2025
How to Appeal an Assault Conviction in British Columbia

Appealing an assault conviction (or another type of criminal conviction) in BC is a complicated and structured process. While it is possible to do it yourself, you should at least consult if not engage legal counsel to do an appeal because of its complicated nature. Be aware that if you appeal a conviction or a sentence or both, you can wind up with a more severe sentence than you started with. In today’s blog article, we will go over in broad strokes the appeal process.
Time
First, the appeal has to be launched within a set period of time after conviction or acquittal. Either the defence or the prosecution (Crown counsel) can appeal a case.
Grounds
To appeal an assault conviction, you have to have grounds for the appeal. By grounds, we mean, for example, you have to show convincingly that the guilty party (if the defence is appealing) did not have fair representation in court. Or you could argue that the judge made a mistake in applying the relevant case law. There are several potential grounds for appeal; here, we have just mentioned two, but you have to have at least one type to appeal.
Documentation
Considerable documentation is required to submit with an appeal including court transcripts and your argument for why you have grounds, and the case should be reviewed. Documents have to also be in a certain format, which is why you need a lawyer.
Procedure
The BC Court of Appeals is the highest appeal court in British Columbia. If you want to appeal beyond the BC Court of Appeals then the next court above that one is the Supreme Court of Canada.
You can try to appeal any criminal case verdict including that for assault, however, unless you have sufficient grounds, the court may not be willing to hear your appeal. And appeals can take a long time.
If you have been charged with assault, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law.
Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients.
If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.