Appeals

If you have been convicted and sentenced in the Local Court, you have the right to appeal either the conviction or the sentence to the District Court. There are two different types of appeals:

Severity Appeals

If you believe that the sentence you have received from the Local Court is too harsh, you can ask the District Court to reconsider your case and impose a new sentence in its place. A severity appeal can be lodged within 28 days of being sentenced at any Local Court registry. If 28 days has already passed you may still be able to appeal in certain circumstances – but it is important that you act fast!

Once this appeal is before the District Court, if the Judge is considering giving you a harsher penalty they will give you a ‘Parker warning’ or a ‘Parker direction’ which will warn you of this. You may then decide to withdraw your severity appeal rather than risk an increased penalty.

Conviction or All Grounds Appeals

If you believe that you should not have been found guilty after a hearing in the Local Court, you may lodge a conviction appeal. A conviction appeal must also be lodged within 28 days at a Local Court registry.

A conviction appeal will have the Judge review the transcripts of your hearing and any additional evidence that the court gives your permission to present. On this evidence the Judge will determine if they find you guilty of that same offence.