After the Trial

Appeals by the Defendant
Unduly lenient sentences
Probation – National Offender Management Service
Criminal Cases Review Commission

You may have questions following the trial, for example, if you believe that the sentence given to the defendant is too lenient or if the defendant appeals against their conviction. Set out below is some general information on the situations that could arise and who you can contact for further guidance and support.

Victim Support:

If following the trial you need to speak to someone in confidence Victim Support is the national charity, which helps people affected by crime. They provide free and confidential support to help you deal with your experience. They can be contacted on 0845 30 30 900 or visit their web site at www.victimsupport.org.

Their trained volunteers are there to listen. If you want further help or information they can refer you on or point you in the right direction.

Appeals by the Defendant

A defendant may lodge an appeal to a judge in a higher court, against, either the sentence given to them (i.e. if they wish the sentence to be reduced) or the conviction itself (i.e. they believe they have been wrongly convicted of an offence). There must be proper grounds for making an appeal and the defendant must lodge an appeal within 28 days from their conviction or sentence. However, they can apply for permission to appeal after 28 days has elapsed.

Appeals from decisions made by the Magistrates’ Courts are heard by the Crown Court, which may conduct a rehearing of the case. For permission to appeal against decisions made by the Crown Court will be dealt with by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division.

Under the Victims’ Code of Practice, if a person who has been convicted of an offence at the magistrates' court in respect of relevant criminal conduct gives notice of appeal against their conviction or sentence, the magistrates' court staff must notify the joint police/CPS Witness Care Units within one working day of the notice being lodged.

The Witness Care Unit will then inform all victims of the appeal no later than one working day after the courts have notified them.

Where the Court of Appeal gives permission for an appeal to proceed, that court must notify the Witness Care Unit within one working day of that permission being granted. The Witness Care Unit has a responsibility to notify victims within five working days after being informed of permission to appeal being granted.

Your local Witness Care Unit will be able to provide you with more information should the person committed of an offence against you lodge an appeal. They can also help victims of violent crime make a claim for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Unduly lenient sentences

There are certain circumstances in which the Attorney General has the power to refer sentences to the Court of Appeal which appear to him to be unduly lenient. However, these powers do not apply to all sentences, only those specified by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and further offences which were included when the Attorney's powers were extended in 1994, 1995 and 2000.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has arrangements in place for considering cases where a sentence may be unduly lenient.

Further information on unduly lenient sentences

Probation – National Offender Management Service

Where the defendant has been sentenced to 12 months or more for a sexual or violent offence, including mentally disordered offenders (in certain circumstances) local probation boards have a responsibility to:

• take all reasonable steps to establish whether a victim wishes to make representations about what licence conditions or supervision requirements (where it is a young offender) the offender should be subject to on their release from prison and/or conditions of discharge from hospital. The Probation Service should forward these views to those responsible for making decisions about the prisoners or patients release;
• pass on any information to the victim about whether the prisoner or patient will be subject to any conditions or requirements in the event of release or discharge and must provide the victim with details of any which relate to contact with the victim or their family and the date on which any restriction order, limitation direction or restriction direction is to cease to have effect;
• provide the victim with any other information, which it considers appropriate in all the circumstances of the case. Generally victims will be given information at key stages in an offender’s sentence, for example, a move to a lower category prison or a temporary release from prison on licence.

Further information on your local probation service

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Defendants who feel they have been subject to a miscarriage of justice can apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission after exhausting all normal appeal rights.

The Commission is the independent public body set up to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Commission assesses whether convictions or sentences should be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Under the Victims’ Code of Practice if a conviction or sentence in respect of relevant criminal conduct is being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and taking all the circumstances into account, it is likely that the review will come to the victim's attention, the police must notify the victim no later than ten working days after the day the police receive notification of the review.

Further information about the Criminal Cases Review Commission