my friend has been found guilty of gbh which he did not comit he was sentenced to 18month in prison an his barrister put an appeal in he said the appeal has been giving the go ahead on two counts of law.
2006-10-22 08:38:52 · 5 answers · asked by kaitlyn s 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
An appeal is basically going against the decision of saying he is guilty and getting them to review his case
2006-10-22 08:47:01 · answer #1 · answered by angel_00_uk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An appeal is an application to a higher court to overturn the decision of the (in this case) Crown Court. As leave to appeal has been granted by the Criminal Appeal Office, there must be some possibility that the appeal could succeed and the fact that it is going ahead on two counts of law give a better chance than if there were only one. It isn't possible to speculate as to what might happen, but if the conviction is overturned, then your friend will be released from custody. Normally leave to appeal is granted in respect of both conviction and sentence, which offers the further possibility that even if the conviction is upheld, the appeal judges may reduce the sentence. So keep hoping.
2006-10-25 20:26:20 · answer #2 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your friend may be forced to just bite the bullet and take the 18 months. To appeal (as the other person said) then you would have to appeal through the different courts such as House of Appeal and the House of Lords. The costs of that could go into 5 figures if it goes all the way to the House of Lords. Plus by the time you have got there the 18 months will have probably been and gone anyway.
If the courts decision was based on precedent (past decisions) then it would have to go up to the House of Lords to get the law changed. Plus the barrister will be lining his/her pockets nicely in the process.
2006-10-23 01:06:49 · answer #3 · answered by slashjunior2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi Kaitlyn.
An appeal after sentence at the crown court happens when a decision made is not considered correct.
This maybe because of something the trial judge may or may not have said during summing up. Eg he may have misdirected the jury in some way. The appeal can only be done on a point of law.
If there are two counts then two points of law will be put before the court of appeal. Their Lordships will then rule on these points of law.
They may order a retrial or acquittal.
They may also rule against the points of law and allow the conviction to stand, the sentence to stand or both.
There will be a minimum of 3 judges sitting and up to seven, but this is unlikely.
If the appeal is unsuccessful then leave to appeal to the House of Lords can be applied for. This is the highest court in England and Wales.
I have left out the legal jargon for you and only given a couple of examples. The points of law may be on something else.
This is purely to explain the procedure for you in terms you can easily follow as I assume you have never studied law.
Hope this helps.
2006-10-22 21:51:26 · answer #4 · answered by LYN W 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he has been given leave to appeal, the courts must feel there is good reason. Doesnt necessarily mean he will be successful though
2006-10-22 15:47:02 · answer #5 · answered by Louise C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋