Should You Try To Appeal Your Conviction?

Were you already convicted of a crime? If you didn’t have the opportunity to work with an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney, you may have found yourself convicted of charges that you may feel were not warranted. Maybe your back was against the wall, maybe you felt that you were in a hopeless situation. Perhaps you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps the circumstances that brought the way your case was laid out in court were not favorable. All things aligned against your best interests, and you’re now sitting with a conviction on your record.

Appealing Your Charges

You may qualify for an appeal of your charges if you meet some of the following:

  • Incompetent defense
  • Inconsistencies in your case early on
  • Information was withheld by the prosecution that was in your favor
  • A bad ruling by the judge in your case
  • An incorrect verdict issued by the jury in your case

Expectations About An Appeal

Many people are under the impression that an appeal means that you will go before the court and have a new trial. That is not the case. The fact is that all an appeal is the review, however limited it may be, of your conviction. No new evidence will be considered and the case cannot be retried. The appeal will depend on the existing elements involved in your case and the fact is, a detailed review of your case in a lower court and the judges ruling, may indicate that you did not get the correct sentence or a fair trial. This will depend on how substantial the findings are.

Time Is Of The Essence

Regardless of what decision you make on filing your appeal, it is vital that you have a seasoned Criminal Defense Attorney at your side. Because there is a limited window of time in which you can file an appeal and because the appeal can be complex and timely on its own, it’s important to begin the process sooner rather than later.