If an appeal of a provincial court decision is allowed, the appeal court office will send you a written notice telling you the date, time, and location of your appeal hearing. At the hearing, the Appeal Court will listen to oral arguments of both the appellant, and the respondent.

The order of the appeal hearing generally goes as follows:

• Introduction: The judge will introduce the case.
• Appellant’s Arguments: The appellant will speak first. They will explain the specific grounds of appeal and the legal or factual errors that the trial judge may have made.
• Prosecutor’s Response: The prosector will then present their arguments, typically defend the original decision, and explain why they believe no reversible error occurred.
• The Decision: The judge may rule immediately or “reserve” the decision, meaning they will take time to deliberate and send a written judgment or schedule a later date to announce it.

The appeal judge must show deference to the trial judge meaning that they will only intervene if the appellant proves one of the following:

• Error of Law: The trial judge applied the wrong legal test or misinterpreted a statute.
• Unreasonable Decision: Based on the evidence in the transcript, no reasonable judge could have reached that conclusion.
• Miscarriage of Justice: The trial was fundamentally unfair.

More information

For more information, refer to the Ontario Courts Guide to Appeals in Provincial Offences Cases.

								
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