Last reviewed: September 2026
Start with the court that made the decision
Criminal appeal procedure depends on where the original case was decided. A conviction in the Magistrates’ Court has a different appeal route from a conviction in the Crown Court. A challenge to a legal ruling may follow a different route again. The notice, time limit, permission requirement and type of hearing all depend on that starting point.
Send the order or result, court, case number, conviction date, sentence date and any written reasons when requesting an appeal review. If a deadline may be running, say so immediately.
Appeal from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court
A person convicted in the Magistrates’ Court can in relevant circumstances appeal to the Crown Court against conviction or sentence. An appeal against conviction is generally a fresh hearing before a Crown Court judge sitting with magistrates. An appeal against sentence involves the Crown Court reconsidering sentence.
Current government guidance says a Magistrates’ Court appeal to the Crown Court usually needs to be brought within 15 working days of sentence. A late appeal requires an explanation and can be refused. That makes prompt advice important even if transcripts or all papers have not yet been obtained.
A rehearing is not the same as simply criticising the magistrates
Because an appeal against conviction to the Crown Court is a rehearing, the defence needs to prepare the evidence again. Witness availability, cross-examination, exhibits, disclosure and any new defence material all need to be considered. The question is not limited to whether the magistrates made an obvious error; the Crown Court will determine the case on the evidence presented at the appeal.
That also creates risk. An appeal should not be lodged reflexively. The evidence, sentence risk, costs and practical consequences should be considered before proceeding.
Crown Court conviction appeals
An appeal against conviction from the Crown Court is made to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and requires permission to appeal. The central question is not whether another jury might have reached a different view. The proposed grounds must identify a legal or procedural basis capable of making the conviction unsafe.
Possible issues can arise from legal rulings, jury directions, wrongly admitted or excluded evidence, disclosure failures, fresh evidence, procedural irregularity, inadequate representation or other matters. Each potential ground must be analysed against the record of the trial rather than described in broad terms.
Time limit for Crown Court appeals
Current GOV.UK guidance states that an application for permission to appeal a Crown Court conviction should generally be made within 28 days of conviction, and a sentence appeal within 28 days of sentence. A late application requires an explanation and an extension is not automatic.
If the original legal team has not yet provided written advice or papers, do not wait passively for the deadline to expire. The date should be identified and advice sought promptly.
Appeals against sentence
A sentence appeal asks whether there is a proper appellate basis for the sentence to be changed. The review can involve the applicable sentencing framework, factual basis, credit for plea, assessment of harm or culpability, aggravating and mitigating factors, totality, ancillary orders or an error in the way the judge approached the exercise.
Disagreement with the length of sentence is not enough. The proposed ground should identify why the sentence was wrong in principle, manifestly excessive or otherwise susceptible to appellate intervention.
Trial counsel’s advice
After a Crown Court case, trial counsel may provide written advice on appeal. That is an important document, but a second opinion can sometimes be appropriate where there is a clearly identified concern, fresh material or an issue that was not previously addressed. A second review should begin with counsel’s advice, the judge’s rulings, the indictment, the relevant evidence and, where needed, transcripts.
Transcripts
Appeal analysis often depends on the exact words used at trial: a legal ruling, summing-up, sentencing remarks, witness evidence or submissions. Transcripts can therefore be central. The necessary transcript depends on the proposed ground. Ordering everything without identifying the issue can add cost and delay; ordering too little can make proper advice impossible.
Fresh evidence
Fresh evidence does not automatically produce a successful appeal. The appellate court considers matters including the nature, credibility and significance of the evidence and why it was not used at trial. The defence should preserve the original material, obtain a proper statement or expert report where appropriate and establish the chronology of how the evidence emerged.
Examples can include a new witness, newly recovered digital material, forensic evidence, medical evidence or information undermining a significant prosecution witness. The focus is not that the evidence is “new”, but whether it has the necessary legal significance.
Disclosure failures
Post-conviction disclosure issues require disciplined analysis. It is not enough to say material was missing. The defence should identify what the material was, whether it should have been disclosed, when it became known, how it related to the issues at trial and whether its absence could affect the safety of the conviction.
Where digital material or unused evidence later emerges, the trial strategy should be reconstructed to assess how the defence would realistically have used it.
Inadequate representation
Complaints about previous lawyers do not themselves amount to appeal grounds. The question is whether an identified failure bears on the safety of the conviction or legality of the sentence. The appellate court looks at substance, not professional disagreement in hindsight.
Where representation is said to be relevant, the review may require the trial papers, attendance notes, advice, instructions, unused material and an understanding of why a particular tactical decision was taken.
Appeal by way of case stated
A case-stated procedure can be used in appropriate circumstances to challenge a decision on a question of law. It is distinct from a rehearing in the Crown Court and has its own procedural rules and short deadlines. The proposed legal question needs to be identified precisely.
Judicial review in criminal proceedings
Judicial review is not a substitute for an ordinary criminal appeal. In limited circumstances it may be relevant to decisions for which no adequate alternative remedy exists or where a public-law error is alleged. Specialist advice is required because the route, court and timing can be critical.
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission may investigate potential miscarriages of justice after ordinary appeal routes have been exhausted or where exceptional circumstances apply. A CCRC application should be evidence-led. Simply repeating arguments already rejected is unlikely to be persuasive without identifying new evidence, a new legal issue or another substantial basis for review.
Loss of time risk
An unmeritorious renewed application for permission in the Court of Appeal can expose an applicant in custody to a loss-of-time order. That is another reason appeal advice should be realistic. The objective is not to manufacture grounds; it is to identify grounds that are properly arguable and explain the risks where they are not.
What we review
An appeal review can involve the indictment or charges, verdict, sentence, trial counsel’s advice, judge’s rulings, summing-up, sentencing remarks, witness statements, exhibits, unused material, expert reports and any proposed fresh evidence. Not every case requires every document at the outset. We identify the likely issue first and then request the material needed to answer it.
Funding
Public funding for criminal appeals depends on the type and stage of work and applicable eligibility rules. Theodorous also accepts privately funded appeal reviews and can agree the scope of an initial paper review before wider work is undertaken.
Frequently asked questions
I pleaded guilty. Can I appeal?
There can be appeal routes in some circumstances, particularly concerning sentence and, more exceptionally, the validity or basis of a plea. The papers and advice surrounding the plea need to be reviewed.
Can I appeal because a witness lied?
The issue is whether there is an admissible and legally significant basis to challenge the conviction, not simply a renewed assertion that a witness was dishonest. New evidence affecting credibility can be relevant depending on its nature and significance.
Do I automatically get another jury trial?
No. Crown Court conviction appeals go to the Court of Appeal, which applies the appellate test. Appeals from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court follow a different process.
Can a late appeal still be made?
Possibly, but lateness must be explained and an extension is not automatic. Seek advice promptly rather than allowing further delay.