Are necessary (post conviction) because your defence team would require a copy of the trial transcript to enable them to present a full and proper submission based on fact and not guess work. This is the recognised stance taken by the European Courts, the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court, who each state that to judge the relevance of new evidence that material has to be in context to the transcript of the trial. Evidence without context is ambiguous at best. The cost of trial transcripts can vary from court to court. From the point of conviction trial transcripts should be obtain within 5 years after this period they made be destroyed. Trial Transcripts do not form any part of our fee.
Please also note: legal documents only need to be retained for a period of seven years, some will keep them for as long as twelve years however it is legal to destroy this documents after the seven year period. It is very wise should you be convicted that you write to all concerned in your case (CPS, Solicitor, Court, Barrister, Probation Service, etc) and request that all documents be retained for safe keeping, making sure that you get a letter from those concerned to confirm that they will keep your records in safe storage. Some documents may be protected under the Sexual Offences (Protected Material) Act 1997.