Criminal Appeals Handbook

Criminal Appeals Handbook provides practical assistance to legal representatives of clients who are seeking to challenge convictions or sentences in the Court of Appeal and beyond. This book will also be of interest to those convicted and their families by assisting them to understand the process, their rights and their options.

The process of appealing to the criminal court is an area of law where the practitioner and the layman are in need of practical guidance. The changes that the criminal profession is experiencing are likely to result in an increased need for guidance in this area, especially for solicitor advocates who, unlike chambers- based counsel, have not experienced the Court of Appeal as part of their training.

In order to be of maximum practical assistance, the book takes each topic in the order in which it arises in the appeal process. It begins with how to obtain advice including funding for advice and assistance legal aid, potential grounds of appeal, lodging, etc. and will follow the process through to the conclusion of the case in the Court of Appeal. There is then a short section on Appeal to the Supreme Court followed by reference to the Criminal Case Review Commission, then finally international remedies (ECtHR and UNHRC).

Criminal Appeals Handbook covers the following topics:

• Appeals against conviction;
• Appeals against sentence;
• Referrals to the CCRC;
• Pardons;
• Applications to the ECtHR;
• Application to the UN Human Rights Committee.

Each chapter is divided into small subsections. The sections concerned with the law begin by stating the law, with the authority and a short explanation and conclude by citing the other relevant case law in the area. Chapters concerned with procedural aspects of the process conclude with a checklist of relevant matters. Guidance on funding each aspect of the appeal process is also included.

This book brings together and restates the law that has been set out elsewhere in various cases, textbooks, guidelines and practice directions, in a practical, comprehensive and user-friendly style.