appeal a sentence VS appeal the sentence VS appeal against [closed]

Solution 1:

A defendant can [A] appeal a sentence (in general), or [B] appeal the (particular) sentence.

I would not recommend using [C] appeal against a / the sentence, as a legal appeal is, by definition, an opposition of a / the sentence. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's grammatically illegal, only that it's redundant, and hence unnecessary.

Google.com, in its definition of appeal, does include "against" in its sample sentence, "he said he would appeal against the conviction", yet I believe that “against", in this construction, is unnecessary as it adds no semantic or useful information to the statement.

An appeal is a challenge to a previous legal determination. An appeal is directed towards a legal power higher than the power making the challenged determination. In most states and the federal system, trial court determinations can be appealed in appeals courts, and appeals court decisions can be appealed in a supreme court.

The person pursuing an appeal is called an appellant, while the person defending the lower court’s ruling is the appellee. See, Legal Information Institute