Legal Question in Criminal Law in Canada

An appeal is a remedy created by statute. The Criminal Code of Canada provides an appeal as of right from conviction for every case in the first instance. If the matter was proceeded by summary conviction, the appeal from a provincial court is to the superior court of the province. Otherwise, the first appeal is to the next level up, the court of appeal for the province. In theory, any case can go to the Supreme Court of Canada, but beyond the first, a further appeal may require leave of the court. All appeals of sentence only require leave.

Where an appellant needs leave, it means the he or she must demonstrate something more than the simple merit of the appeal. Even in an appeal as of right, the appellant must show that the trial judge made an error in determining the facts of the case, or an error in law. It is not enough to say the judge was mistaken. The differences are too complicated to explain in a short answer.