Criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal for Ontario proceed under the authority of either s. 813 or s. 830 of the Criminal Code. The Court hears indictable appeals of more serious offences, and the Rules for these appeals are slightly different than for summary conviction appeals to the Superior Court of Justice.

You'll get a three judge panel at the Court of Appeal to hear your case, instead of the single judge you get for a Superior Court appeal (except for Court of Appeal motions which are heard by a single judge). All Court of Appeal matters are heard in Toronto at Osgoode Hall, the very historic heart of Ontario's courts and home of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Back in the day the Crown was not permitted to appeal, and simply had to live with trial results. Now the Crown's appeal rights are the same as an accused's rights. However, the Crown will rarely appeal unless it believe there is a strong public interest aspect that favours appealing. 

Why Pursue a Criminal Appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario ?

Being convicted of an indictable offence can lead to many years of imprisonment. Generally, the more complex the trial, the more vulnerable its results might be to challenge on appeal. There are numerous appeal bases, including:

• jury trial charges;

• warrantless searches leading to seized evidence admitted at trial;

• search warrants whose results were not excluded at trial;

• wiretaps that were upheld at trial;

• self-incriminating statements admitted into evidence at trial;

• document cases where the paper was admitted at trial and found to connect the accused to the alleged offences.

How to Pursue a Criminal Appeal to the Court of Appeal: 6 Steps for Getting a Second Chance at an Acquittal

1. Draft a notice of appeal

You need solid grounds of legal objection upon which to base a successful appeal. You can't just say you disagree with the trial result. An appeal is not a second trial. An appeal court will usually defer to the trial judge's or jury's result on many issues, including issues like credibility of witnesses.

2. Serve and file the notice of appeal (usually within 30 days of sentencing)

The notice of appeal must be served on the Crown Law Office Criminal if you're in Ontario (located at 720 Bay Street in Toronto), and then filed with the Court of Appeal at 130 Queen Street West, Toronto together with proof of service. You'll also need to prove shortly thereafter that you've ordered the trial transcripts from a court reporter, as appeals are usually based on transcripts.

3. Perfect the appeal by assembling the appeal book and drafting the factum of written legal argument

The Rules of Court have precise technical requirements on the exact kinds of documents you need to prepare and file in order to "perfect" your appeal to be ready for hearing by the Court. The Court staff are quite open to answering questions about the Rules. 

You'll be creating a lot of paper, with very specific colours for the covers of bound books containing the documents, and be required to precisely number all the pages. Even slight non-compliance with the Rules will likely lead to your documents being refused by the Court. 

4. Serve and file all your documents with the court

The Rules specify the deadline by which you must perfect your appeal, which is usually a certain number of days after the trial transcripts are ready, or days after you filed the Notice of Appeal if you don't need transcripts.

5. The prosecution will serve and file its responding materials

After you've given the prosecution all your materials, they will respond with their own arguments which will give you advance notice of the strength and focus of the Crown case countering your appeal. 

6. The court will provide you with a hearing date

Criminal appeals are usually heard within a few months of perfection by the Court of Appeal, and it's easier to get a court date here than before a trial Superior Court. Appeal hearings last anywhere from about an hour to all day, depending on complexity of arguments, and the interest of the Court. The Court might render an oral judgment from the bench on the same day, or might reserve its judgment to be released in writing on a later day. 

Why Retain Our Firm to Pursue Your Indictable Criminal Appeal?

The firm has extensive experience successfully arguing indictable appeals in the courts of many provinces. The firm has achieved results of overturning trial judgments and sentences. The firm's Managing Lawyer Gordon S. Campbell previously regularly argued complex appeals for the Federal Prosecution Service, completed a portion of his articles at the Crown Law Office - Criminal, and has published academically on the subject of criminal appeals. The firm will explore every potential aspect a viable indictable appeal for you to maximize your appeal prospects of success.