Potential wrongful convictions could be re-examined by the appeal court due to proposed changes in how the miscarriages of justice watchdog assesses cases.
Reform suggestions by the Law Commission, which examines legislation in England and Wales, for the criminal appeals system include simplifying compensation for individuals exonerated from crimes and investigating allegations of misconduct by juries.
Currently, cases can only be sent back to the court of appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) if there is a “real possibility” of the conviction being overturned. However, the Law Commission found that this criteria may lead the watchdog to focus too narrowly on its investigations.
In a consultation paper, the Law Commission also suggests that the CCRC should be under the supervision of an inspectorate. These suggestions come after allegations regarding the organization’s leadership within The Guardian.
CCRC’s CEO, Karen Kneller, will face MPs on the justice select committee in April, along with other members of the organization.
Changes in the assessment test could have affected victims of injustice sooner, as seen in Andrew Malkinson’s case, who only got his case sent back for appeal on his third attempt in 2009.
Prof Penney Lewis, the commissioner for criminal law, believes that the ‘real possibility’ test may lead to the neglect of possible exonerating inquiries and suggests that the CCRC should first assess the safety of a conviction itself.
First raised by MPs in 1999, concerns about the ‘real possibility’ test have grown among appeal lawyers like Glyn Maddocks KC, who calls the overdue review of the test “crazy” due to the possible number of miscarriages of justice it may have missed.
The CCRC welcomes a review of the test but warns about the potential impact on previously rejected cases, with over 25,000 former applicants possibly asking for reconsideration.
The Law Commission also criticizes the compensation system, which currently denies 93% of applicants whose convictions are overturned any financial compensation. Lewis suggests that a ‘balance of probabilities’ standard should be used to determine compensation eligibility.
Lawyers express concerns that reforms may not go far enough in addressing the workings of the court of appeal itself, particularly in cases where new evidence should be considered.
The CCRC is committed to investigating miscarriages of justice and supports scrutiny of the appeals system for transparency and improvement. The Ministry of Justice acknowledges the severe impact of miscarriages of justice and will consider the Law Commission’s final report.
