Reasons to Doubt

This book reveals what happens to applications for post-conviction review when those in England and Wales who consider themselves to have been wrongfully convicted, and have exhausted direct appeal processes, apply to have their case assessed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. It presents the findings of the first thorough empirical study of decision-making and the use of discretion within the Commission. It shows how the Commission exercises its discretionary powers in identifying and investigating possible wrongful convictions for rehearing by the Court of Appeal. The research it draws on - a three year empirical study - comprises a mixed-method approach of quantitative and qualitative analysis of case files and aggregate data, as well as interviews with decision makers and observations of committee meetings to fully grasp the workings of the organization from a socio-legal perspective and to understand how discretion operates at the individual and institutional level.0The study starts from the premise that the legal framework within which the Commission works - the probability of a case being likely to succeed at the Court - is neither rigid nor uncomplicated. While it is a legal test, and is therefore applied according to statute and case law, it could also be seen as a fluid concept that must be determined on a case-by-case basis, drawing in various cultural and structural variables as well as the more obvious features of the case and prior decisions of0the Court. 0.