Riverside Appeals Attorney
What Is A Criminal Appeal?
A criminal appeal is a legal process of requesting a higher court, such as the California Court of Appeals, to review the trial court’s decision due to mistakes or legal errors that prevented you from receiving a fair trial. A panel of judges reviews the legal proceedings of the trial court to decide whether errors warrant a new trial or sentence. If the court grants your criminal appeal, you will be granted a new trial, and you could be released from prison or jail. In some cases, the court of appeals reverses your conviction when errors influenced the verdicts in your case.
If you’ve been wrongly convicted of a crime in Riverside, your whole life can change for the worse. Upon sentencing, you may serve years behind bars and miss out on time with your family that can’t be replaced. Even after being released from custody, a conviction leaves a permanent mark on your record and interferes with attempts to rebuild your life.
Don’t let a wrongful conviction steal what’s most important to you. With a criminal appeal, you can fight a wrongful conviction or unfair trial. At Wallin & Klarich, our criminal lawyers have over 40 years of experience handling criminal appeals for clients in Riverside and throughout Southern California. Contact us today for your free consultation.
Filing A Notice Of Appeal
Under California Penal Code 1237, you are required to file a notice of appeal within 60 days of the trial court’s judgment for a felony conviction. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor, you must file a notice of appeal within 30 days from the date of sentencing. If you believe a legal error occurred in your criminal trial, it’s important to act quickly, so you don’t run out of time. You should immediately speak with an experienced Riverside appeal lawyer from our law firm. For over 40 years, Wallin & Klarich has successfully represented clients seeking criminal appeals in Riverside. If we determine that you received an unfair trial or sentence, we can prepare a convincing argument for your criminal appeal and fight for justice.
Grounds For Criminal Appeal | You May Be Eligible
The process of filing a criminal appeal in California is complicated. To navigate the criminal appeals process and increase your chances of success, you need the help of a skilled criminal appeals attorney. When you hire Wallin & Klarich, you’ll be backed by 40 years of experience and legal skills. We’ll thoroughly investigate the details of your trial and identify any legal errors to build the strongest argument for your criminal appeal. Our 40+ years of experience handling wrongful convictions has allowed us to identify many grounds for criminal appeals, which include (but are not limited to):
Insufficient Evidence
In any criminal case, the prosecution must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury can’t find you guilty based on their emotions. They are required to focus only on the facts of the case. If the jury convicted you due to emotion rather than facts, your attorney could argue that the prosecution did not provide enough evidence to prove your guilt. If you believe this occurred in your case, call us today to discuss your case with one of our knowledgeable Riverside appeals lawyers.
Prosecutorial Misconduct
The prosecutor represents the People of the State of California. While they are allowed to fight for your conviction, they must stay within the boundaries of the law. Unfortunately, prosecutors sometimes act unethically or illegally during a trial. This can lead to the court of appeals reversing a conviction on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.
Our criminal appeal attorneys have found prosecutorial misconduct in past cases, which led to successful criminal appeals. Some examples of illegal actions by prosecutors include:
- Referring to inadmissible evidence that is not allowed in your trial
- Intimidating or threatening defense witnesses
- Sharing their opinion about a witness’s credibility during the trial
- Vouching for the credibility of witnesses
- Improperly mentioning or questioning your decision to invoke your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during arrest, interrogation or at trial
- Withholding evidence of your innocence
- Withholding evidence that calls the credibility of a witness into question
- Arguing in a way that encourages the prejudices or emotions of the jury
- Making false or misleading statements about the law to the jury
- Discriminating against jurors of a certain gender or race to keep them off the jury
- Improperly interrogating you on the stand
If you believe that prosecutors engaged in misconduct in your case, you should contact our skilled Riverside appeals lawyers at Wallin & Klarich immediately. We will investigate the legal proceedings and facts of your case, and if the evidence is found for prosecutorial misconduct, your appeals attorney will file an appeal on these grounds.
Juror Misconduct
Prior to the start of a trial, each juror is sworn in by the court and takes an oath to follow the judge’s instructions. However, jurors sometimes disobey the judge, which is known as “juror misconduct.” If a juror didn’t follow the judge’s instructions and influenced the outcome of your trial, we can file your criminal appeal on the grounds of juror misconduct, and the appellate court may overturn your conviction. Juror misconduct may include the following:
- Talking about the case with other people during the trial
- Talking to other jurors about the case outside deliberations
- Refusing to participate in deliberations
- Considering or bringing in outside evidence
Judicial Error
Judges are not immune from making mistakes. If a trial judge makes an invalid decision or improper action, this is considered a judicial error. The following judicial errors are solid grounds for a criminal appeal:
- Failing to exclude inappropriate evidence
- Failing to include appropriate evidence
- Giving improper instructions to the jury
- Displaying prejudice in favor of the prosecution or against the defense
- Incorrectly denying a motion to suppress evidence from an unlawful search and seizure
Judicial errors are solid grounds to win your appeal. If you think a judicial error caused your wrongful conviction, contact Wallin & Klarich today for a free consultation with one of our skilled appellate lawyers.
Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel (IAC)
“Ineffective assistance of counsel” means that your criminal defense lawyer failed to competently defend you. You can’t just say your lawyer didn’t do his job because you were convicted. However, an experienced appeals lawyer can gather evidence of your lawyer’s incompetent conduct and present a persuasive argument to the court in favor of your criminal appeal due to ineffective assistance of counsel. This area of the law is complex and requires extensive legal skills and experience. A trial lawyer may be found “incompetent” for the following:
- Not investigating your case
- Not making a critical motion according to the facts and law
- Not calling a key defense witness at trial
- Not filing a subpoena for important evidence
- Not discussing the consequences of accepting a guilty plea with you
If you believe your criminal attorney did any of the above resulting in your wrongful conviction, contact Wallin & Klarich today, our experienced appeals lawyers will determine if there’s strong evidence to support your criminal appeal.
Plain Error Vs. Harmless Error In A Criminal Appeal Case
To convince the court to grant your criminal appeal, your lawyer must show that a legal error occurred and influenced the outcome of your case. The appellate court must make the distinction between a “reversible error” or a “harmless error.”
A “reversible error” is a severe error that impacts your ability to receive a fair trial and warrants a reversal of your conviction. The United States Supreme Court ruled your criminal conviction is automatically reversed if the court makes the following errors:
- Denying your right to legal counsel
- Biased trial judge
- Exclusion of jurors due to race
- Denying your right to represent yourself at trial
- Denying your right to a public trial
- Improper jury instruction concerning reasonable doubt
If the error isn’t considered a “reversible error,” the appellate court conducts a “harmless error” analysis, a complex process that varies according to the type of error in your case. For more information about criminal appeals, what to expect, and how we can help you appeal your conviction, contact our experienced criminal appeal lawyers at Wallin & Klarich today!
Hire The Best Criminal Appeal Defense Attorney | How We Can Help You
Filing a criminal appeal is a complex legal process, requiring experience and skill. When you want to fight your wrongful conviction, you need the best appeal attorney that you can find. At Wallin & Klarich, we believe four (4) key aspects separate an average attorney from the best defense attorney.
- Experience
- Communication
- Track record
- Ethos – Credibility
Wallin & Klarich | 40+ Years of Experience Representing Criminal Appeals
With over 40 years of experience representing clients seeking a criminal appeal in Riverside, our attorneys at Wallin & Klarich understand the different strategies that work in the courtroom based on the details of each case. We are also familiar with the prosecutors, which gives us the advantage of knowing their strategies as well. Our real-world experience allows us to craft a strong persuasive argument, greatly increasing your chance of success.
24/7 Communication With Your Attorney | The Wallin & Klarich Way
At Wallin & Klarich, communication and transparency are the foundation of our success. It’s easy for clients to get lost in all the paperwork and legality. We want you to know what’s happening with your case, so we keep communication open and honest, taking the time to listen and address your concerns. This is why so many people choose our attorneys when they want to overturn their conviction in Riverside. With 24/7 lines of communication and expert guidance throughout their legal journey, our clients are happier and more well-informed. Working together, we’re able to achieve the best results.
Let’s begin building the strongest legal strategy for your case. Give us a call at (877) 4-NO-JAIL.
Track Record of Success | Wallin & Klarich History of Winning Cases
Anyone can say they’re successful, but tangible results speak for themselves. We want you to be just as confident in our abilities as we are, so we invite you to look at some of our client’s success stories and big wins in the courtroom!
Reputation & Ethos | Wallin & Klarich A Reputation You Want on Your Side
With hundreds of lawyers claiming to have extensive experience representing clients seeking criminal appeals in Riverside, it is challenging to choose the right law firm to defend your rights. For more than 40 years, we’ve helped many clients overturn their convictions, and many of our cases have been featured on television, in newspapers, and throughout the internet. Check out some of our most notable cases below.
