This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Criminal appeals statistics, 2004-05
30/11/2005
Figures released today show that just over 3,150 criminal appeals against conviction and sentence were concluded in 2004-05, an increase of 18 per cent compared with the previous year.
Other main findings include:
- Appeals involving High Court cases were the only category of appeal to show a decrease - down seven per cent to 427. The number of completed appeals increased for all other types of court of first instance: Sheriff Solemn (up 25 per cent to 599), Sheriff Summary (up 19 per cent to 1,839) and District and Stipendiary Magistrates (up 52 per cent to 287)
- Between 2003-04 and 2004-05, the overall average duration of completed criminal appeals increased by 21 per cent to 187 days, with increases recorded for all classes of appeal. This partly reflects efforts made over the last 18 months to clear a backlog of outstanding criminal appeal business. There is currently, at November 2005, no backlog of appeal cases
- Appeals against conviction generally took much longer to complete than appeals against sentence only - 368 days compared to 173 days for solemn appeals and 324 days versus 138 days for summary appeals
- Seventy per cent of appeals involved cases where a custodial sentence had been imposed
- Of the total number of appeals completed in 2004-05, 45 per cent were refused at the sift stage or abandoned and 25 per cent were dismissed. The remaining appeals were sustained, either in relation to appeals against conviction (five per cent) or against sentence (23 per cent). A small number of appeals resulted in an increase in the original sentence imposed