Successful Sentencing Appeals—An Analysis

Abstract

This article considers successful appeals against sentence from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal 1996–2002. After weighting for caseload volume it became apparent that there was a wide range in the success rates between courts; also variation in the rate of reduction of incarceration. Within this framework individual (unnamed) judges were considered. The typical judge had one appeal against sentence upheld against him during the six years, but 45 had between one per year and eight per year. The impact of these judges on their courts' appeal rate was analysed. Comparison was made between ‘severe’ judges and other judges in relation to four types of offence. Attention is drawn to the problem of information and monitoring of this aspect of judicial practice.