On 17 September 1991, the Home Secretary referred Ward's case to the Court of Appeal, with the primary reasons for this referral being the validity of the scientific evidence presented by Dr Skuse and others at her trial, and that the prosecution had failed to disclose relevant evidence to her defense team, as they had been legally obliged to do. Ward's appeal specifically listed 43 items of evidence "consisting of, or contained in witness statements, notes of interviews and reports (including medical reports)" which had not been disclosed at her trial.