The relationship of appellate courts with other actors in the criminal justice system
Researchers: James Chalmers and Fiona Leverick (along with Sarah Armstrong and Fergus McNeill)
2008-2011
Two major projects have been carried out under this heading. The first of these, which involved input from Sarah Armstrong and Fergus McNeill of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, involved an evaluation of the work done by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission over the first ten years of its operation, and in particular the cases which it referred to the appeal court and the relationship between the court and the commission.
The section project was a comprehensive review of the law and practice relating to the power of appellate courts in the United Kingdom to grant authorisation for a retrial after a conviction is quashed on appeal. A Modern Law Review article, published in 2011, argued that appellate courts have improperly entered into consideration of matters which should be reserved to prosecutorial discretion, and that retrials after a quashed conviction should always be permitted except where insufficient competent evidence was led at the first trial or where a second prosecution would be an abuse of process.
Key publications
J Chalmers and F Leverick, “The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and its referrals to the appeal court: the first ten years” [2010] Criminal Law Review 608-622
J Chalmers and F Leverick, “When should a retrial be permitted after a conviction is quashed on appeal?” (2011) 74 Modern Law Review 721-749
F Leverick, J Chalmers, S Armstrong and F McNeill, Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission: 10th Anniversary Research (2009)
F Leverick, J Chalmers, S Armstrong and F McNeill, “Part of the establishment? A decade of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission” 2010 Scots Law Times (News) 147-151