Do You Have A Right To Appeal Your Sentence?

Being charged with a crime is a worrisome eventuality that one may encounter. Therefore, in order to ensure that your rights are fully protected, it is crucial for you to understand the intricacies involved in criminal litigation, and that is when the role of a legal counsel comes into the picture.

The aim of this blog article is to guide you through the process of appealing your sentence in Canada.

Are you in the dilemma of whether you can appeal your conviction or a sentence? Well! The answer to this confusion is — Yes, you have the right to appeal.

Who Can Appeal?

Under section 672.72(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, any guilty or convicted person has an absolute entitlement to appeal the court’s decision. Either party to a trial can appeal the conviction or sentence. However, the appeal initiated by the Crown has certain particularities to be met for it to be fruitful. That is to say, the Crown is required to demonstrate that there was a concrete substantial slip of law or an important piece of evidence was missing out.

Where Are The Appeals Heard?

The Canadian Court of Appeal has the exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals if the trial proceedings were conducted by indictment and on point of law the accused may reach out to Canadian Supreme Court, only when leave to appeal is granted. One must note that an appeal is never entertained if the certificate of leave to appeal is not issued.

However, for summary conviction offences the accused has a right to appeal before the County Judges, and where a point of law is to be challenged, then only an appeal to the Court of Appeal can be made for the province.

Grounds For Appeal

An accused can appeal the court’s verdict regarding his/her sentence but the accused must be able to prove one of the following grounds in order for their appeal to be allowed. The three most common grounds are;

1. The sentence announced is too harsh and excessive, subject to individual circumstances of the case
2. The sentence you have received is illegal. For instance, if a court gives a sentence of more than three years’ imprisonment to be followed by a probation order, is completely illegal in the light of section 731(1)(b) of the Criminal Code which stipulates that a probation sentence can only be associated with a prison/jail sentence of not more than two years or less.
3. The original sentence is not equivalent to the gravity of the offence, hence, destructing the vital principle of sentencing.

Note: Please be advised that these are the common grounds that may result in alternating your sentence. These grounds, by no means, bound the judges to change your sentence altogether.

Timeframe To Appeal Your Sentence

Firstly, an accused has to file a notice of appeal. Within 30 days of the sentence being imposed, you must fill the appeal in the relevant court. The given timeframe is of utmost importance under the Criminal Appeal Rules.

If the 30-day window is passed, one must file a separate application requesting to extend the appeal notice time period.

While filing a notice of appeal, one needs to brief the grounds of appeal.

Appeal Is Not A Re-trial

The rationale behind granting the right to appeal is to assess whether the original trial was summed up appropriately and also, to evaluate the correctness and fairness of the sentence.

It is pertinent to note that an appeal is not a retrial and only a previous existent record is considered. Simply put, in some instances the original evidence and witness testimony can be taken into account by the appeal courts, if necessary.

Generally, the results of an appeal are decreed on the day of the appeal hearing. At times, the court can make you wait as well, and the possible outcomes of an appeal are: vary the sentence or dismiss the appeal.

Thus, to say the Canadian Criminal Code emphasizes the fact of handing over every possible considerate channel to the accused in order to ensure that they do not become a victim of miscarriage of a justice and the right to appeal is one of these channels.

Our Skilled Lawyers Can Help You

The assistance of a Criminal Lawyer is essential, especially when it comes to outlining factum and presenting oral arguments. Therefore, it is advisable to engage the services of criminal law attorneys from the very outset of an appeal process. Ayaz Mehdi Professional Corporation has Criminal lawyers lined up who can help in navigating the complex technical and procedural aspects of a criminal trial ordeal.

Disclaimer: Kindly note that sending or receiving information through this site does not establish a solicitor-client relationship. Legal matters are fact-specific, and the law is variably changing. The views expressed and the content provided on this blog are general guidelines and cannot substitute for proper legal advice. Schedule your legal consultation by clicking here: Let’s meet!