Amanda Knox has begun her appeal against her conviction for the murder of a British student in the Italian city of Perugia in 2007.
Knox, a 23-year-old student from Seattle, was jailed for 26 years for the murder of Meredith Kercher at a cottage they shared.
Before today's brief hearing Knox's step-father Chris Mellas said they believed they had a 'very good case'.
The appeal court judge scheduled the next hearings for 11 December, 18 December and 15 January. The result of the trial is expected some time next year.
Italian prosecutors have said they will seek a longer sentence for Knox if the conviction is upheld by the court.
Knox's former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was sentenced to 25 years for the murder, is appealing at the same time.
An Ivorian man, Rudy Guede, who fled Perugia soon after the killing and was arrested in Germany, has also been jailed for the murder.
Ms Kercher was found half-naked in a pool of blood with stab wounds to the neck in her room in the cottage on 2 November 2007.
Knox has repeatedly protested her innocence and her case has continued to attract large media attention, particularly in the US.
Earlier this month, she was charged with slander for claiming that police beat her during questioning soon after the murder.
She said then that she had been in the house at the time of the killing.
Knox faces a separate trial on the slander charges on 17 May next year.
