CROWN COURT APPEALS

 

The above is an extract from 10 years statistics on appeals to the crown court against verdict and sentence.  I am not a statistician and leave it to others who might explore some numbers or trends.  However a glance tells us that from 2017 there was a marked change in absolute numbers.  The figures for 2020-2022 are those of the period in which the epidemic skewed statistics for myriad organisations.  It is noteworthy in my opinion to look at the years 2014 and 2019.  In the former there was a total of 11,214 appeals at crown court of which 5,731 were against verdict. 2,529 of those were allowed.  Against sentence there were 4,816 with 2,222 being successful.  In 2019 there was a total of 7,925 appeals at crown court of which 3,863 were against verdict. 1,730 of those were allowed.  Against sentence there were 3,435 with 1,705 being successful.  Figures for 2023 are total of 5,803 appeals at crown court of which 2,614 were against verdict. 1,088 of those were allowed.  Against sentence there were 2,647 with 1,272 being successful.  Considering that there are 150 magistrates courts in England and Wales on average only 39 appeals were registered  per court for the year 2023.  Over a million cases are expected annual at magistrates courts.  At the end of September 2023 there were 352,945 outstanding cases at the magistrates' courts. 

The numbers of appeals have reduced.  It could be argued that that is an indication of reduced prosecutions.  It could be argued that the Single Justice Procedure is antagonistic to appealing.  It could be argued that it`s an indication that magistrates courts are becoming more efficient in reaching verdicts and sentences.  It could be argued that fewer able offenders are equipped one way or another to go through the appeals process.  What, in my opinion, is unarguable is that much more research into the functioning of magistrates courts is necessary; e.g. the variations, if any, in the outcomes between lay benches and District Judges(MC) and the frequency of presiding magistrates advising offenders of their right to appeal  to name but two.  

It seems unlikely that the decline in our justice system  since 2010 will be reversed in the coming five years.  Indeed it is now obvious that that decline is just symptomatic in the decline of our society as a whole from one where "things can only get better" to one of "we`re doing the best we can under the circumstances".  Result..........Pessimists 1: Optimists 0.