Terry, R v

A renewed application for permission to appeal against conviction will fail where proposed fresh evidence does not provide an arguable basis for challenging the lawfulness of the conviction. Where the respondent’s answer demonstrates that the new material cannot undermine the relevant part of the prosecution case, the court may refuse both an extension of time and permission to appeal.

The applicant was convicted of murder at Maidstone Crown Court on 25 April 2014 and, on 9 May 2014, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years.

After the single judge refused permission to appeal, the applicant abandoned counsel’s original grounds and renewed his application in person. He sought an extension of approximately two and a half years and relied principally on proposed fresh evidence concerning the time of high tide on the night of the killing. He contended that this could undermine evidence about marks in the sand.

The central issue was whether the fresh material or any other new ground gave a reasonably arguable basis for contending that the conviction was unlawful.

1. The application was refused. The court refused both the extension of time and permission to appeal against conviction.
2. The proposed fresh evidence concerned the time of high tide and was said to undermine the prosecution case about marks in the sand. Having considered the applicant’s documents and the amended respondent’s notice, the court held that the respondent’s answer comprehensively and compellingly showed that the material would not provide an arguable ground of appeal. The full court would therefore not admit it.
3. The applicant had expressly abandoned the original grounds advanced by counsel after their rejection by the single judge. The court also concluded that the respondent’s notice answered each of the applicant’s remaining grounds.
4. Nothing in the new grounds disclosed a reasonably arguable basis for submitting that the murder conviction was unlawful. The renewed application accordingly failed.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Refused the applicant’s renewed application for an extension of time and for permission to appeal against conviction: [2018] EWCA Crim 416.
• Maidstone Crown Court: The applicant was convicted of murder on 25 April 2014 and sentenced on 9 May 2014 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years. No lower-court citation was stated.