What You Need to Know About California Criminal Appeals

If you were convicted of a crime at trial, but you feel the verdict was unjust, our legal system affords you the right to a criminal appeal. A criminal appeal is a request to have a case reheard, and can be filed by one, or both sides of a case. There is a small window of opportunity to file an appeal however. In California, a defendant has just 60 days from the date of their sentencing to file a notice of appeal. Typically, the best course of action is to hire a criminal appeals attorney to file notice on your behalf.

Using the same criminal defense attorney that tried your original case to file your appeal is almost always a bad idea. Having a fresh set of eyes can help discover some mistakes made in the original trial that may help in your appeal. In order to have the best chance at getting your sentence reversed or reduced, it is important to consult an experienced appellate law firm before choosing who will represent you or your loved one.

Before your criminal appeals attorney can determine what legal grounds there might be to win your appeal, there are many issues that need to be examined. The first thing that should be looked at is whether or not there were any “legal errors” committed during the original trial. Legal errors can include anything from an improper ruling the judge made that could have excluded key evidence or the court giving improper instructions to the jury. Juror misconduct or prosecutorial misconduct are also legal errors that could have occurred during trial that could help you win your appeal. For example, if a juror visits the crime scene or the District Attorney fails to disclose evidence favorable to the defense, that misconduct could be grounds to win an appeal.

Incompetent representation by your original criminal defense attorney could also be grounds for an appeal.

Should you hire an aggressive California appeals attorney, like the team at Wallin & Klarich, they will thoroughly review the transcript of your original trial, court filings and all documents to look for any grounds for an appeal. You will then be presented with a list of options, and will be offered advice on how to proceed.

Once you have made a decision on how you would like to move forward, the California appeals lawyers at Wallin & Klarich will prepare an appellate brief to present to the appeals court. The purpose of this brief is to lay out the legal arguments pertaining to why your original sentence should be overturned. Your appeals lawyer typically will be required to come to court and argue the merits of your case in person. Once arguments are made, a decision usually comes between 12 and 18 months from the time the defendant was sentenced.

An appeal is entirely different than a trial. There are no witnesses and no testimony is given during an appeal. All decisions are made based on briefs written by your appeals lawyer and the Attorney General’s office, who always represents the prosecution and asks that your conviction be upheld.

If the court reverses your conviction based on the appeal, you are entitled to a new trial. But even if a court upholds your original conviction, you are not out of options, and your California appeals attorney can discuss those with you.

Remember, you have a very limited window of opportunity to file an appeal. There are many steps to filing an appeal, and it is a complicated process that should be handled by an experienced California appeals attorney. If you or a loved one has been wrongly convicted of a crime, it is vital that you contact our criminal defense law firm immediately to get the process started.

Wallin & Klarich has been handling criminal appeals in Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino for over 30 years, and knows how to navigate the appeals process while maximizing your chances of success. Call 888-749-0034 or fill out or confidential case review form.