Supreme Court to rule on meaning of miscarriage of justice

R (on the application of Adams) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Justice is a case in which the Supreme Court is set to rule on the meaning of miscarriage of justice. The primary appellant, Andrew Adams, spent 14 years in jail for a murder that he did not commit. The current position of the MoJ, according to lawyers for Barry George, another of the appellants, is that to be able to claim for a miscarriage of justice a claimant must be able to prove their innocence - not the easiest of propositions. The Court of Appeal (in the case of Andrew Adams v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWCA Civ 1291) refused Adams’ claim for compensation.

The case appears set to turn on the judges’ interpretation of the phrase “clearly innocent”. A brilliant case to use as an example of original precedent, statutory interpretation, and judicial review -as well as of an appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court on a point of law of “general public importance”. Guardian article is here.