R v McDonald

The appellant, McDonald, was convicted of the offence of unlawful wounding and sentenced to three years imprisonment, suspended after 18 months. McDonald subsequently applied for leave to appeal against the sentence, however, the application was lodged outside the statutory time limit. In addition to this, McDonald made an application for an extension of time to appeal, arguing that there were reasonable prospects of success on appeal. The court was required to determine whether McDonald's application for an extension of time should be granted and if the application for leave to appeal should proceed.

The court considered the statutory provisions governing the time within which an appeal against sentence must be lodged. It found that McDonald's application for leave to appeal was filed outside of the statutory time limit. However, the court also noted that an extension of time could be granted if there were reasonable prospects of success on appeal. The court considered the merits of McDonald's appeal, which centred on the severity of the sentence. It found that there were reasonable prospects of success on the appeal, and granted the application for an extension of time. The court also granted the application for leave to appeal. The sentence was varied by substituting suspension after 12 months in lieu of suspension after 18 months.