Archive for appeals and appeal court
Anew centre for aimed to improve access to Criminal Appeals has been set up.
The Centre for Criminal Appeals (CCA) is a new “access to justice” initiative, currently in its start-up phase. Once operational, CCA’s mission will be to:
work to overturn unsafe convictions by providing investigation and legal advocacy on criminal appeal cases in England and Wales on a not-for-profit basis
share lessons learned from casework with criminal justice policy makers, the legal profession and the public, with a view to systemic reform
A proposed not-for-profit solution to the shortage of legal representation on appeal
Whether you are a legal professional, a prisoner, a ...
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A secret diary that could have cleared a convicted murderer was held by the police for at least 16 years while he remained in jail, protesting his innocence. Eddie Gilfoyle was jailed for life in 1993 for murdering his pregnant wife, Paula, by hanging her and making it look like suicide.
The Times newspaper has learnt that a locked box containing her diary and personal papers revealed a previous suicide attempt and a traumatic past. Alison Halford, the former Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, which investigated the death, said yesterday it was wicked that the evidence had not been ...
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This article by Jamie Doward first appeared on the Guardian website (here) on the 29th May, 2011
The watchdog that examines miscarriages of justice is failing innocent people, according to a senior lawyer involved in some of the highest-profile court cases in recent years.
John Cooper QC, honorary visiting professor of law at Cardiff University, questioned whether the criminal cases review commission has sufficient resources and drive to do its job adequately.
Cooper gave advice to Barry George, the man wrongly convicted of the murder of Jill Dando, and represented the families of soldiers killed in ...
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Our attention has been drawn to a recent case in which deals with a released prisoners right to challenge conditions imposed upon him on his release.
In this case it was necessary to consider whether they were so onerous that they amounted to a deprivation of his liberty?
Did they constitute an unnecessary and disproportionate interference with his right to respect for his private life?
And when the prisoner complained about them, should his complaint have been referred to the Parole Board?
The judgement provides a useful summary of the law as it affects ex prisoners subject ...
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The Supreme Court have handed down their judgement (here) in the case of three men who claimed compensation for being wrongly convicted.
By a narrow majority, the judges held that a miscarriage of justice occurs “when a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that the evidence against a defendant has been so undermined that no conviction could possibly be based upon it”.
The supreme court panel said: “A claimant for compensation will not need to prove that he was innocent of the crime but he will have to show that, on the basis of the facts as they are now known, ...
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This item appeared on the BBC website earlier today (here)
A man who preyed on troubled children at the former Kerelaw School in North Ayrshire is back in prison after losing his appeal against conviction.
Former art teacher Matthew George was jailed for 10 years in 2006 for a series of physical and sexual assaults at the Stevenston school.
The 61-year-old, from Largs, had been freed on bail to await the outcome of his appeal.
Kerelaw was closed in 2006 following a police probe into incidents of abuse.
The residential ...
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Richardson v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police [2011] EWHC 773 (QB); [2011] WLR (D) 116
“Before a police officer made an arrest, pursuant to section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, he had to consider, in accordance with the requirements of section 24(4), whether arrest was necessary or whether voluntary attendance at a police station would achieve the objective that he wished to secure.”
Neutral Citation Number: [2011] EWHC 773 (QB)
Extract from a judgement made in The High Court of Justice on the 29th March 2011
The Claimant, a thirty-nine year old teacher of good character, claims that ...
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Our attention has been drawn to a Court of Appeal judgment in which a man was cleared of convictions relating to offences said to have occurred between 37 and 40 years prior to their disclosure.
Neutral Citation Number: [2011] EWCA Crim 726
Case No: D1/201002010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM WOOLWICH CROWN COURT
HIS HONOUR JUDGE SHORROCK
T20097440
B e f o r e
LORD JUSTICE JACKSON
MR JUSTICE SILBER
and
THE COMMON SERJEANT, HHJ BARKER QC,
SITTING AS A JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEAL CRIMINAL DIVISION
Ms Teresa Hay (instructed by Crown Prosecution Service) for the Respondent
Ms Maria Dineen (instructed by Registrar ...
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RE: Hereworth v R. [2011] EWCA Crim 74 (01 February 2011)
The Court of Appeal recently considered the issue of missing historic documentation in case of alleged historic abuse in a domestic situation.
The appellant was convicted on three counts of indecent assault and four counts of rape in November 2009 against M, whose mother had formed a relationship with this appellant. M was about 12-13 at the time. The appellant was also convicted of two further counts of indecent assault against her sister, E. The offences were alleged to have taken place ...
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CPS opens specialist Appeals Unit
Media release : 26/01/2011
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has established a specialist Appeals Unit that will take on new cases in the appeal courts, including all work involving the Criminal Cases Review Commission and Unduly Lenient Sentences.
Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “The CPS is already committed to providing a first-rate service at every stage of a prosecution. This new unit extends that commitment to the appeal process.
“Our dedicated team will hone their expertise and be the point of contact for lawyers and courts across England & Wales, ...
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There is a very useful judgement handed down by the Appeal Court on the Bailli website.
Although the judgement does make for pleasant reading it is useful because it deals, which amongst other things, ‘truth and lies’, and best investigative practice in child protection matters.
There is also a very helpful summary of the respective merits of ….
Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on Interviewing Victims and Witnesses, and Using Special Measures (the Guidance), which was published in a revised form in 2007. This is a long and important document and is self-evidently required reading for all ...
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Desmond v The Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police 2011] EWCA Civ 3 (12 January 2011) Read judgment
The Court of Appeal has ruled that it is not possible to sue the police in negligence for not filling in an Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate (ECRC). The ruling shows that the courts are still reluctant to allow negligence claims against the police, and provides useful guidance as to the duty of care of public authorities towards the general public.
Vincent Desmond was arrested in 2001 for a late-night sexual assault in Nottingham. He denied the crime, and a week later the police decided to ...
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There is a very good article by Safraz Manzoor in todays Guardian about about the setting up of Innocent Projects in the UK.
The article is titled The Innocence Project: the court of last resort. Well worth reading.
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A father of three says he has lost two decades of his life after being falsely accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.
Ian Henderson served 16 months in jail alongside sex offenders at Wandsworth prison after being convicted of indecent assault in 1990.
The former coach driver, 47, is in line for substantial compensation after his alleged victim, Carrie Crownshaw, confessed to making up the accusations, 20 years after her evidence saw him jailed.
Mr Henderson, from Stanmore, says his wrongful conviction is the main reason why he has not worked since 2002. In recent years, many jobs would have been ...
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A man who has always maintained he was wrongly convicted of murdering his pregnant wife has been released from prison on parole.
Eddie Gilfoyle, 49, was found guilty of killing his wife Paula, who was found hanged in the garage of the couple’s home in Upton, Wirral in 1992.
Prosecutors claimed he had fooled the 32-year-old into writing a suicide note before tying a noose around her neck.
The Parole Board said Gilfoyle was not allowed to speak to the media.
He was released ...
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Bob Woffinden:
Set up to investigate miscarriages of justice, the CCRC’s poor track record in recent years shows it is little more than a fig leaf
When it was set up in 1997, the Criminal Cases Review Commission was an experiment. It was an idea unique in worldwide criminal justice: an extra-judicial body that could give another chance to cases that had reached the end of the legal road. The time has now come to acknowledge that it was an experiment that failed.
The CCRC began work on 1 April 1997. In gauging its overall success, we need ...
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This case in the Court of Appeal Civil Division concerns some 150 or more claimants, who were previously resident at Catholic Children’s homes in the North East, proceeding by way of a group litigation order. There were at least 35 defendants.
The issue considered by the Court of Appeal was to what extent were the different parties vicariously liable for the abuse that occurred.
In summary the Court said we have thus been concerned with the potential liability of two groups of defendants.
Those said to be responsible as managers of the school from 1973 until its closure in 1992. ...
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Ed Balls’ conduct criticised as judge rules that Shoesmith will pay only fraction of £350,000 costs
Sharon Shoesmith is free to appeal over her failed attempt to overturn her sacking at the height of the Baby Peter affair, after a judge issued a scathing criticism of the conduct of former children’s secretary Ed Balls, and threw out all but a fraction of his claims for legal costs.
In April Mr Justice Foskett rejected Shoesmith’s claim for a judicial review of her dismissal by Balls and subsequent sacking by Haringey council after a scathing Ofsted report appeared ...
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Jailed Largs man Matt George will have to endure many weeks of waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal.
Following two weeks of evidence last month, proceedings were concluded at the High Court in Edinburgh – but it could be September before the former art teacher discovers if he has been successful in his appeal.
However, Mr George – who in 2006 was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for abuse charges against pupils of Kerelaw Residential School, Stevenston – believes he finally received a “fair hearing” after years of protesting his innocence.
He ...
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A man who has been in prison for 14 years for attempted rape may have the conviction overturned after it emerged that crucial forensic evidence had never been tested.
Further doubt has been cast on the conviction of postman Victor Nealon by a neurosurgeon, who says that the prisoner could not have had the distinctive facial features identified by witnesses.
Nealon, from Redditch, Worcestershire, was convicted in January 1997 for an attack on a young woman leaving a nightclub in 1996. He is serving a discretionary life sentence in Wakefield prison. He would have been ...
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Family of Jim Watts will keep fighting to clear his name
Sentence of care home worker jailed for abusing disabled women cut to four years.
The family of Jim Watts, the care home worker jailed for sexually abusing four seriously disabled women, has vowed carry on the fight to clear his name after the country’s most senior judge slashed his sentence from 12 and a half years to four years.
Watts, 58, whose ...
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Jailed Largs man Matt George has commenced his make-or-break appeal at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Last Tuesday, the former teacher of Kerelaw Residential School in Stevenston began his bid for freedom after years of protesting his innocence.
Back in 2006, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for physical and sexual abuses against pupils, but now hopes to show the court new evidence that will allow him to permanently return to family life in Rosebank Gardens, Largs.
Speaking this week, Mr George – who has been granted interim bail in recent times – stated his ...
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17/06/2010
The Court of Appeal has today (17 June) dismissed the appeal against conviction of Keran Henderson who was convicted of the manslaughter of 11 month-old Maeve Sheppard on13 November 2007.
CPS Thames and Chiltern Complex Casework Unit Head, Adrian Roberts, said: ‘The charges against Keran Henderson were not brought lightly and we considered a vast array of specialist medical expert evidence to determine the cause of 11 month-old Maeve Sheppard’s injuries and subsequent death.
‘The CPS and Thames Valley Police have worked closely throughout this case to ensure that the investigation and prosecution were conducted with sensitivity and objectivity. All potential new ...
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Suspended paediatrician Dr David Southall has won an appeal against the General Medical Council in his first step towards restoring his career.
Three Court of Appeal judges ruled that the GMC’s fitness to practice panel should give more detailed reasons for finding him guilty of serious professional misconduct in 2007.
Dr Southall remains struck off the medical register for child protection work following the GMC finding him guilty of serious professional misconduct after it concluded he had abused his position by accusing a mother of drugging and murdering her son.
The consultant was instructed as an expert witness and interviewed the mother in ...
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Two sex offenders today won the right to challenge their lifetime inclusion on the sex offender register after complaining that it breached their human rights.
The ruling in the Supreme Court opens the way for hundreds of other sex offenders placed on the register for life to seek to have their details removed.
The offenders, a teenager convicted of rape and Angus Thompson, convicted of indecent assault, argued that the register breached their human rights because there is no right of review even if they could produce evidence that they had reformed.
Sex offenders are placed ...
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