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A SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE NATIONAL STATISTICS PUBLICATION

A total of 3,100 appeals against conviction, sentence or acquittal were concluded in the High Court in 1999, an increase of 5 per cent compared with 1998 but 10 per cent below the annual average of around 3,500 recorded in the early 1990s, figures released today show.

The number of appeals which involved High Court or sheriff solemn court cases (23 per cent of all appeals) increased by 24 per cent between 1998 and 1999. There was little change in the total number of appeals which involved Sheriff summary, Stipendiary magistrate or District Court cases.

Of the appeals decided in 1999, 12 per cent related to conviction alone, 81 per cent related to sentence alone and 6 per cent to both conviction and sentence. A very small number of appeals related to the leniency of a sentence or an acquittal. The majority (71 per cent) of appeals involved persons who had been given a custodial sentence while a further 21 per cent related to persons who had been fined.

The 1999 total of 3,100 appeals was equivalent to just over two per cent of the total number of persons with a charge proved in criminal proceedings in that year. As a proportion of all persons with a charge proved, appeals were relatively more frequent in cases involving custodial sentences (14 per cent) than for fines or other types of sentence (1 per cent). This proportion also tended to increase with sentence length: it was 46 per cent for cases involving custodial sentences of 4 years and over (including close to 100 per cent for life sentences) compared with 11 per cent for custodial sentences of up to 6 months.

Nearly all (99 per cent) of the 3,100 appeals completed in 1999 involved the sift process. In 34 per cent of these cases leave to appeal was granted at the sift stage, with this proportion being higher for appeals in solemn cases (47 per cent) than for summary cases (29 per cent).

Out of the total of 3,100 appeals in 1999, 67 per cent were abandoned or were refused at the sift stage, while a further 20 per cent were otherwise unsuccessful. In total, 12 per cent of appeals were successful, including the quashing of the original conviction (2 per cent) or a reduction in the original sentence (10 per cent). This success rate was higher for the 719 appeals in solemn cases (15 per cent successful) than for the 2,407 appeals in summary cases (12 per cent successful). In a handful of cases the original sentence was increased.

The introduction of a preliminary sift stage into the appeals process in September 1995 had a displacement effect on the outcome of appeals. There was an increase in the proportion of appeals which were abandoned and a corresponding decrease in the proportion which were dismissed.

In the 92 successful appeals against custodial sentence in 1999, the average reduction in sentence length was 34 per cent. Successful appeals against a fine (37 cases) resulted in an average reduction of 50 per cent in the amount of fine.

(1) Includes a small number of other sustained appeals
(2) Includes, from September 1995 onwards, appeals refused at sift stage(Insert Table 3)

The average length of time taken to complete appeals followed a general downward trend during the 1990s, falling from 111 days in 1989 to a low of 58 days in 1998. However, the average increased by 41 per cent between 1998 and 1999, to 81 days. There were increases for all types of appeals except for High Court cases, where the average duration fell by 6 per cent. The majority (79 per cent) of appeals in 1999 were still completed within 3 months; the corresponding proportion in 1998 was 89 per cent. Five per cent of appeals took more than one year to complete. High Court case appeals took the longest to complete on average (140 days) and Sheriff summary case appeals the shortest (64 days).

NOTES

1. All findings of the court of first instance are subject to appeal to the High Court, sitting as an appeal court. Convicted offenders may appeal against their conviction; against sentence; or against both conviction and sentence. The right to appeal sentence alone in summary cases has been available since 1981, following changes introduced by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980. From late September 1995 leave to appeal must, in nearly all cases, be granted by a High Court judge; refusal of leave may be appealed to the High Court. The Lord Advocate has a right to refer a case resulting in acquittal to the High Court for a decision on a point of law (though this does not affect the acquittal), while the Crown also has a right of appeal against a sentence on grounds of undue leniency.

2. The year in which an appeal is counted is the year in which it was concluded. This is not necessarily the same as the year in which the appeal was lodged, nor the year in which sentence was passed in the original court case. Incompetent appeals and certain types of procedural appeal, such as those which are for an extension of time on an existing appeal, are excluded from the figures.

3. This Statistics Release may be viewed on the Scottish Executive Internet Web site: www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00033-00.asp.

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This publication belongs to the Crime and Justice theme.

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Enquiries on Appeals Statistics should be addressed to:

Fred Thorne
Justice Statistics Unit
Scottish Executive Justice Department
W1(C) Spur
Saughton House
EDINBURGH EH11 3XD

Telephone: 0131 244 2227; Fax: 0131 244 2286

e-mail: Fred.Thorne@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

General enquiries on Scottish Executive statistics can be addressed to:

David Burman
Central Statistics Unit
Scottish Executive Education Department
Area 1-B
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ

Telephone: (0131) 244 0442; Fax: (0131) 244 0354

e-mail: statistics.enquiries@scotland.gov.uk

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