Judges rule a human rights defence was not available to four people who tore down the Bristol statue.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said the ruling does not imply the four were in fact guilty of criminal damage.
The four, who are all from Bristol apart from Mr Ponsford, who is based in Hampshire, were charged with criminal damage after the memorial to the Bristol slave trader wasImage caption,Following the jury's decision, Ms Braverman referred the case to the Court of Appeal, so judges could "clarify the law for future cases" - without affecting the acquittal of the four.
But Raj Chada, partner at law firm Hodge Jones and Allen, who represented the four, said: "We are disappointed by the Court of Appeal judgment."The statue is still on public display as a monument to the evils of the slave trade, not as an obscene glorification of a slave trader."Lawyers representing the Attorney General's Office had argued that pulling down the statue was "a violent act" involving "significant force".
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