Hamilton & Ors v Post Office Ltd

Hamilton & Ors v Post Office Ltd

The convictions of 39 appellants are unsafe and must be quashed because POL’s systemic failures of investigation and disclosure, combined with the known unreliability of the Horizon system, rendered fair trials impossible (category 1 abuse) and, in all 'Horizon cases', the prosecutions were an affront to justice (category 2 abuse). In three cases, the appeals were dismissed as Horizon data was not essential to the prosecution.

Parties
Appellants: Josephine Hamilton & Others; Respondent: Post Office Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 April 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal After Reference by Criminal Cases Review Commission
Outcome
Appeals allowed for 39 appellants; convictions quashed. Appeals dismissed for 3 appellants.
Legal Topics
Abuse of Process, Disclosure Obligations, Unsafe Convictions, Private Prosecutions, Computer Evidence, Fair Trial Rights
Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Abuse of Process Disclosure Obligations Unsafe Convictions Private Prosecutions Computer Evidence Fair Trial Rights

Case Brief

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Parties

Josephine Hamilton & Others

Appellants

Post Office Limited

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal After Reference by Criminal Cases Review Commission

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the prosecutions of the appellants were an abuse of process due to failures in investigation and disclosure by the Post Office Limited (POL)
  2. 2 Whether the convictions are unsafe due to reliance on unreliable Horizon computer system data
  3. 3 Whether the conduct of POL amounted to category 1 and/or category 2 abuse of process

Ratio Decidendi

The convictions of 39 appellants are unsafe and must be quashed because POL’s systemic failures of investigation and disclosure, combined with the known unreliability of the Horizon system, rendered fair trials impossible (category 1 abuse) and, in all 'Horizon cases', the prosecutions were an affront to justice (category 2 abuse). In three cases, the appeals were dismissed as Horizon data was not essential to the prosecution.

Court Disposition

Appeals allowed for 39 appellants; convictions quashed. Appeals dismissed for 3 appellants.

Orders

  • Convictions of Josephine Hamilton, Hughie Thomas, Allison Henderson, Alison Hall, Gail Ward, Julian Wilson (deceased), Jacqueline McDonald, Tracy Felstead, Janet Skinner, Scott Darlington, Seema Misra, Della Robinson, Khayyam Ishaq, David Hedges, Peter Holmes (deceased), Rubina Shaheen, Damien Owen, Mohammed Rasul,...
  • Appeals of Wendy Cousins, Stanley Fell and Neelam Hussain are dismissed.