ex is appealing against her conviction.

[Jenarry]

i've posted about this matter before in his section.
my boyfriend's ex had been harassing us and had a harrassment order on her then she actually went on to assault us both.
She plead not guilty and we had to go to court to appear as witnesses against her along with two independent witnesses who kindly came from quite a drive away to give their evidence of what they saw happened that day.
She had a defence which was a pack of lies and obviously didn't match what everyone else was saying.
she was found guilty and was given quite a soft sentence in my opinion.(it was a horrible incident.) but i was satisfied with the guilty outcome and glad it was all over and done with.
Until today,I've just received a letter to say that she is appealling against the conviction.
Is she likely to get the verdict or sentence changed or is she just grabbing at straws?
She is on benefits so i think any legal help she is getting doesn't cost her anything so she has nothing to lose.
What happens now and how long will it take? my hopes are that the court will stand by their decision and this will all happen fairly soon so we can finally put this behind us.

[EDDIE51]

Almost certainly clutching at straws , if she is found guilty any way the court can increase the sentence. You should have been told the grounds for appeal.

[Jenarry]

oops i'm meant clutching at straws. No eddie ,no real information as yet just that she is appealing against the conviction. Maybe there will be more information to come.It gets to me how much trouble ,timewasting and expense she is causing with all this.

[EDDIE51]

Has she acually been granted an appeal or is she just trying to see if she has grounds to appeal ? You can't just appeal you have to prove you have the grounds for it.
Leave to appeal is not easy to get , there has to be evidence of a mistrial.
I think she is just trying to cause as much fuss as possible.
As to the time frame I am afraid to say that these things can drag on for ages , sorry.
But if the appeal is refused , as I think likedly, she will be landed with the costs, if she is able pay them is another matter , but she is likedly to end up with a bill in the £1,000s to £10,000s.

[Jenarry]

Eddie the letter states 'the defendant is appealing against her conviction for the offences. No date has been set yet but I will keep you updated of any developments'.
so I'm not sure as that could mean either couldn't it.
I can't think she can bring anything new to the table so I think she's doing anything she can to be difficult.
She was sentenced with 2 yrs restraining order(thank goodness) and 12 months probation order so do I presume right that these still stand while she goes through the appeal process.

[New Judge]

I assume from the sentence handed down that the original trial was held in the Magistrates’ Court. If that is the case there is an automatic right to appeal to the Crown Court and no “leave to appeal” is required. Unless the appeal is vexatious or outside the time limit (the appeal has to be launched within three weeks of conviction) the appeal will be heard in the Crown Court. It will take the form of a re-run of the trial and will be heard by a judge and two Magistrates from a different Bench to that which heard the original trial. Each of them has an equal say in the verdict. As a witness you are unlikely to be told the reasons behind the appeal. Yes, the original sentence stands until the appeal, though the probation service may restrict their dealings with her until the outcome. Nonetheless the restraining order remains in place.

[Jenarry]

I was really upset by this horrible woman appealing against her conviction.
Especially when i thought that she had got away lightly with her sentence.
I resigned myself to the fact that she's clutching at straws and that she is causing herself more hassle and it would not affect us but then me and my bf received a letter at the weekend to say that we also have to re-attend court to give our evidence again.
So not only did she give us a horrendous day when this happened and horrible few days after when i was sporting my injuries and the first day spent in court but now we have to repeat that day. I was so nervous and I know I will be the same again.
Why are we having to re-attend?...and will the other two independent witnesses who have travel 2 hrs to get to court have to re-attend too?

[EDDIE51]

If there is to be a retrial I suppose all witnesses will need to attend, but possibly she is just questioning your evidence so it's only you. Sorry I can't be more helpfull . Ask your solicitor.

[Jenarry]

thanks for your advice Eddie and Newjudge. We have now received a letter to say that the appeal has been cancelled and the conviction stands. The best news I've had in such a long time. so now we can finally put this whole horrible incident behind us.