The dissenters in the Ninth decision, includingChiefJudge Alex Kozinski, said the majority played fast and loose with these distinctions, approving a hopelessly large class that stripped Wal-Mart of its right to defend itself.
The case prosecution team took its appeal to Attorney General Dominic Grieve who agreed the sentences should have been harsher and personally represented the prosecutors at the Court of Appeal in front of three judges, including Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice.
He also argued that even if the judges - including Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge - took a different view, it would still not render the conviction unsafe.