If a defendant in a criminal prosecution is found guilty, the defendant can appeal the conviction (finding of guilt) or the sentence (punishment such as jail or prison, restitution, community service, probation, etc.). An appeal is not another trial—it is an opportunity to raise specific errors that might have occurred at trial. For example, a convicted defendant might claim on appeal that the judge made an incorrect ruling on an important question such as whether to exclude or suppress certain evidence, or whether to impose a certain sentence or punishment.

Appeals are complex processes and generally require the expertise of a licensed lawyer. On appeal a conviction may be reversed, a sentence may be altered, or the case may be sent back to the trial court for a new trial or a new sentence.

There are generally two potential levels of appellate review following a defendant’s conviction in a state court or federal trial court—an intermediate court (often called the court of appeals) and the highest court, or court of last resort (often the supreme court). Although a defendant usually has an automatic right to appeal a final conviction to the intermediate court of appeals, in many jurisdictions the highest court has discretion on whether to accept an appeal to review a case—known as discretionary review.

In North Dakota, a defendant who has been found guilty in a criminal prosecution has the right to appeal the conviction or the sentence. The appeal process is not a retrial but an opportunity to identify and argue legal errors that may have occurred during the trial, such as improper evidence rulings or sentencing issues. Appeals in North Dakota are typically handled by an attorney due to their complexity. If an appeal is successful, the conviction may be overturned, the sentence changed, or the case remanded for a new trial or sentencing. The state's appellate system includes the North Dakota Court of Appeals as the intermediate appellate court and the North Dakota Supreme Court as the court of last resort. While defendants have an automatic right to appeal to the intermediate court, the North Dakota Supreme Court has discretionary review powers, meaning it can choose whether or not to hear an appeal.