This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Criminal Appeal Statistics 2003
31/01/2005
Figures released today show that just over 2,100 criminal appeals were concluded in 2003, a decrease of 14 per cent compared with the previous year and the lowest total recorded in the last decade.
Other findings include:
- Appeals involving Sheriff Solemn Court cases were the only category to show an increase - up 13 per cent to 414
- Between 2002 and 2003, the overall average duration of completed appeals increased by 23 per cent to 151 days. The average duration of completed solemn appeals decreased by 31 per cent to 245 days, reflecting the priority given by the High Court since 2002 towards dealing with solemn conviction and long standing appeals; diverting time to the most serious appeals delayed other categories of appeal
- Appeals against conviction generally took much longer to complete than appeals against sentence only - 245 days compared with 143 days for solemn appeals and 330 days compared with 100 days for summary appeals
- 76 per cent of appeals involved cases where a custodial sentence had been imposed
- Of the total number of appeals completed in 2002, 58 per cent were refused at the sift stage or abandoned and 21 per cent were dismissed. The other 21 per cent of appeals were sustained, either in relation to appeals against conviction (5 per cent) or against sentence (16 per cent). A small number of appeals resulted in an increase in the original sentence imposed