Common questions about criminal appeals in Victoria.

An appeal from the Magistrates' Court must generally be lodged within 28 days of the decision. Where that period has passed, an application can be made to extend the time.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, an appeal from the Magistrates' Court to the County Court must generally be lodged within 28 days of the decision being appealed. The period is short, which is why early contact matters. If the 28 days have already passed, an appeal is not necessarily lost: an application can be made for an extension of time, supported by an explanation for the delay. Whether an extension will be granted depends on the circumstances, so a matter where time has passed should still be raised promptly.

A de novo appeal is a fresh hearing. An appeal from the Magistrates' Court to the County Court is heard afresh; the County Court reaches its own decision rather than reviewing the magistrate for error.

De novo means the matter is heard again, from the beginning. An appeal from the Magistrates' Court to the County Court is a de novo appeal: the County Court does not examine the magistrate's reasons for error, it hears the matter again and reaches its own decision on the evidence and submissions put before it. This has a practical consequence: the appeal is prepared as a hearing in its own right, and material that was not before the magistrate can be presented to the County Court. Appeals from higher-court trials, to the Court of Appeal, work differently and are based on identifying an error.

Yes. An appeal can be brought against sentence alone, accepting the finding of guilt but asking the County Court to consider the penalty afresh.

An appeal does not have to challenge the finding of guilt. Where the issue is the penalty rather than the conviction, an appeal can be brought against sentence alone. On a sentence appeal from the Magistrates' Court, the County Court considers the question of sentence afresh. That is worth understanding clearly: because the sentence is reconsidered from the start, the County Court can reduce it, confirm it, or increase it. Honest advice on that risk is part of deciding whether a sentence appeal should be run.

It depends on the matter. The first step is an honest assessment of what an appeal could realistically achieve, given before any decision to appeal is made.

Prospects depend entirely on the specific matter: the nature of the result, the evidence, the sentence imposed, and what could be put before the County Court that was not before the magistrate. Tringali Lawyers does not encourage an appeal that should not be run. The first step is a frank assessment of what an appeal could realistically achieve, what it would involve, and what the risks are, including the risk on a sentence appeal that the sentence is not reduced. That assessment is given plainly so the decision to appeal, or not to, is an informed one.

On a sentence appeal it can. Because the County Court considers sentence afresh, it can increase the sentence, and the prosecution can also appeal a sentence it considers inadequate.

It is important to understand the risk. On an appeal against sentence from the Magistrates' Court, the County Court reconsiders the sentence from the start, which means the sentence can be increased as well as reduced or confirmed. Separately, the prosecution has its own right to appeal a sentence it considers manifestly inadequate. These risks do not mean an appeal should not be brought, but they do mean the decision should be made with clear advice. The honest assessment of both the prospects and the risks is given before any appeal is lodged.