The Process of Court Appeals

There are several tiers that make up the UK legal system and the hierarchy of courts enables those who have been convicted of a crime to make appeals against their conviction and/or their sentence.

The majority of cases and hearings begin in the Administrative Court which falls under the remit of the High Court and cases that have been heard and passed in a court are subject to opportunities for review by the Court of Appeal. Should the Court of Appeal’s decision not be accepted, further appeals can then be made to the Supreme Court.

A person who has been convicted of a crime is entitled to apply to make an appeal irrespective of their plea. This means that whether you pleaded guilty or not guilty, you will still have the option to appeal your sentence.

The following guide provides information on the process of court appeals, detailing when an appeal can be made, how an appeal should be initiated and what can be done when an appeal is won or lost.

How can I make an appeal following a conviction?

In the majority of cases, you will need to apply to make an appeal and this means that you must seek permission from a judge. The judge will review your conviction and the court’s decision to determine whether an appeal should be heard.

An application for appeal must be made within 28 days of either:

• The date that you were convicted, even if sentencing happened after the conviction date if the appeal is against your conviction as a whole. Or
• The date that you were sentenced if you are appealing against the sentence.

Applications for permission to appeal can be made after the 28 days but you must provide an acceptable reason for not having submitted the application on time and a judge is likely to look less favourably on late submissions.

In order to apply for permission to make an appeal, you will be required to complete an ‘Appeal to the Crown Court’ form. This form outlines the crime and sentence that was passed and should be sent by post or email at the earliest opportunity.

Who decides whether an appeal is allowed?

In rare cases, the lower court may grant permission to an applicant for them to appeal their case. This is unlikely though as it would suggest that the judge accepts that their initial decision was wrong. In most cases, the lower court will refuse permission to appeal and the applicant must seek permission from the Court of Appeal.

If the High Court refuses to grant permission for an appeal, an Appellant's Notice will need to be submitted within 7 days of the decision. At this point. The Court of Appeal will review the request.

What happens if permission to appeal is not granted by the Court of Appeal?

A Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal usually makes the decision as to whether permission to appeal is granted or not. In order for an appeal to be granted, the applicant must meet realistic expectations that an appeal could be successful. If the Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal, that is the end of the appeal case. An applicant is not entitled to appeal to the Supreme Court once they have failed attempts at the High Court and the Court of appeal.

This effectively means that the Court of Appeal is the last opportunity for the applicant to achieve permission to appeal.

What happens if I am given permission to appeal?

If you gain the permission of the court to appeal your conviction or sentence, the case will usually be heard by a three-person court. At this hearing, it is very unusual for new evidence to be submitted as this should all have been presented at the High Court stage. However, if fresh evidence has become available since the initial hearing, it may be filed in the appeal case. It is usually a quicker process to have the case, with new evidence, heard at the appeal stage, rather than resubmitted to the High Court.

In the three-judge appeal hearing, just like in a High Court case, the decision and judgment may be given immediately on the spot. However, in most cases, the judgement is handed down.
If the decision made at this hearing seems unjust to the defendant, it is extremely unlikely that an appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court. Such attempts are almost always refused.

Escalating Appeals Through the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

If you are unsuccessful with your appeal via the Court of Appeal, you may be able to achieve permission for your case to be heard by the Supreme Court. Having a case heard at this level is very rare and will only happen in exceptional situations.

In order to have your appeal considered by the Supreme Court, you will usually need to obtain permission. This is done through an ‘Appeals Committee’ that is made up of three Supreme Court Justices. The Justices will review your case and determine whether permission should be granted or not, usually on a majority opinion basis. Again, it should be noted that permission to appeal via the Supreme Court is issued in very rare cases and is only normally granted when the case has a unique or important point of principle relating to UK law.

The Supreme Court of the UK is currently obliged to hear a case that involves a European Community point of law. Cases heard at this level will sometimes demand other parties to give observations to the Appeals Committee and the appellant may need to be present at a short hearing prior to permission being granted.

Cases put before the Supreme court are rare, usually high profile from a legal perspective and are expensive. That said, if you are successful in having your appeal brought to this level, you are in a position that is denied to many others.