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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

Appeals - Appeals against conviction - First appeals

230: First appeal courts

You could also call this:

"Courts you can appeal to if you disagree with a decision"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you want to appeal a conviction, you need to go to a specific court. The court you go to depends on who made the decision you are appealing. If a Community Magistrate or Justice of the Peace made the decision, you appeal to the District Court with a District Court Judge.

If a District Court Judge made the decision, but it was not for a serious offence like a category 3 or 4 offence, you appeal to the High Court. You appeal to the High Court for some types of convictions, but not all. There are exceptions for category 3 offences if you had a jury trial, and category 4 offences.

If none of the above rules apply, you can appeal to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. When deciding which court to appeal to, it matters whether you had a jury trial or not. If you chose to have a jury trial but then changed your mind, you are treated as if you never chose a jury trial.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360398.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 6Appeals
Appeals against conviction: First appeals

230First appeal courts

  1. The first appeal court for an appeal under this subpart is—

  2. the District Court presided over by a District Court Judge, if the appeal is against a conviction entered by the District Court presided over by 1 or more Community Magistrates or 1 or more Justices of the Peace; or
    1. the High Court, if the appeal is against a conviction entered by the District Court presided over by a District Court Judge, other than a conviction for—
      1. a category 3 offence after the convicted person elected a jury trial; or
        1. a category 4 offence; or
        2. either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, in any other case.

          1. For the purposes of subsection (1), if a convicted person elected a jury trial but subsequently withdrew his or her election before trial, the convicted person must be treated as if he or she had not elected a jury trial.

          Notes
          • Section 230(1)(a): replaced, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
          • Section 230(1)(b): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
          • Section 230(2): inserted, on , by section 41 of the Courts Matters Act 2018 (2018 No 50).