Appeals
What is a Traffic Appeal?A traffic appeal is when someone who loses a case in a trial court (such as a person who is found guilty of a traffic offense in a trial court) asks a higher court (the appellate court) to review the trial court's decision.
In almost all cases, the appellate court ONLY looks at two things:
- Whether a LEGAL mistake was made in the trial court; AND
- Whether this mistake affected the final decision in the case.
An appeal is NOT:
- A new trial with witnesses.
- A chance to go to court and present your case all over again in front of a different judge.
- A chance to present new evidence or new witnesses.
The appellate court only reviews what happened in the trial court to decide if a legal mistake was made in the original trial; for example, to see if the trial court judge applied the wrong law to the facts of the case.
The appellate court cannot change the trial court's decision just because the appellate court judges disagree with it. The trial court is entitled to hear the evidence and come to its own decision. The appellate court can only reverse the trial court's decision if it finds a legal mistake in the trial court proceedings that was so important that it changed at least part of the outcome of the case. Because of this heavy burden of proof, it is quite difficult to win an appeal.
Keep in mind that an appeal does not postpone the deadline for you to pay your fine or complete any part of your sentence. To postpone your sentence, you must ask the trial court for a "stay" of the judgment.
Read Information on Appeal Procedures for Infractions (Form CR-141-INFO) for more information on appealing traffic infraction cases.