Criminal Appeals Bulletin Archive

The DSC Criminal Appeals Bulletin is aimed at assisting those involved in appellate work in England & Wales, Northern Ireland and the Caribbean. In each edition we summarise and comment upon the latest appeal cases from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, the Privy Council, and from the Caribbean appellate courts. In editions 55 onwards the citations of the cases referred to are hyperlinked to the judgements.

The following archive list summarises the content of each issue with key words identifying the topics discussed. It is hoped that this will make it easier to identify a particular topic by using the search engine at the top of this page.   

The list will generally contain cases in this order: CACD (Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), NICA (Northern Ireland Court of Appeal), JCPC (Judicial Committee of the Privy Council), SCUK (Supreme Court UK), ECtHR (European Court of Human Rights): Hong Kong, ECSC (Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court), CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) and the local appellate courts.

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Issue 1: Road traffic cases, Responsibilities of appellate lawyers, wrongly convicted refugees, fresh evidence, Gunshot Residue.

Issue 2: “loss of control”, whole life tariffs, disclosure of “in camera” material, criticising trial lawyers.

Issue 3: Sexual Offences Guidelines in historic cases, defence costs in the CACD, joint enterprise, vulnerable witnesses, appealing a guilty plea, the “right to silence”, hospital orders.

Issue 4: Joint enterprise, forensic expert, unfitness to plead, non-disclosure, compensation for miscarriages of justice, “second appeals”

Issue 5: Extended sentence, out of time appeals, abandoning an appeal, loss of time, disclosure requests by media, costs.

Issue 6: Defective indictments, prejudicial publicity, extreme old age as mitigating factor, criticism of trial counsel, data tampering at Randox.

Issue 7: Fresh evidence; ability to participate effectively in a trial, post-Jogee appeals, and post-sentence mitigating factors, NICA sentencing: gross negligence manslaughter, breaches of ASBO.

Issue 8: Indictment errors, jury irregularities, post-Jogee appeals, inappropriate judicial behaviour, impact of a sentence on the children of the offender, dangerousness in extended sentences, NI abortion laws and ECHR.

Issue 9: Manslaughter sentence appeals post Jogee, judicial interventions at trial, hospital orders, CCJ: admissibility of confessions.

Issue 10: Victim of “modern slavery”, post-Jogee appeals and autism, effective participation in a trial, duties of appellate advocates, bad character, mitigating factors; NICA: trial in absence of defendant, review of conviction following trial by judge sitting without a jury. ECSC: abuse of process, HKCFA: 2014 protest cases.

Issue 11: Jury irregularities, fresh evidence, self-defence in “householder” cases, prosecution appeals - respondent is unfit. Supreme Court of Bermuda: disparity of sentences; NICA: murder, specific Intent, self-Induced intoxication, accomplice, sentences for rape. Hong Kong: freedom of expression, non-refoulement claimants, increases in sentence on failed appeal, loss of time.

Issue 12: Digital media organization and “fake news” outlets, improper use of ABE transcripts, absent witness’s evidence, hospital orders, changes in the law, “unduly lenient”, AG references; NICA: post Jogee appeal following guilty plea, minimum terms for murder. Hong Kong: mens rea for bribery, aggravating factors in sentencing, costs application.

Issue 13: Retraction statements; good character, fresh evidence, “fundamental departure” post-Jogee, inconsistent verdicts; dangerousness. NICA: bad character. ECSC: jury vetting; Hong Kong: sentencing in civil disobedience cases, murder, provocation, accomplice witnesses.

Issue 14: non-disclosure, misdirection, mental disorder and loss of control, fresh evidence. Hong Kong: criticism of trial counsel, alternative defences, non-disclosure.

Issue 15: Trial proceedings declared a “nullity”, bad character, sentence for encouraging support for a proscribed organisation. NICA: sentencing causing gbh to a child; Hong Kong: hearsay, failure to leave defence case, sentencing investment scams, assistance to the authorities.

Issue 16: AG References and double jeopardy, magistrate’s court hearing and nullity, re-opening appeals. NICA: jury irregularity; ECSC: voice recognition, Turnbull direction; criminal lifestyle and conduct; Hong Kong: demonstrations, diminished responsibility, best evidence rule, sentencing drug offences.

Issue 17: Victims of modern slavery, criticism of trial counsel, Jogee, terrorism and article 10, preparatory hearings, venire de novo, sentencing mentally disordered offenders, top end drug conspiracies, tainted gift provisions of POCA. Hong Kong: sentences for unlawful assembly, robbery, increased sentences mandated refugee status. JCPC: fresh psychiatric evidence, diminished responsibility.

Issue 18: Improper cross-examination, fresh evidence, POCA and default orders; Hong Kong: lies, hostile witness, conspiracy to defraud. Court of Appeal of Bermuda: police destruction of evidence, abuse of process.

Issue 19: Unbalanced summing up, sentence for young offenders, manslaughter, AG references, POCA. Hong Kong: strict liability, conspiracy to defraud. CCJ:  “Lusignan massacre”, prosecution appeals, “material irregularity”.

Issue 20: Anonymous witnesses, re-opening an appeal, Crown Court reporting restrictions; NICA: fresh evidence, confession statement. Hong Kong: criticisms of translator and trial counsel. CCJ: mandatory death penalty in Barbados unconstitutional.

Issue 21: Lane and Letts, Terrorism Act; self-defence and psychosis, intoxication, infanticide, alternative verdicts, fresh evidence, autism, non-state party and “entrapment”, victims of human trafficking, POCA; CCJ: re-opening an appeal. NICA: “contemporary standards of fairness”

Issue 22: Non-disclosure, inconsistent verdicts, “possession” of child pornography, contempt of court, NICA: breaches of Judges Rules. Scottish decisions: prosecution counsel’s prejudicial remarks.

Issue 23: CACD: unwell defendant, adverse inference, bad character. Hong Kong: retroactivity, unlawful assembly, drug trafficking, remorse. NICA: “unduly lenient sentence”;

Issue 24: Non-disclosure and abuse of process, loss of control, reconsidering confiscation orders. NICA: prejudicial prosecution closing speech. CCJ: hearsay. Hong Kong: sentencing drug possession.

Issue 25: Improper judicial interventions, Jury irregularities, Jogee misdirections, alternative counts, co-defendant’s guilty plea in a forgery trial, AG reference, prosecution appeal (abuse of process / non-disclosure); Hong Kong: sentencing for money laundering and drug trafficking. Cayman Islands Court of Appeal: re-opening an appeal.

Issue 26: Errors in indictments, fresh psychological evidence, terrorism and entrapment, sentencing for “fracking” protesters; Hong Kong: sentencing for drug trafficking; NICA: equivocal guilty pleas; The Bahamas’ Court of Appeal: alternative verdicts, good character direction, applications to extend time for appealing.

Issue 27: section. 55 Data Protection Act 1998; intermediaries, “lurking doubt”; Prosecution appeals,  submission of no case; foldable cut throat razor = folding pocket knife ?

Issue 28: Jogee joint enterprise, house holder defence, sentencing historic sex offences, contradicting an agreed basis of plea. NICA: hearsay, res gestae; Hong Kong: ignorance of law, criminal damage caused by cyber attacks.

Issue 29: Adverse inferences, admissibility of “confession” evidence, joint enterprise, joinder, improper comments in prosecution speech, sentencing vulnerable under age victims of sex offences. NICA: DPP’s reference, suspended sentences, predicting dangerousness. Hong Kong: sentencing drug trafficking, GBH, abandonment.

Issue 30: Max Clifford (decd); “Jogee” joint enterprise, hearsay, discharging a jury, s.20 gbh, fresh evidence, retraction, Forced Compulsory Labour, hospital orders, IPP, mental disorder; AG reference; mitigation when fixing minimum term for murder; Hong Kong: sentencing credit card fraud, totality, loss of time directions.

Issue 31: Gross manslaughter, criticism of trial counsel, victims of trafficking, fresh evidence, inconsistent verdicts; discretionary life sentences, historic sex offences, youth of offender; private prosecutions, costs out of central funds;

Issue 32: Darroch v AG of Isle of Man, (time limits and confiscation orders); DNA.

Issue 33: Bad character, hearsay, jury questions, abuse of process, “potting” and noxious things, unfitness to plead, minimum terms for murder

Issue 34: Abuse of process in historic sex cases, coercive control, Sally Challen, wasted costs order.

Issues 35: McGuigan (“hooded men” interrogation used in Northern Ireland); admissibility of blood sample, s. 3A RTA 1988, RAF Court Martial; minimum term for youths convicted of murder, lifting of a reporting restriction.

Issue 36: Correcting miscarriages of justice, health and safety breaches.

Issue 37: Prosecution of corporations, good character, re-opening appeals, separate trials. NICA: credit for guilty pleas.

Issue 38: Abdurahman, Article 6 and safety test, Morrow v AG of NI (confiscation proceedings) impact of mental ill health on sentence.

Issue 39: Victim trafficking, “substantial injustice”, bad character, ECSC: attempted murder, joint enterprise, the proviso; NICA: historic sexual offences, Makanjuola.

Issue 40: Media reporting in CACD, hostile witness, fresh evidence, diminished responsibility; non-defendant’s bad character; hearsay, “particularly vulnerable” in Sexual offences Guidelines.

Issue 41: AG references, SOPO, fresh evidence in confiscation proceedings. NICA: right to anonymity for child, legal aid for leave to Supreme Court; High Court of Justiciary: application to exclude evidence.

Issue 42: George Pell, Booth and Barton (test for “dishonesty”), GBH sentencing guidelines, Covid-19 in prisons as a mitigating factor; sentencing guidelines and sexual offences, POCA. JCPC: unrepresented defendant in a capital trial, level of sentencing for murder. ECSC: criticising trial counsel and interpretation of Preddy.

Issue 43: Impact of COVID-19 on sentences; fresh evidence, sentencing children and young people,  mental disorder, hospital and hybrid orders; Certificates of inadequacy.

Issue 44: Bad character, SOPO and SHPO; inconsistent verdicts, consent, multiple hearsay “confession” evidence; disclosure; guilty pleas as a result of judicial pressure; Victim of Human Trafficking; Drugs offences involving test purchase operations; health and safety appeal: Meaning of “Exempt facility”; ECSC: USI, corroboration warning, judicial interventions; JCPC: Antigua money laundering legislation.

Issue 45: ASD, discretionary life sentences and hospital orders, Rape, vitiating consent, vasectomy; bad character, juries and mistaken verdicts; diminished responsibility, adverse inferences; historic sexual offences; minimum terms and young offenders; AG reference, Health and safety appeals: Abuse of process; UKSC: Activities of “paedophile hunter groups” and article 8; CCJ grounds not raised below; ECSA: Goodyear, unrepresented defendants.

Issue 46: DNA, Gross negligence manslaughter, joint enterprise, bad character, Murder, minimum terms and young offenders; Waya; Hong Kong Safeguarding National Security, bail and habeas corpus

Issue 47: Abuse of process, discosure, exceptional leave and “change in law”, guilty plea

Issue 48: Pardons, RPM, Facebook and social media; CCTV identification evidence; Victim Trafficking, submission of no case, autrefois convict.  

Issue 49: Covid and sentencing; JCPC: Remote hearings

Issue 50: Case stated, non-defendant bad character, Sentencing Guidelines mental disorders, POCA and “reasonable living expenses”.

Issue 51: Discretionary life sentences, “open conspiracies”, inconsistent verdicts, Article 10 and Communications Act 2003

Issue 52: Sentencing and mental illness, expert evidence, Encrochat, POCA

Issue 53: Procedural errors, “Shrewsbury 24”, Hamilton v POL, re-opening appeals

Issue 54: Sentencing child sex offences, credit for guilty pleas, Sentencing Guideline on drugs.

Issue 55: Review of the most significant conviction appeal judgements in 2021; severance, extension of time, absconding, criticism of trial counsel, fresh evidence, bad character, juror issues, challenging CCRC decisions: NICA: sexual offences, guilty plea, non-disclosure, abuse of process, alternative verdicts, circumstantial evidence, CCRC; Caribbean: recent complaints, proviso, retrials, non-disclosure.

Issue:56: Guilty pleas, Goodyear, historic sex offences and article 7, manslaughter, fresh evidence, hospital order, POCA and occupational pensions; UKSC: Terrorism and art 10; NICA: circumstantial evidence, bad character; CCJ: Rape, extension of time; JCPC: fresh evidence. Trinidad: Double jeopardy.   

Issue 57: Hearsay, victim trafficking, fresh evidence, abuse of process, insanity, retrials, criticism of trial lawyers, fair trial, the mandatory death penalty in Trinidad, and gunshot residue evidence.

Issue 58: Law Commission proposals to review criminal appeal system; CACD: s.28 YJCEA, restrictions on cross-examination, AG’s consent to prosecute, Victim trafficking, hospital orders, whole life orders; SCUK: restraint orders; NICA:  Abuse of process, bad character, sentencing appeals: JCPC: Bias; Caribbean appeals: Hostile witness, circumstantial evidence, decision to prosecute, manslaughter, bail. Challenge to mandatory death penalty.

Issue 59: False Identification documents/ refugee/humanitarian protection; Jury irregularities; Evidential issues: hearsay; bad character; non-disclosure/fresh evidence; Abuse of process: Post Office/Horizon; Drug importation: defences; AG reference: criminal damage/Colston statue; ​​​​​​​AG reference: murder/minimum term; ​​​​​​​Indeterminate sentences v Hospital orders; ​​​​​​​Extended determinate/special custodial; ​​​​​​​Basis of sentence; Sanctions in contempt cases; ​​​​​​​Anti-abortion protesters/proportionality; ​​​​​​​Historic convictions/fair trial v safety; ​​​​​​​NICA approach to sentencing appeals; ​​​​​​​Challenge to mandatory death penalty).

Issue 60: Facilitating the commission of a breach of immigration – guilty plea – asylum Procedure - Application for permission out of time – extensions of time; ‘Small Boats’– Arrival without leave – Facilitating breach of immigration law; Admissibility - Bad character - Co-defendants - Drug trafficking - Fresh evidence – Criticism of trial lawyers; EncroChat – applications for leave unsuccessful; attempt to challenge admissibility of evidence rejected; adjournments properly refused; Historic sexual offences – delay – loss of evidence – abuse of process – deceased applicant – approved persons; Approach to sentencing an adult for offences committed in childhood; Manslaughter – diminished responsibility; Attorney General’s Reference - manslaughter; Judge only trial – assessment of evidence – interference with findings of fact; Section 12 (3) Bahamas Penal Code – Proviso – Sentences murder/attempted murder; Delay – Motion to Quash Indictment – Jurisdiction with no right to trial within reasonable time – need to prove prejudice at common law – applicable principles; Summing Up – failure to give adequate direction on inconsistencies in complainant’s evidence and alternative offence; Sentence – Life imprisonment – Murder – Class of ‘worst murders’; Practice and Procedure – Appeal – Leave to Appeal – Special Leave – Criteria for granting Special Leave; Confession – Oppression - Admissibility of evidence - Consent; Magistrate’s court - Application for extension of time for leave to appeal.

Issue 61: CCRC reference - Fresh evidence – DNA – nondisclosure – s.14(4A) and (4B) CAA 1995 (arguing additional grounds not part of CCRC reference); ‘Child sex offences - Cross-examination - Extensions of time – Fairness – Historical offences - Jury directions – complainant distress – inconsistencies; Amending indictment following half time submission – alternative counts; Juror bias; Victims of Trafficking - Public Interest in prosecution; Appeal against a terminatory ruling; “Just Stop Oil” protesters – PCSCA – approach to sentencing; Sexual offences – lawfulness of no separate penalty – s.278 Sentencing Code; Proscribed groups – membership of a terrorist organisation – Guidelines – extended sentence; Unduly lenient sentence – absence of sentencing guidelines; Failure to discharge the jury – whether jury pressurised to reach verdicts Sentence – impact of imprisonment on elderly / ill health; Injunction to prevent gang-related violence or drug dealing - anti-social behaviour -Standard of proof; Mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for juveniles; Correct approach under Bahamian law to the grant of an extension of time; Procedural fairness – delay – obtaining trial records – abandonment – interests of justice; Appeal against conviction – confessions – admissibility – absence of legal representation; Admissibility of Fresh Evidence – Provocation – Safety of Conviction – Substitution of Manslaughter; Directions on hostile witnesses – Good character direction – Credibility limb; Sentence - Manslaughter – use of inherently nonlethal weapon- whether sentence excessive; Applicant appealing against sentence; 

Issue 62: In this edition, Amanda Clift-Matthews looks at the issue of re-sentencing in those cases where the death penalty has been commuted in The State v Maharaj and others from the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago.   I look at expert evidence and inadequate representation by trial counsel in the JCPC case of Anderson,  Omran Belhadi looks at defences to criminal damage in protest cases in Attorney General’s Reference on a Point of Law No 1 of 2023 and the proper procedure when a defendant denies the previous convictions the Prosecution seek to adduce as bad character in R v Caine,  Violet Smart considers summary contempt of court proceedings in R v Jordan and the latest Court of Appeal case on  the modern slavery defence and conclusive grounds decisions, R v Gjikola and Graeme Hall looks at two recent Supreme Court judgments concerning extradition and trial in absence – Bertino v Italy and Merticariu v Romania. 

Issue 63: Annabel Timan writes about Cuciurean (where she acted as junior counsel with Richard Thomas KC leading) and the circumstances in which the right of appeal to the Crown Court is and is not lost. I write about base offences and manslaughter in the notorious cyclist death case of Auriola Grey; what is “assault” in indecent assault offences in Price; SOPOs and SHOPOs in Codd; the ambit of section 98(a) CJA 2003 in Grundell; and experts' reports and the necessity to “tether” them to the evidence in Mazzer. Violet Smart writes about the use of res gestae evidence where the complainant is not called in domestic violence cases in Barton and “effective good character” and good character directions in Sedeqe. Hayley Douglas writes about firearms and possession in Kyei. Louise Willocx, our specialist crime pupil, writes about Modern Slavery defences in Moussa and the line between bias and bringing life experiences to the task of being a juror in R v L. Omran Belhadi considers two terminatory ruling appeals – ATT and BHY on the necessity of proving a significant risk of serious physical harm in s. 5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 offences and Ng and O’Reilly -whether a case can be stayed as an abuse where the Prosecution cannot provide an advocate for trial. In the Sentence Appeals section, Daniella Waddoup considers Abdul, which concerns when disputed material can be taken into account in an assessment of dangerousness; Hassan Mohammed and “ill-advised” indications of sentence; El-Arby on the calculation of time served and credit for guilty pleas and Harris and Plume on when a Newton hearing is a Newton hearing.

Issue 64: In Conviction Appeals, Emma Goodall KC considers the case of Hutchinson, the principles that apply to the use of accomplices as Prosecution witnesses and the steps the Prosecution ought to take before taking such a course.  Omran Belhadi looks at Woodcock and Shortt, both appeals against conviction where what was at  issue was the judge’s conduct.  In Shortt, judicial intemperance was considered not to have made the conviction unsafe, whilst in Woodcock, a 21 minute canter through the evidence of 14 witnesses over a period of eight days in summing-up was considered to have led to unsafe convictions.  I look at Miller and Moss – a warning shot across the bows of “paedophile hunter” groups. It is a bumper edition for Prosecution appeals.  I look at Gower and the issue of non-insane and insane automatism, which includes a very useful Pre-Trial Hearing judgment by Cavanagh J. from the subsequent retrial.  Tayyiba Bajwa considers AIQ: whether secondary participants can be convicted of an offence where the Prosecution have accepted a plea to a lesser offence from the principal; Violet Smart looks at two Prosecution appeals (one unsuccessful, one successful): ARU and others, an attempt by the Prosecution to extend the principles in Gnango to knife fights, and BLC, a Prosecution appeal against a finding of no case to answer concerning malicious communications. In Appeals against Sentence, Hayley Douglas discusses Thompson and Harding: both appeals against sentences of immediate imprisonment by women with children, and Louise Willocx analyses Findley and Mustinze: which both deal with mistakes made in Youth Sentencing. Omran Belhadi looks at Saunders and the appropriate credit for plea when delay is caused by the obtaining of an expert’s report And finally, Daniella Waddoup considers the tragic case of BGI and CMB, the children convicted of the murder of a stranger, and the media applications for an excepting direction. 

Issue 65: Amanda Clift-Matthews, writes about her JCPC case of Washington, where the appellant’s conviction for murder was quashed due to criticisms of the DNA evidence presented by the Crown at trial. Sarah Vine KC discusses R v Roehrig, a renewed application for leave to appeal against conviction, concerning the admissibility of an extract from a Defence Statement, which may have far-reaching consequences. Tayyiba Bajwa writes about R v Campbell, an appeal against conviction referred by the CCRC, based on fresh evidence undermining the reliability of the appellant’s purported admissions in police interviews.  23 years, two applications to the CCRC and two appeals later the conviction was quashed. Omran Belhadi writes about R v O’Donnell,  an appeal against conviction, where the CACD re-affirms a Defendant’s right to reveal his character, warts and all; R v Vilhete, a case stated on the admissibility of res gestae evidence in circumstances where the Prosecution may not have done all they could to bring a witness to Court; and R v Lewis White, a rare Attorney-General’s Reference where the “unduly lenient” custodial sentence was replaced with a community order. Rabah Kherbane writes about two protest cases: his case of R v Joshua Smith and others, where the Court of Appeal considered the ambit of the new statutory offence of causing a public nuisance, under section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and R v Rennie-Nash, an appeal against a punitive costs order. In Appeals against Sentence, I write about R v Hilling, an appeal against an IPP imposed 13 years before and  Daniella Waddoup writes about two cases on the proper approach to youth sentencing – R v Smith and R v Watson-Berry.

Issue 66: In December 2024, the Crown offered no evidence against Robert and Lee Firkins, thus ending a saga that had lasted over 20 years, following the murders of Carol and Graham Fisher in 2003.  The Court of Appeal quashed their convictions for murder in December 2023, a decision that can now be reported following the conclusion of the re-trial. Farrhat Arshad KC summarises the winding road the appeals took and the conclusions of the Court of Appeal in allowing the appeals. Daniella Waddoup considers Oni, which deals with separate agreements and conspiracies as well as issues of racial stereotyping and adultification of young black children; Omran Belhadi looks at ABJ and BDN, appeals against rulings made in preparatory hearings re the interpretation of section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000 and at the meaning of “criminal property” in Kamran; Hayley Douglas looks at whether section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015 created one offence or two in the case of Jones;  Jake Taylor considers fitness to plead in the context of elderly defendants in Vinnell, and Violet Smart considers Cannon and others – what must be proved for trespass in an offence of aggravated trespass. In Appeals against Sentence, Maryam Mir re-visits the issue of children and sentencing in BGI and CMB, in the context of the starting-points in Schedule 21 for offences of murder, and Natalie Lucas considers Hallam which is a reminder of the principles that apply in sentencing protestors.

Issue 67: Katy Thorne KC and Peta-Louise Bagott provide an analysis of the final Plummer appeal which focuses upon the flaws in the admission of the hearsay evidence of a ‘cell-confession’ from a deceased prisoner. David Bentley KC considers Ayre which deals with the limited practical application of the defence of an overwhelming supervening act. Peter Wilcock KC looks at ANL. This is an unsuccessful appeal against a ruling from a preparatory hearing permitting a retrial for murder after a guilty manslaughter verdict had been taken at the first trial. There have been a number of criminal appeals that have been granted leave to appeal before the Supreme Court in 2025. Omran Belhadi considers the most recent judgment of Hayes and Palombo and the criticisms of the CACD. I look at Hurley in which the CACD sets out the approach for the admission of evidence of alleged false complaints and the interplay of the bad character and sexual behaviour provisions in trials for sexual offences. Daniella Waddoup considers the practical guidance in Kurtaj on issues of representation and funding in relation to appeals pursuant to s.15 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 following a finding of unfitness and a ‘trial of the facts’. I also consider de Zoysa which deals with fitness to plead and effective participation at trial. Tayyiba Bajwa looks at Hedges, a judgment which addresses the admissibility of expert forensic odontologist evidence relating to bite marks. Jessie Smith considers Tallentire and the approach of the CACD to judicial comment on the failure of the defence to call a witness. In appeals against sentence Louise Willocx looks at three judgments: Hajdaraj, Miah and an Attorney-General’s Reference McMullen. In each of these cases the CACD addresses the perennial problem of delay in sentencing and the circumstances where a conditional discharge may be imposed. 

Issue 68: In this issue, Emma writes about consent and what vitiates consent in BVA, pointing out that the case-law is not necessarily entirely consistent on this topic.  Peter Wilcock KC wites about the consequences of a failure to give an undertaking before a Prosecution Appeal in AWY, David Bentley KC writes about bad character triggered by counsel’s cross-examination of a co-defendant in his case of Al-Shumari and I write about fresh evidence available but not called at trial in HCF and about the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Layden, re the effect of the failure to arraign a defendant in a re-trial within the two month time limit imposed by the Court of Appeal. Unusually for the Bulletin, we cover an appeal case from the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago – A-G v Jason Jones.  Amanda Clift-Matthews writes about the Appeal Court’s important decision in respect of offences criminalising same sex sexual activity.  The case is due before the Privy Council next year.  Jacob Bindman writes about contempt of court and s. 20 of the Juries Act in Szobollodi, Natalie Lucas considers the admissibility of body worn footage as the main evidence in domestic violence cases in Danilowski, and judicial interventions and their effect on the safety of a conviction are the subject matter of Mathurin by Violet Smart, who also writes about the section 45 Modern Slavery Act 2015 defence versus the defence of duress in Baniulyte.