Latest news

  • Taylor on Criminal Appeals (Third edition) was published on 31st July 2022. The book is written by a team led by Paul Taylor KC (Head of the DSC Appeals Unit), including 14 members of Doughty Street and other leading experts in criminal appeals. [See here]

  • We will be celebrating the publication of the new edition of Taylor on Criminal Appeals with a series of seminars by contributors to the book. See below.

  • The Criminal Appeals section of the website has been updated with a new section on appellate resources including a searchable archive of the Criminal Appeals Bulletin and a list of useful links for those involved in advising or preparing criminal appeal.

Our expertise

Doughty Street is renowned for housing many of the leading specialist criminal appeal barristers working on cases in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Caribbean, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Our Criminal Appeals Unit is headed by Paul Taylor KC, editor of Taylor on Criminal Appeals. This is one of the leading practitioners’ texts in this area and is written by a team headed by Paul, including 14 members of Doughty Street and other leading experts in criminal appeals. The third edition was published by Oxford University Press on 31st July 2022. [Click here for more details.]

Our barristers have appeared in some of the most important miscarriage of justice cases over the last 30 years including the Birmingham six, Myra Hindley, Ahluwhalia, Guildford four, Rowe (in Davies, Johnson and Rowe), the “Karl Bridgewater” murder, the Cardiff three, Venables and Thompson, Sarah Thornton, Michael Stone, Derek Bentley, Harry Mackenney and Bruce Childs, Ken Erskine (“The Stockwell Strangler”), post-Jogee joint enterprise appeals, “Horizon” Post Office appeals, as well as in challenges to capital murder and other convictions and sentences in the Caribbean.

Our cases frequently involve complex legal or evidential issues. We have built up a particular expertise in cases involving fresh evidence, often from forensic experts including DNA, firearms, and CCTV, and in cases involving appellants with mental health issues.

We recognise that a wrongful conviction or sentence at any level can have a devastating impact on appellants and their families. Our barristers represent clients in appeals across the full range of offences, from the relatively minor to homicides and terrorism. We advise and appear at all levels, from appeals against magistrates’ courts to the Crown Court, to appearing in the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and European Court of Human Rights, as well as appellate courts across the Caribbean. We also have extensive experience in drafting submissions to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and several members have additional expertise in judicial review and case stated appeals, and can advise on the appropriate method of challenging decisions falling within these areas.

Members of Chambers write on appellate topics including the appeals sections of Blackstones Criminal Practice and Halsbury’s Laws.

The Criminal Appeals Bulletin

Several times a year we also publish The Criminal Appeals Bulletin which contains case summaries and comments on recent decisions from appellate courts in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Caribbean.

We also produce an annual compilation of that year’s significant decisions. The archive of previous editions of the bulletin can be found below.

If you would like to subscribe to future editions of the bulletin, please register here.

Training

Our barristers regularly lecture and provide training sessions on criminal appeals.

To celebrate the publication of the third edition of Taylor on Criminal Appeals we are hosting a series of seminars by contributors to the book. We expect these seminars to be heavily oversubscribed. Please register your interest here.

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)’s approach to good and bad character evidence (Date change - to be confirmed)

Professor David Ormerod and Emma Goodall KC

This seminar will look at the CACD’s approach to grounds based on good and bad character evidence (including errors in excluding and admitting the evidence, and misdirections regarding its use).

Training recordings

Judicial Review of criminal proceedings (19th January 2023)

Nichola Higgins (Matrix) and Edward Fitzgerald KC

This seminar examined the issues within criminal proceedings that are amenable to judicial review and the approach of the Administrative Court to such challenges.

 

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)’s approach to sentencing appeals (24th November 2022)

Edward Fitzgerald KC and Paul Taylor KC (Chair)

This seminar examined the CACD’s approach to sentencing appeals, recent changes in sentencing law, and practical tips and advice for identifying potential grounds.

In discussion with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (4th May 2023)

Helen Pitcher (Chair of the CCRC), Robert Ward (CCRC Commissioner) and John Curtis (Head of Legal at CCRC) chaired by Paul Taylor KC.

This seminar provides an overview of the CCRC’s powers and procedures, a spotlight on recent referrals and a panel discussion.

 

Instructing our Barristers

We: accept instructions from solicitors in the usual way. Please contact the criminal clerks.

Direct access

We are also regularly instructed directly by members of the public who may want a second opinion. This can be a cost-effective way to secure specialist advice, and more information can be found by clicking here. Please note members of the public wishing to take advice under the legal aid scheme must instruct a solicitor; we will be pleased to advice on suitably experienced choices.

For all our clients we can offer a “triage” service, where for an initial fixed fee preliminary advice can be obtained to determine whether or not there are any merits in pursuing an appeal. Please call our criminal clerks to discuss your individual case.