Would you like to appeal local court decision NSW?
If you believe that you have been wrongly convicted of an offence or that a sentence imposed on you is too harsh, you may lodge an appeal to the District Court under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW).
You must lodge the Notice of Appeal within 28 days from the date of the order made by the Local Court. If you have not done so within 28 days, you must lodge an Application for Leave to Appeal within 3 months of the date of the order, explaining why the appeal was not lodged within the initial 28-day timeframe. After this time, you cannot seek to appeal. The relevant documentation is available from the Local Court Registry or the Local Courts website and must be lodged with a Registrar of the Local Court or the person in charge of the facility in which an appellant is in custody (a fee is payable for lodgment; however, it may be waived if you are a low income earner). On lodgment of a Notice to Appeal (or where leave to appeal is granted), your sentence is generally stayed until the appeal is determined (unless you are in custody and have not been granted bail, in which case you will remain in custody).
Your appeal will be heard by a single judge in the District Court. A solicitor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will appear on behalf of the Crown. In a conviction appeal, the Judge will consult all documents tendered in the Local Court hearing as well as a transcript of the hearing. After doing so, your solicitor and the DPP solicitor will make submissions. In conviction appeals, witnesses may only be called if you can provide an appropriate explanation as to why they didn’t give evidence in the Local Court hearing.
In a severity appeal, the judge will also consult all documentation from the Local Court trial; however, you may provide new material to the Judge and you may be called to give evidence. Your solicitor and the DPP solicitor will make their final submissions.
The Judge will then make their decision based on this material. If your appeal is successful, the Judge may set aside your conviction or vary your sentence. If you are unsuccessful, the Judge may dismiss the appeal, or impose a harsher penalty. However, before imposing a harsher penalty, they are required to warn you that they are considering doing so (commonly called a “parker” direction). In this case, you may seek to withdraw your appeal and if allowed, the original sentence imposed in the Local Court will apply.
This article is intended as a guide only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have been convicted of a crime you did not commit, or believe you have been sentenced too harshly and would like specific legal advice, contact us here.
