Following a successful bid to conduct research on behalf of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in 2019, Professor Richard Vogler, Dr Lucy Welsh, Dr Liz McDonnell, Dr Susann Wiedlitzka and Dr Amy Clarke began working to examine the effects of Legal Aid changes on applications to the CCRC.
The Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) was established in 1997 to independently review potential miscarriages of justice, following a period of public concern surrounding wrongful convictions. Since then, the CCRC has examined more than 20,000 applications, most of them involving serious cases tried in the Crown Courts.
Application rates have increased considerably in recent years and, in 2019, the CCRC suggested that the application rate was likely to rise further “thanks to ongoing justice system issues,” including reductions in legal aid funding and an increase in ‘litigants in person’. According to the CCRC, close to 90% of applications were made without the help of a lawyer in 2018/19, rising to around 95% by 2022.
Our research investigated the effects of recent changes to legal aid and changing levels of legal representation on applications to the CCRC. The project was comprised of five stages:
- A statistical analysis of CCRC data (1997 to 2017)
- An analysis of sampled case files held at the CCRC
- A survey of defence lawyers who specialise in publicly-funded defence work
- Qualitative interviews with defence lawyers, paralegals etc.
- Focus groups with staff at the CCRC
We reported our findings directly to the CCRC who, in turn, report to the appropriate public bodies and agencies, including the Justice Select Committee, as part of its remit to improve the criminal justice system. Our project findings informed the CCRC’s response to the Government’s consultation about implementing the recommendations of the Independent Criminal Legal Aid Review, and the Government has pledged to review legal aid funding in this area.
We are indebted to the legal professionals who gave up their time to speak with us, and to complete our survey at stage three. We are also indebted to the CCRC staff who facilitated access to their records and to those who participated in our focus groups.
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Legal Aid and the CCRC 