Can the Courts decision be appealed against?
An offender can appeal against his or her sentence or conviction or both. If an offender is convicted in the magistrates’ court, he or she can appeal against the conviction and/or sentence. If the conviction is disputed, the whole trial will be heard again at the Crown Court in front of a judge and two magistrates. If only the sentence is in dispute it will be for a Crown Court judge to consider the appeal. He may increase the sentence, reduce it or leave it as it is. Sometimes the prosecution or the defence may believe that the magistrates have reached the wrong decision because they misinterpreted the law. In such circumstances the case may be appealed to the High Court who will then decide whether the court was right or not. If the High Court decides the magistrates were wrong it can order the magistrates to change their verdict. This does not involve a re-trial. The prosecution have no right to appeal against Crown Court verdicts although the defendant can. Such appeals will be hea
