Sharon Stott appeared before the ACT Court of Appeal on Friday via videolink from the jail while her defence barrister argued that the 58-year-old's most recent sentence of three years and four months, with a non-parole term of two years and two months, was too long.

At an ACT Supreme Court trial last year, Stott, who carries a lengthy criminal history dating back decades, was found guilty of unlawful confinement and making a demand accompanied by a threat.

The trial heard that Stott and her "muscle" David Evans, a one-time president of the Satudarah motorcycle gang, hatched a plan. They turned up to a Kambah house belonging to a small-time heroin dealer, and while there ordered a man to sit in a chair, while Stott demanded payment of a fictional $20,000 debt and a menacing Evans stood nearby with a baseball bat.

At one point, Evans started to belt him with the baseball bat while Stott tried to stop his attack and the man fled to the kitchen to grab a knife.

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On Monday, defence barrister Margaret Jones said the judge failed to take into account that Stott had been under such onerous bail conditions for weeks before her trial that it amounted to home detention or "quasi-custody".

She also said the sentence referenced much higher levels of violence, and didn't take into account the mitigating circumstances nor Stott's attempts to stop her co-accused Evans assaulting the victim.

But Crown prosecutor Rebecca Christensen said the sentence was within the range available to the judge and "a substantial period of imprisonment was warranted", and given Stott's background there was little opportunity for leniency.

She said the court was not obliged to take into account bail considerations even if they were onerous. She also said that the court would not be satisfied Stott's bail conditions did amount to quasi-custody, particularly considering the coronavirus restrictions that had been in place at the time.

The appeal judges Chief Justice Helen Murrell, Justice David Mossop and Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson have reserved their decision.

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