Case study
Talk to the prisoner about their case, if anyone knows they do; they are probably the only person who sat throughout the whole trial.
Gather as much as the case papers as you can and read through them as many times as you need.
Read and understand the judge’s summing up; this is the most important document you have as it should contain everything about the trial.
Research the case; look for things that don’t “add up”, try not to be bias, of course you believe they are innocent but if it helps, try and prove them guilty, it may bring out more of the evidence which shows that the conviction is unsafe.
Write everything down and ask your legal team as many questions as you can think of, if you don’t have one yet, there are people out there who can help, just ask.
Never feel stupid for asking!
Read up other cases (there are hundreds available online), compare issues, look for similarities, there are common patterns to miscarriages of justice, look for them.
Build up data, start putting together documents (see J4S), this will help you make sense of it all and see where “it went wrong”.
Please see United Against Injustice for information on how to present your case.
