Success in the Court of Appeal

Our criminal defence team recently represented a young man who had been sentenced to an extended sentence of 18 years imprisonment and a 2 year licence period in January 2017 for the offence of robbery.

An extended sentence means that the court has assessed a defendant as being dangerous and has decided to impose a lengthier sentence for public protection. There are certain conditions that must be satisfied before an extended sentence can be passed.

In a standard custodial sentence, the defendant would be released at the half-way stage. However, with an extended sentence the defendant will serve at least two-thirds of the custodial element. If the sentence is over 10 years, then there is no automatic right of release at the two-thirds stage and if parole is refused then the defendant will spend the full length of the sentence in prison.
Our client was granted permission to appeal against his sentence in the Court of Appeal along with 9 other defendants who were convicted on a joint enterprise basis of a planned and organised robbery of a travellers' site.

Although he had been assessed as 'dangerous' by the sentencing judge, the Court of Appeal decided that the assessment was not made for the right reasons as there was nothing to indicate that our client posed a significant risk. The assessment had been made principally on the facts and circumstances of the offence and did not have the benefit of pre-sentence report. The Court of Appeal did however point out that the case was one of particular gravity which justified sentences in excess of 16 years.

After an appeal hearing our client was resentenced to a custodial sentence of 16 years which means that he will now spend half of this time, 8 years, in custody as opposed to the 12-18 years he would have spent in custody otherwise. He was represented by Henry Blaxland QC of Garden Court chambers.

At Saunders Law, we're dedicated to protecting and enforcing our clients' rights. We're well-known for our high-profile criminal defence work and tirelessly fighting our clients' corners.

Established in 1974, our crime department is widely recognised as a leader in its field, highly ranked by leading trade directories The Legal 500 and Chambers, as well as The Lawyer's Hot 100. Operating from offices facing the High Court in central London, we're also in an ideal location for criminal defence and appeal work. For a free, no-obligation, initial discussion of how we may be able to help, please contact us today.

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