The pair, recently convicted of the racist murder of Lawrence in London in 1993, had their applications to appeal rejected by a judge.
However, Dobson and Norris are entitled to resubmit their applications to judges sitting at an appeal court.
The murder of Lawrence was one of England’s most high-profile unsolved cases. The killing in the Nineties sparked a report into institutional racism in the Met Police, as officers were considered to have mishandled the case.
In January, Dobson was sentenced to at least 15 years behind bars for Lawrence’s murder. Norris was handed a 14-year sentence without parole for the crime.
The convictions hinged on new evidence brought forward by a cold case forensic science team.
Sentencing the killers in January, Mr Justice Treacy said that yet more individuals had played a part in Lawrence’s murder, and urged police not to “close the file” on finding the other people responsible.
Reports suggest that Norris had planned to appeal on the basis that using a surveillance video as evidence was unfair.
Dobson’s grounds for appeal are not known to the press.
Image: Getty
