Successful Appeal Against Conviction
When appealing against conviction from the Crown Court, you must request permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal will only intervene when they are satisfied that the conviction is unsafe.
Examples of evidence that a conviction is unsafe can be either when fresh evidence has come to light, or if there has been an error in law throughout the trial proceedings.
Adams-v-R is an appeal that was successful in relation to an error in law.
Most frequently, we find that an error in law comes as part of the Judge’s directions to the jury. This is where the Judge sums up the evidence and directs the jury as to what information they should consider when determining whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty.
In the case of Adams-v-R, it was argued to the Court of Appeal that the jury were not properly directed.
The case of Adams-v-R relates to a historic sexual case involving two complainants. During the investigation against the defendant, there was evidence that the two complainants had been speaking to each other via Facebook Messenger.
When it came to the Judge’s directions to the jury, it was shown that the jury were not directed to consider the possibility of collusion. In granting an appeal, the Court of Appeal confirmed that when relying on the evidence of each complainant when considering the allegations made by the other complainant, they should be directed to consider the possibility of these witnesses colluding with each other to provide similar or corroborating accounts.
Although this is an individual case, this shows that regardless of whether you have been convicted of a sexual offence or another criminal offence, you could have grounds to appeal where there is more than one complainant giving evidence against you.
If you have been convicted of an offence involving multiple complainants, it’s important that you seek legal advice to determine whether you could have grounds to overturn this conviction.
Call us for a free initial consultation on 01623 397200.
