Jamie Michael Richardson, 24, was sentenced to more than three years jail for culpable driving last week, after a jury found him guilty in March of two charges stemming from a fatal crash in McKellar.

Richardson and his friends had been drinking heavily at the Lighthouse pub in Belconnen in early 2014, when he decided to drive them home.

He was well over the limit, recording a blood alcohol reading of 0.19 in hospital following the crash.

His car veered off the road near the intersection of William Slim Drive and Dumas Street in McKellar.

It smashed into a tree head-on, killing a rear-seat passenger, aged 29, and seriously injuring a woman in the front.

Richardson lied to police when they arrived, telling officers the driver had run from the scene. He eventually conceded he was the driver, and said:

"Just do it, f---ing shoot me. I've killed him."

But Richardson fought charges of culpable driving causing death and grievous bodily harm at trial.

He said the female passenger had been badgering him to pull over so she could drive, and suddenly wrenched the wheel from his grasp.

His barrister Jack Pappas said that had left Richardson with 0.75 of a second, after reaction times, to do something to stop the crash.

It was argued noone, not even a sober driver, could have avoided the tree in those circumstances.

Physical evidence at the scene appeared to support that, his defence argued. It showed the car had been travelling straight and within its lane before a sudden left turn, which would have required at least a 90 degree turn of the steering wheel, sent it off the road.

Richardson launched an appeal almost immediately after being found guilty by a jury in late March.

He argued there was no evidence that would have allowed the jury to discard the "reasonable and innocent explanation" he gave for the crash.

Therefore, he argued, the jury must have engaged in "impermissible speculation" to arrive at guilty verdicts.

Richardson applied for release on bail this week pending the appeal, which is likely to be heard in August.

His barrister Mr Pappas argued the evidence before the jury "all went one way", and that there was nothing available for them to use to reject Richardson's story.

That was said to give Richardson "exceptionally good prospects of success".

"It is so clearly a perverse verdict that it ought be set aside," Mr Pappas said.

But prosecutor Anna Jamieson-Williams said that only 15 per cent of Richardson's non-parole period will have been served by the time of the appeal. That, she argued, was not a significant or substantial part of the sentence, meaning the bail application should be rejected.

She said the jury was entitled to reject Richardson's version of events, and that the appeal was not "most likely to succeed".

Justice Hilary Penfold, however, disagreed. She found the nature of the evidence made the appeal "sufficiently arguable".

Justice Penfold bailed Richardson on a set of strict conditions, including not to drink alcohol, drive a car, contact civilian witnesses, or be outside the ACT and NSW.

Richardson's family were also required to provide a cash surety of $2000 and another $10,000 security.

The bail will last until the appeal is heard before the ACT Court of Appeal in early August.