UK COURT AND LAW

LEGAL ISSUES

Coursework

Question 1

(a) Appeal from the Magistrates' Court

 

Appeals from Magistrates' Courts are governed by Part V of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (Appeal and Case Stated) sections 108 - 114.

A defendant who is convicted and sentenced in a magistrates' court has three potential avenues for challenging the conviction and/or sentence:

an appeal to the Crown Court against conviction and/or sentence;

an appeal to the High Court by way of case stated (Note: If you case state a decision any appeal to the Crown Court ceases);

an application to the High Court for judicial review.

Only the third of these requires leave of the court. There is a significant difference between route (1) and routes (2) and (3). An appeal to the Crown Court is by way of rehearing; it may be on issues of law, fact, or both. By contrast, appeal by way of case stated and judicial review are challenges on issues of law, not of fact. An appeal to the High Court by way of case stated may be made on the grounds that the conviction and/or sentence “is wrong in law or in excess of jurisdiction”. In judicial review proceedings, the High Court's function is to examine the magistrates' decision, not to retry the case (though it may receive evidence). As per dependent on the conditions there are two possible appeal routes from the Magistrates' Court.

There is a significant difference between the road (1) and roads (2) and (3). An appeal to the Crown Court is to reopen as they may relate to matters of law, fact or both. However, the appeal of the case said the criticism and legal challenges, questions of law, not fact. An appeal to the High Court declared the case on the basis that the conviction and / or the sentence is "an error of law or is beyond its jurisdiction." Introduced for judicial review, the role of the Supreme Court is to review the judges' decision is not to try the case (even if it has obtained evidence).

 

Appeal to the Crown Court

This route is only available to the defence and is a common route of appeal. If a defendant has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court they can only appeal against the sentence.  If the defendant pleaded not guilty and were found guilty in the Magistrates' Court then they can appeal against the conviction or sentence.  In either situation the defendant has the right to appeal the conviction or sentence without requiring any sort of permission. In R v Hereford Magistrates' Court, ex parte Rowlands ('Rowlands'), Lord Chief Justice Bingham said of appeal to the Crown Court by way of rehearing: This is the ordinary avenue of appeal for a defendant who complains that the magistrates' court reached a wrong decision of fact, or wrong decision of mixed fact or law. Of appeal by case stated, Lord Bingham observed:

“This is the ordinary avenue of appeal for a convicted defendant who contends that the justices erred in law: the usual question posed for ...