Appeal against your sentence
The art of appealing against a sentence takes time to cultivate. The Court of Appeal is never straightforward and a key to success is to respect it and try and pick your best point. We can review all the evidence and possible grounds but then decide which grounds to back to win.
Grounds of appeal that are arguable:
Manifestly excessive sentences
This is the most commonly advances ground of appeal against sentence. It is always worth reviewing to see whether a sentence is on the face of it severe and excessive in the circumstances, so as to able to argue that your sentence is ‘manifestly excessive’.
Sentence wrong in principle
This is often fact specific and is a difficult ground to successfully advance before the CA. However, from time-to-time it can be justified if the sentencing Judge can be shown not necessarily be wrong but not have considered all the sentencing options
Sentence is ultra vires - not legal - wrong in law
This is not as easy as it sounds and if often difficult to discover but each and every sentence has legal limitations and in every case they need to be adhered to…if the sentencing judge steps outside the remit of those boundaries then it may be ultra vires
Sentence imposed prefaced on a incorrect factual basis
Like most grounds for this to succeed one needs to prove that the disputed fact is so material as to make a substantive difference to sentence. This is difficult but more common than many would realise.
Matters improperly taken in to account
Every sentence will be imposed based on facts that the judge finds them to be. If you think that in his summing up the judge erred by taking into account matters that were not agreed or were not proved during you trial then it might be that could lead to a valid ground of appeal.
Errors in sentencing procedure
As the sentencing process becomes more and more formulaic sentencing Judges are encouraged to find out as much as is reasonable and relevant about an offender before passing sentence. This is best achieved by requesting a pre-sentence or medical report for example the recent care of R v PS - making it a pre-requisite for the judge to consider mental health of the defendant not just in relation to the offence but also at the time of sentence and how their mental health may impact on their time in prison. If a Judge fails to do this then an appeal ground may be formed.
Failure to honour a legitimate expectation
Before passing sentence a Judges may from time-to-time provide an indication (sometimes called a Goodyear) as to a a sentence that would be passed. When this happens it is reasonable to expect a Judge to be good to his word and honour such an expectation. A failure to do do may lead to a ground of appeal.
Sentence disparity
Putting it simply - if you felt that you suffered disproportionality as compared to a co-accused you may have a point of appeal.