Court structure and appeal routes — SQE1 Legal system question
A worked single-best-answer question on court structure and appeal routes, with why each wrong option is wrong — the way SQE1 traps candidates.
Gareth was convicted by a bench of magistrates of an offence under a recent regulatory statute. The facts were agreed; the only issue at trial was whether the statutory phrase 'commercial premises' covered the market stall from which he traded. The magistrates held that it did. Gareth does not wish to dispute the facts again and wants the question of statutory interpretation decided by a higher court as quickly as possible. He was convicted 10 days ago.
Which is the most appropriate route of appeal for Gareth?
- AAn appeal to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) on the ground that the conviction is unsafe.
- BAn appeal to the Crown Court against conviction, which is limited to the point of law decided by the magistrates.
- CAn application for leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court on a point of law of general public importance.
- DAn application to the magistrates to state a case for the opinion of the High Court on the point of law.
- EAn application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to refer the conviction to the Crown Court.
Show answer and reasoning
Rule: A party who contends that magistrates erred in law may, within 21 days, apply for them to state a case for the opinion of the High Court.
- A The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) hears appeals from trials on indictment in the Crown Court, not from magistrates' courts. (wrong rule)
- B An appeal to the Crown Court against conviction is a full rehearing of the facts and law, not an appeal confined to the point of law. (wrong rule)
- C There is no direct appeal from a magistrates' court to the Supreme Court; that court is reached only from the Divisional Court. (wrong rule)
- E A CCRC referral is an exceptional remedy after ordinary appeal routes, and is not the quick route for a point of law within time. (answers a different question)
Source: Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s 111
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