Establishing a miscarriage of justice in Scotland: an analysis of 100 recent appeals against criminal conviction

This article addresses a significant gap in knowledge about criminal appeals against conviction in Scotland by providing an empirical analysis of 100 recent reported appeals heard by Scotland’s highest court of criminal appeal. Three key questions are answered. First, how often were appeals against conviction successful? Second, what were the relative frequencies of the different grounds of appeal raised in the cases? And third, what were the success rates for the individual grounds? The findings of this research support two broad conclusions. First, that Scotland’s independent post-conviction review body, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, is necessary and valuable. Second, that there are questions about the accessibility and attainability of direct appeals, and thus, the effectiveness of appellate review in Scotland. This research indicates that the question of whether Scotland has a system that can "identify and remedy genuine miscarriages of justice" is very much a live issue.