The accused has a right to appeal against conviction and sentence. The prosecution can appeal sentence.. When a person makes an appeal to another court they are called an appellant. Whether you will be required to give evidence again depends on a number of factors including:

• whether the local, District or Supreme Court originally heard the case
• what the appeal is about
• whether the court only uses a transcript (see below) of the original hearing, rather than calling witnesses again

An accused may appeal to the District Court against a magistrate's decision. The appeal can be against the finding of guilt (conviction), the severity of the penalty or both.

An appeal to the District Court against conviction involves a rehearing of the case by a single judge. The person appealing (appellant) can ask for all the witnesses who gave evidence in the local court to attend the appeal. Sometimes both parties - the crown and the appellant - may agree to evidence being given by deposition only. A deposition is a typed copy of the recorded evidence from the local court. A witness does not have to give evidence again if depositions are used.

Apart from the use of depositions, the appeal is heard in the same way as the local court hearing except the question of guilt is now decided by a District Court judge.

An appellant can also appeal against the severity of the sentence. Witnesses are not required for appeals on the severity of a sentence. A judge can decide to vary the sentence.

An appellant can also appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law. Witnesses are not called at these appeals.

District and Supreme Courts decisions

A person who has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty by a jury in the District or Supreme Court has a right of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The appeal can be against the conviction or sentence or both.

This appeal is not a rehearing and witnesses are rarely called. Instead, the judge and the lawyers look at the typed copy (transcript) of the trial evidence and the judge's summing-up to see whether the judge or jury made a mistake about the law or the facts of the case.

The Crown (ODPP) can appeal against the sentence if they think it is too light (lenient). Appeals of this nature are fairly rare and occur only when a judge has gone well outside sentences for similar cases.

Appeal to the High Court

The High Court is the highest court in Australia and its decisions are final. It only considers questions of law and witnesses are not called. The court looks at the transcript and the written arguments presented to the court by the lawyers. If the High Court finds that there has been a serious mistake in the law then it can order a retrial. In some cases it may decide that the appellant should be acquitted.

Bail

An appellant may have bail continued or granted while waiting for the appeal even if they were given a prison sentence. A victim has the right to protection in these circumstances. If you have fears for your safety, you should notify police or the ODPP.