]
Task:
Use your notes and
understanding to complete
your essay plan.
Need more of a challenge?
Take a look at the Chester Today article on the Private Member’s
Bill. Could you incorporate any of these proposals to develop the
detail in your response?

31. What’s left?
Answering the Question of course!
End
20 minutes.
Remember what you want to improve…
and demonstrate your brilliance!

32. Plenary
Which of these sentences sums up your status on
writing at the end of the lesson?
I can apply a wide range of points
to a scenario and reach a well
informed conclusion.
I can apply the law to a scenario
and reach a logical conclusion
I can apply some points of law to a
scenario, but struggle to reach a
conclusion
I can identify at least one relevant
point in a scenario
I can identify a wide range of points
and support them with detailed
description and citation.
I can identify a range of points, and
add some detail to some of them.
I can explain at least one point
fully, and illustrate it with an
example.
I can identify a range of relevant
points.
Essay Writing
Section A
Application Question
Section B

33. LEVEL 4 Good, well-developed
knowledge with a clear understanding
of the relevant concepts and principles.
Where appropriate, candidates will be
able to elaborate by good citation to
relevant statutes and case-law.
15-18
LEVEL 3 Adequate knowledge showing
reasonable understanding of the
relevant concepts and principles. Where
appropriate, candidates will be able to
elaborate with some citation of relevant
statutes and case-law.
11-14
LEVEL 2Limited knowledge showing
general understanding of the relevant
concepts and principles. There will be
some elaboration of the principles, and
where appropriate with limited
reference to relevant statutes and case-
law.
6-10
LEVEL 1 Very limited knowledge of the
basic concepts and principles. There will
be limited points of detail, but accurate
citation of relevant statutes and case-
law will not be expected.
1-5
Describe the community, custodial and other
sentences available for youth offenders.
The aim is to be in Level Four, so how
are we going to get there?
A custodial sentence should be the last
option for a young offender. Under the
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing)
Act 2000, they should only be
imprisoned if they are prolific
offenders or the seriousness of the
offence justifies it.
The custodial sentence for a young
offender may include a number of
months/years in a young offenders
institute, if they have committed a
crime that would usually if sentencing
an adult, result in a longer sentence,,
then the young offender will remain in
the young offenders institute until they
can be tried as an adult.
Now you rewrite the sections on pp. 18
aiming for detail and accuracy!

34. OLD NEW
Intro: The type of sentence that a young
offender may receive are slightly different from
those of an adult.
 What is a youth offender?
 What is the aim in dealing with them?
 What is the main statute in dealing with them.
Custodial: If they have committed a crime that
would usually if sentencing an adult, result in a
longer sentence,, then the young offender will
remain in the young offenders institute until they
can be tried as an adult.
Community: The community sentence for a
young offender, like that of an adult, will include
a number of hours unpaid work, due to the
young offenders age this is most likely to include
activities such as litter picking, cleaning graffiti off
of public walls or perhaps work in an old persons’
home.
First Tier: Other sentences for a young offender
may be a ASBO which will give each individual
who is given one specific conditions which they
must abide by such as curfew, banning from
certain areas etc.
Discharges: Like adult offenders young offenders
can also be discharged by the court if they have
committed a crime, but the courts feel that
Discharge can also be conditional so the offender
may be told to go to rehabilitation or drug abuse
meetings they should not be punished.

35. Homework
1.Rewrite Youth
Sentencing essay.
2.Prepare and
annotate G151
Mock.

36. Starter…
Linking your knowledge
All of these are cases you
have met elsewhere on the
course, or in independent
study.
All of you should be able
to name the case or the
facts.
Most of you should be
able to tell me the
grounds of appeal.
Some of you may be able
to tell me which is the odd
one out and why!
1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8