What is involved in an appeal?
The accused may appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal against his/her conviction. This will involve legal argument. The court will either dismiss or allow the appeal. If an appeal is allowed, the conviction will be set aside and a new trial may be ordered. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) only has a very limited right to appeal against an acquittal. This relates to an acquittal from a trial by judge alone for offences committed after 6 July 2000. The Court of Criminal Appeal may dismiss the appeal or allow the appeal and order a retrial. The accused also is able to appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal against his/her sentence. The Court can reduce or maintain the original sentence. It cannot increase the sentence when an accused appeals. In certain circumstances, the ODPP also is able to lodge an appeal against the sentence of an accused where it believes that the sentence was too lenient or ‘manifestly inadequate’. The court only has the power to increase or
