appeal routes the Magistrates’ Court and the Crown Court

When a case is being heard in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court there are several appeal routes that the defence can take should they not be satisfied with the outcome of the trial

The first route of appeal is from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court. The defence can go to the Crown Court to appeal either the conviction or the sentence. In order to do this however, the defence must obtain leave from the Crown Court before they can procced with their appeal. If leave is granted, then the case will be heard by a Crown Court judge and 2 Magistrates. They can then decide if they want to confirm or vary the defendant’s conviction. Or they can confirm, increase, or decrease the sentence of the defendant.

The second route of appeal for the defence is from the Magistrates or Crown Court to the Kings Bench Division (KBD). An appeal made to the KBD is called a case stated appeal and the defence can appeal against the conviction of the defendant. As it was when appealing to the Crown Court, the defence needs to obtain leave in order to appeal to the Kings Bench Division. Once leave is obtained then the KBD can either confirm, vary, or reverse the decision made in the Magistrates or Crown Court. The KBD also have the authority to send the case back down to the Magistrates’ Court for the correct law to be implemented.

The third route of appeal for the defence is from the Kings Bench Division to the Supreme Court. An appeal can only be made to the Supreme Court if it is an important point of law that must be rules upon. As in the previous two routes of appeal leave is required to make an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can change the law if they feel like that is needed in order to settle the case. They are the only court with the ability to do this.

The fourth route of appeal for the defence is from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal. In this case the defence can appeal the conviction of the defendant and like all the other routes stated, leave is required before an appeal can be launched. The Court of Appeal can decide to do three things to a conviction. They can either vary, quash, dismiss the conviction. And if there is sudden new evidence from the defence that is seen as compelling enough then the Court of Appeal can order a retrial so they can come to the correct conclusion considering the new evidence. Appeals that go to the Court of Appeal only have a 30% success rate, however.

The fifth and final route of appeal for the defence is from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. An appeal can only be made to the Supreme Court if it is an important point of law that must be rules upon. As in the previous four routes of appeal leave is required to make an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can change the law if they feel like that is needed in order to settle the case. They are the only court with the ability to do this.