“We have decided that we do need to change your sentence.” With those words, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr delivered the Court of Appeal’s ruling on two teenagers convicted of multiple rapes, overturning the non-custodial sentences the trial court had originally imposed. After hearing arguments from the crown and the defence advocates, the court concluded the original sentences were unduly lenient, and increased them to four years’ detention in a young offender institution.

Courts of all levels can err when determining sentence. The appeal process exists to prevent excessively harsh or lenient sentences from being imposed. All common law jurisdictions (where law is derived from the English system of judge-made law, such as the US and Canada) allow defendants and the prosecution to appeal a sentence.

Trial courts, also known as “first instance” courts, can make mistakes – even when they follow detailed sentencing guidelines as is the case in England and Wales and Scotland. Miscarriages of justice can arise from excessively severe or excessively lenient sentences.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in England and Wales accords the attorney general the opportunity to appeal sentences on the grounds that they were manifestly too........

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