Preparing for court - crime

Table of contents

1. Court of Appeal – Criminal: Filing forms
   • Forms
     • Form No. 9 – Notice of appeal
     • Form No. 13 – Enlargement of time
     • Forms No. 10 & 11 – Criminal Procedure Act 1993, s.2
     • Form No. 14 – Undue leniency (DPP)
     • Form No. 15 – Appeal against dismissal (DPP)
     • Form No. 29 – Abandonment of appeal
   • Legal aid
     • Legal aid for appeal certificate
     • Application for legal aid (Supreme Court) appeal certificate
   • Miscellaneous
     • Notice of change of solicitor
     • Application to come off record
2. Motions
3. Submissions
4. Books of Authorities

Court of Appeal – Criminal: Filing forms

Appeal forms must be filed in the Office of the Court of Appeal. Appeal forms cannot be filed with any other court office. If delivered to the incorrect office the forms will not be filed and time limits will not stop running.

Appeals must be filed using the forms available in Appendix U. Appeals cannot be filed using historic or obsolete forms.

Forms

Form No. 9 – Notice of Appeal

An appeal against a Conviction may be argued only on grounds which have been set out in the notice. The appeal cannot proceed until Grounds are lodged. The Notice of Appeal must be signed by the Appellant and the original hard copy must be received before the 28-day time limit expires. For exceptions to the requirement for the Notice to be signed by the Appellant please see Order 86C 3.(4)(a)(b)(c). Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

The Notice of Appeal must contain sufficient details for the Appeal to be processed, including

• the Bill Number of the case,
• the correct spelling of the Appellant’s name,
• the Offence or Offences being appealed,
• where the Appellant currently resides
• the extent of the appeal (Conviction and/or Sentence must be clearly marked)
• The Appellant’s signature
• Particulars of the Trial: Date, Court, Sentence
• The Grounds of Appeal

Form No. 13 – Enlargement of Time Application

If the Appeal is not filed within 28 days, an application can be made for an Enlargement of time within which to file an appeal. The application must include the Grounds for the Enlargement and the Grounds of Appeal. The application for the Enlargement cannot proceed until the Grounds are received. If the Enlargement is the first document being filed, it must be signed by the Appellant. If the signed Notice of Appeal has already been filed, the Enlargement may be signed by a Solicitor. Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Form No. 10 & Form No. 11 – Section 2 (Criminal Procedure Act 1993) Appeals

Where there has previously been an unsuccessful appeal and there is now a newly discovered fact which shows there has been a miscarriage of justice or that the sentence imposed is excessive, an application can be made to quash a conviction or sentence by way of a Form No. 10 Notice of application (Criminal Procedure Act 1993, Section 2). This must be accompanied by a Form No. 11 Statement of Grounds, which fully sets out the grounds and must be accompanied by a verifying Affidavit. Originals together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Form No. 14 – Undue Leniency Applications by the Director of Public Prosecutions

An application by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Court of Appeal under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. The notice shall set out the grounds on which it is alleged that that the sentence imposed by the sentencing court was unduly lenient.

Form No. 15 – Appeal against Dismissal of a Charge by the Director of Public Prosecutions (Criminal Procedure Act 1967)

An appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Court of Appeal under section 4E(7) of the 1967 Act (inserted by section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1999) against the dismissal of a charge by the trial court under section 4E(4) of the 1967 Act. The notice shall set out the grounds of appeal.

Form No. 29 – Abandonment of Appeal

The Abandonment must be signed by the Appellant and the appeal remains live until same is received. The Notice of Abandonment must be filed not later than ten days before the date fixed for the hearing of the appeal or application. If the Notice of abandonment is filed later than ten days before the date fixed for the hearing of the appeal or application the Appellant must make the application to the Court. Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Legal Aid

Legal Aid for Appeal Certificate

In cases where the Appellant requires Legal Aid please note that Legal aid does not automatically continue from the case being appealed. The Trial Court may grant Legal Aid for an Appeal if a request is made at Sentencing. If Legal Aid for an Appeal has not specifically been granted by the Trial Court, then a fresh application must be made to the Court of Appeal. Application is to be made by way of filing an original hard copy Statement of Means signed by the Appellant (together with 2 copies) with the Court of Appeal office, a copy must also be served on the DPP. Legal Aid is deemed granted where a respondent to a DPP application/appeal was legally aided at trial.

Application for Legal Aid (Supreme Court) appeal certificate

Where the application to the Supreme Court is for leave to appeal an order of the Court of Appeal. The first step is for the Solicitor to file an application in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court will make a determination Order. The Determination Order will recite the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the application. The Solicitor can then file the Determination Order in the Court of Appeal Criminal office and the matter will be listed in Case Management for an application for legal aid (Supreme Court) appeal certificate.

Miscellaneous

Notice of Change of Solicitor

Where the Solicitor in an Appeal is not the same as in the Trial court or where a new Solicitor is coming on record during an appeal a Notice of Change of Solicitors must be filed with the court of appeal and copy served on the DPP and previous Solicitors on record. The matter will then be entered into a Case Management list.

Application to come off record

Where the Solicitor in an Appeal wishes to come off record during an appeal an Application to come off Record must be filed with the Court of Appeal and copy served on the DPP and the Appellant. The matter will then be entered into a Case Management list.

Motions

A motion is the procedure used to bring an application in the Court of Appeal in advance of the appeal hearing date.

Additional grounds

An application by way of Notice of Motion with supporting Affidavit must be filed and served not less than 4 working days before the date fixed for hearing by the office. Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Additional evidence

An application for leave to introduce additional evidence at the hearing of an appeal shall be made by way of Motion with supporting Affidavit sworn by or on behalf of the Appellant setting out and verifying the grounds on which leave is sought and an Affidavit of the proposed witness, setting out the evidence which they propose to give and the reason why they did not give such evidence at the trial (unless the Court of Appeal dispenses with the requirement for such an affidavit). Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Bail

An application by way of Notice of Motion with supporting Affidavit must be filed and served not less than 10 working days before the date fixed for hearing by the office. Original together with four copies must be filed. Copy to be served on the DPP.

Submissions

Five hard copies of the submissions must be filed with the Court of Appeal Office.

Submission requirements

• Paginated
• Recite the correct title for the case
• Recite the correct Bill Number and Appeal Reference
• Titled “Submissions”
• If drafted by counsel, conclude with their names

A copy must also be served on the DPP.

Electronic copy

A soft copy of the submissions, in Word format, must also be emailed to the court office at [email protected].

Grounds relied on

The Grounds relied on in the submissions must be the same as those referred to in the Notice of Appeal, unless the Court has granted leave for additional or amended grounds.

Appeals including conviction and sentence

Where an appeal extends to sentence as well as conviction, practitioners are requested to ensure that the submissions deal with both aspects of the appeal. With effect from Easter term 2018 the Court has endeavoured, as far as practicable, to hear the sentence appeal on the same day as the conviction appeal.

List to Fix Dates

Appeals are entered in the List to Fix Dates on receipt of the submissions of the moving party. The List to Fix Dates is held on a Monday, once in each legal term. For administrative reasons the List closes on the preceding Wednesday at 1 pm.

Replying submissions

As a matter of practice the Court requires that the replying submission of the respondent to an appeal be filed and served no later than two weeks before the hearing date allocated.

Books of Authorities

Four copies of the Book of Authorities of the moving party should be lodged no later than two weeks before the hearing date, and a copy of the index furnished to the solicitors for the respondent.

Four copies of a Book of any authorities not included in the moving party's Book and intended to be relied on by the respondent are to be lodged no later than one week before the hearing date, and a copy of the index furnished to the solicitors for the moving party.

Authorities should be agreed upon between the parties.

Books of Authorities must be:

• Bound
• Paginated
• Include a table of contents
• Correctly recite the case title and Court of Appeal reference

Exhibits, Reports & Testimonials

Documentary exhibits

Relevant documentary exhibits are to be lodged by the solicitors for the moving party no later than one week before the hearing of the appeal.

Reports & testimonials for hearing date

Practitioners should refer to Practice Direction CA02 regarding reports and testimonials in sentence appeals and undue leniency applications. In particular, note the difference in procedure for pre-trial and post-trial materials, which must be filed in separate booklets.

Governor's reports for hearing date

Requests for reports should be made well in advance of hearing dates to allow enough time for preparation.

Requests for Governor’s Reports and Educational Reports can be emailed to [email protected]. The court office will then request these from the prison.

Requests for urinalysis and other reports can be emailed to [email protected]. These requests will be considered by the Court at a case management listing. If granted, they will then be requested from the prison.