Does someone charged with a city ordinance violation have the right to appeal his or her conviction?

• A. The clerk.
• B. The judge.
• C. The defendant.
• D. The prosecutor.

Answer: (B)

The right to appeal a conviction rests with the person who was charged and found guilty—the defendant. appellate review is the remedy for someone whose case was decided and who believes errors occurred in the trial or in applying the law. The clerk doesn’t have standing to appeal, and the prosecutor generally can appeal only in narrow, specific circumstances (not as a routine appeal of the conviction). The judge isn’t the party who appeals a conviction in the first place. So, in a city ordinance case, it’s the defendant who may pursue appellate review if there’s a conviction.