Reviewed by: Anthony Edwards
Author: Paul Taylor (editor)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-957625-8
Price: £145.00

This edition comes almost 12 years after the first and at what, for criminal lawyers, is a huge price. Is it worth having a copy in the office or will a library copy suffice? Against all my instincts this work is an essential companion for anyone undertaking criminal cases.

The time it will save in research on the whole range of appeal issues will rapidly cover the cost. It is clear, comprehensive and extraordinarily well-written. It deals with the difficult decisions on appeal from the magistrates' courts - to Crown court or to the High Court and if the latter by way of judicial review or case stated better than anything I have read. It identifies the relevant Rules, sets out the procedures and time limits. It covers all aspects of funding. The appendices have specimen documents.

With increasing numbers of solicitor advocates in the Crown court it is inevitable that we shall have to bring more appeals. This work sets out everything that the advocate could require to know, whether on conviction or sentencing appeals. Forms are identified and flow charts cover the procedures. The section on the use of new evidence is impressive especially on sentencing appeals. Chapters 9 and 10 on the wide range of grounds for appeal to the Court of Appeal are to be commended. The index helped me find the right section very quickly but it is worth spending time finding ones way around the book.

I checked on bail pending appeal, the use of authorities - the sort of detail the Court of Appeal expects us to get right - and on the disallowance of time served. Everything I needed was there with a clear explanation and the authorities identified. The approach is extremely practical with good commonsense advice. The book also covers the range of interlocutory appeals now available.

Later sections deal with references by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Attorney General’s References, and appeals to the Supreme Court and to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It is essential, though, that the work is kept up-to-date and to do so in a way that avoids constant new editions will be a major challenge for the publishers, while The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will from October continue the near-constant process of change.

Anthony Edwards, TV Edwards LLP

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