Punch cartoon - Court of Criminal Appeal

The Court of Criminal Appeal was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

for criminal cases established by the Criminal Appeal Act 1907. It superseded the Court for Crown Cases Reserved to which referral had been solely discretionary and which could only consider points of law. Throughout the nineteenth century, there had been opposition from lawyers, judges and the Home Office against such an appeal court with collateral right of appeal. However, disquiet over the convictions of Adolf Beck and

George Edalji George Ernest Thompson Edalji (22 January 1876 – 17 June 1953) was an English solicitor and son of a vicar of Parsi descent in a Staffordshire village. He became known as a victim of a miscarriage of justice for having served three year ...

led to the concession of a new court that could hear matters of law, fact or mixed law and fact. Though the court was staffed with the judges who had shown such hostility (consisting of the Lord Chief Justice and eight judges of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court), it had a restraining effect on the excesses of prosecutors. During the period 1909–1912, there was an average of 450 annual applications for leave to appeal of which an average of 170 were granted. Of that 170, conviction was quashed in 20 percent of cases and sentence varied in another 22 per cent. Rulings of the court included limitation of the lower courts' ability simultaneously to try multiple defendants, multiple indictments and disparate counts within an indictment. The ability of the prosecution to introduce further evidence after the close of the prosecution case was curtailed as were several prejudicial practices with a defendant's previous criminal record. Further, trial judges' ability to invade the jury's role as trier of fact came under scrutiny, as did the practice of insisting that the defence proceed even in the case of an inadequate ''prima facie'' case by the prosecution. The Court also did much to refine and systematise the law of evidence. On 1 October 1966, the Court of Criminal Appeal was superseded by the Criminal Division of the

Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only t ...

.Lord Mackay of Clashfern (ed.) (2002) ''Halsbury's Laws of England'', 4th ed. Vol.10 (Reissue), "Courts", 634 'Divisions of the Court of Appeal'

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book , author1=Cornish, W. , author2=Clarke, G. , title=Law and Society in England 1750-1950 , location=London , publisher=Sweet & Maxwell , year=1989 , isbn=978-0-421-31150-3 , pages=619–623 , ref=cornishclarke *Davies, S. (1949) ''Journal of the Society of Public Teachers of Law'' (new series) 425

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales Criminal law of the United Kingdom Legal history of England 1907 establishments in the United Kingdom 1966 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Courts and tribunals established in 1907 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1966