Criminal appellants’ claims and appellate courts’ answers: An empirical analysis of criminal appeals in Hunan province, China

Abstract

To date, studies (especially empirical studies) on China criminal appeals are still rather limited, and most of them focused on the review mode, functions and values of appellate review, and correction of judicial judgments of the first instance. Based on 444 judicial documents rendered by appellate courts in Hunan Province, China, this study focuses on grounds raised by appellants and appellate courts’ answers, and addresses two specific questions: (1) what are grounds raised by criminal appellants in their appeals and how successful are they (measured by acceptance by appellate courts)? (2) How do appellate courts come to the final disposition decision, and are their dispositions subject to influences of systematic factors? Our analyses found that the nature of a comprehensive review in criminal appeals and discretional power possessed by Chinese judges affected both defendants’ appeals and appellate judges’ responses. Only three variables (the number of grounds accepted by appellate courts, the number new mitigating factors found by the courts, and the presence of attorneys) were found to have significantly impacted the final disposition. This empirical inquiry sheds light on the practice of criminal appeals in general.