Imagine you were charged with a serious felony by your state prosecutor. You went to trial and, despite your attorney’s best efforts, twelve people didn’t believe your story and found you guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Can you appeal?
Now imagine the same scenario, but instead of taking the case to trial, you pled guilty because you didn’t really want to deal with the hassle of a court case. Can you appeal in this situation?
The answer in the first case is yes; if you went to trial and were convicted, you have the automatic opportunity to file an appeal of your conviction and sentence. In the second case, the opportunity to have the court of appeal review your case is not automatic. Your attorney will have to ask permission from the court to file an appeal of a plea bargain or guilty plea.
Also, keep in mind that you can only challenge errors in the criminal process or in the application of the law, not merely to get a second bite at the apple, so to speak.
The following is an explanation of what happens when you appeal a sentence, including the importance of speaking with a criminal defense attorney skilled in appellate work.
Whether you are convicted or plead guilty, an appeal in a criminal case does not happen automatically. There is the extra step of having your attorney file the notice of appeal and appellate brief arguing your case. As stated above, you do have the automatic right to an appeal if you have been convicted, but you have to trigger the process, so to speak. Criminal defendants who plead guilty (or no contest) have their request to appeal denied.
In order to get a court of appeals to look at your case, your attorney will need to file a notice of appeal in a timely fashion. There are rarely second chances with the deadline. You either meet it or you don’t. If you don’t, you’ll need good cause why didn’t following the filing rules. While your attorney will know more, if you have thinking of appealing, it is important you tell you attorney about your intention as soon as possible. If your criminal defense attorney is not skilled in appellate work, they will have to refer you to someone else. Regardless, the clock is ticking and you need to make sure you file you notice of appeal on time.
Your lawyer will order the trial transcript from the court reporter once your notice of appeal is filed with the intermediate-level appellate court (or state Supreme Court in some jurisdictions). A transcript is the official record of what happened in your case. Your lawyer and the prosecutor will write appellate briefs arguing legal issues, supported by the trial transcript.
The next step in the process is getting a date for oral arguments where your attorney will appear before a panel of judges and argue on your behalf.
While you may have a new trial strategy, new evidence, or simply didn’t like your lawyer, the plain truth is that you cannot bring that into an appeal. Appellate judges will look only at the “four corners” of the court reporter’s transcript to make sure that the verdict was correct based upon the evidence and that the trial was fair and that there wasn’t a violation of your due process rights. The judges will come to a decision and write an opinion stating their reasons for either affirming your conviction or granting your appeal.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a criminal charge, immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Criminal lawyer is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties, and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and many times even get them dismissed. So it should go without saying that someone cited for a misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer.