Have you been wrongly convicted? | Have you received a sentence, which is manifestly excessive?

Swain & Co Solicitors are a Leading Criminal Appeals Solicitors in Hampshire.

Here at Swain and Co Solicitors we are experts in criminal appeals, whether against conviction or sentence we can assist.

We regularly lodge appeals at the Court of Appeal challenging conviction and/or sentence.

It is important when choosing a solicitor for an appeal you make the right choice. 'Inside Times' can be like the Yellow Pages for appeal lawyers. Many promising a service you will never receive.

You usually only have one chance of an appeal, so it is vital that you get it right. You want your lawyers to undertake all necessary investigations, consider expert evidence, to argue fresh evidence and to ensure that when you lodge your case at the Court of Appeal you are in the strongest position.

We provide an appeal service, whether this is conviction or sentence, we can assist. Often, you only have one opportunity to appeal so it is important it is done right. We look to put clients in the strongest position when lodging cases in the Court of Appeal.

Through our work with Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGBA) and Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI) we often hear horror stories of those having received poor representation and advice. Our appeals team all have significant experience of bringing appeals at the Court of Appeal and making applications to the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC).

Appeals against conviction:- You require a lawyer who understands there are many individuals wrongly convicted and maintaining their innocence in custody. We investigate matters raised, we look for fresh evidence and we instruct relevant experts in order to advance an appeal. We instruct respected barristers for advice.

Appeals against sentence:- We regularly advise on the merits of appealing against sentence. We will not give you false hope, if we believe the sentence is not manifestly excessive and not challengeable we will say so.

We advise in respect of many different sentences e.g.

• Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) appeals;
• Substitution of life sentence for Mental Health Act order;
• Determinate sentence appeals;
• Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) challenges and variations;

Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) - We regularly draft submissions/applications to the CCRC to consider. We assist the client through this lengthy process and ensure the CCRC acts fairly, given the pressures on them e.g. under-resourced/low referral rate to the Court of Appeal. We often advise clients on the merits of challenging decisions of the CCRC by way of Judicial Review.