Appeals In Criminal Cases: A Complete Guide

December 15, 2022    criminaldefencelawyersperthwa
Appeals In Criminal Cases: A Complete Guide

Submitting a criminal appeal from the District Court in Australia can be a long and lengthy process that should not be taken lightly. Criminal appeals are considered a special area of law, and it is essential to acquire proper legal advice and suitable representation.

In any criminal appeals by the defence, the defendant is usually known as the appellant, and the prosecution is called the respondent. Before you hire top appeal lawyers to file a criminal appeal, you must know more about the criminal appeal process in Australia. Read the blog below to learn more about the criminal appeal process in Australian District courts.

What Are the Grounds for Appeal? 

The grounds of appeal are why any sentence or conviction was wrong. To win your criminal appeal, you must convince the court to uphold one or more of your grounds of appeal that shows that proper justice was not delivered and there was a substantial miscarriage of justice.

It might be the lawyer, judge or prosecutor that made an error or allowed the specific error to be made. The leave of the Court of Appeal will be needed for every ground of your appeal. You can contact a reputed lawyer in your area to learn more about this process.

Appeal Notice 

To begin a criminal appeal, you must file an Appeal Notice within 21 days of the sentencing or conviction date. If you lodge your Appeal Notice after 21 days, you must seek to leave to proceed with the appeal. This form of application is usually heard simultaneously with the appeal.

Appellant’s Case 

Before you look to hire the best criminal lawyers, you must know this important information. Under 56 days of the Appeal Notice filing, the appellant’s case should be filed in the court of appeal to the respondent. In any defence appeal, the respondent is usually the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The appellant’s case needs to contain the following:

  • Written submissions in support of the relevant grounds
  • The grounds of appeal that the appellant wants to depend upon
  • The legal authorities that the appellant relies on
  • The final orders that the appellant seeks
  • A draft index for the Appeal book.

After the appellant’s case is filed and served on the DPP, the DPP will have 21 days to prepare the respondent’s answer. This can easily be filed with the court, and you and your lawyer will be served with a copy.

Leave Hearing 

After filing the appellant’s case and the respondent’s answer, the court will consider whether there is any requirement for a hearing to decide leave to appeal. In various circumstances or cases, the Australian court will usually evaluate the grounds for appeal at this point. There are three options for the court, and they are as follows:

  • To decide the question of the leave “on the papers”. This indicates that they do not need any oral submissions to decide.
  • To request to hear any oral submissions on the question of leave to appeal. In such cases, the court will usually schedule a leave hearing for your legal representatives, such as a lawyer and DPP representative, to arrive at court to make submissions.
  • The question of the leave is usually going to be determined during the leave hearing. If you cannot acquire leave, your appeal may be dismissed. Appellants rarely attend these kinds of hearings when they are legally represented.
  • The final option is that the Australian court refers to the decision of leave to appeal for the final appeal hearing. After this, three judges of the Court of Appeal will consider if the appellant should be granted leave to appeal after getting more information and hearing submissions.

Before hiring a criminal lawyer in Perth, You must know that the court can make programming orders, review the matter later, list the matter later, or even make orders as the judge thinks necessary. After you and your lawyer have been informed of the day the court wishes to proceed on the appeal matter, you will be provided with more information.

Appeal Books and Appeal Hearing 

If your leave is granted or the question of leave is postponed to the hearing appeal, the criminal appeal will be heard before the three judges of the court of appeal. Orders can also be made for the filing of the appeal books.

The appeal books usually include all of the materials prepared for the appeal. It includes all the materials prepared for the appeal, including the primary court’s decision. It also includes all the specific evidence from the main court, including all the transcripts and exhibits.

Your defence lawyer will be able to argue the criminal appeal during the appeal hearing. You can choose to attend the hearing virtually or be completely absent. The decision is up to you and will not affect the appeal decision. Your legal representative can choose to confirm your preference before the appeal hearing so that the court will know whether you will attend or not. After your criminal appeal is argued, the decision will be reserved so the court can provide further consideration.

Contact Criminal Defense Lawyers Perth WA 

If you wish to file a criminal appeal in court, you can take legal help from the top criminal appeals lawyer. Contact Criminal Defense Lawyers Perth, WA, to access the best lawyers who can provide you with direct appeal services and resolve different issues.

REQUEST A QUOTE NOW! Complete the form below for a fast response


  • A massive thank you to the criminal defence lawyers perth WA team for a great outcome of my friend case. Legal services provided were very professional and exceptionally great . Highly recommended criminal defence lawyers in perth and nearby.

    Praveen Dhundwal
  • Very good lawyers

    Rajneet Kaur
Enquire Now
Call Us Now