If you have been wrongly convicted of a crime, it is imperative that you consult with an appeals attorney as soon as possible. Here are 7 important things that you should know about these attorneys.
1) Appeals attorneys are often expensive and difficult to find. You may want to hire a different lawyer for the trial or sentencing and then hire an appeals attorney after your conviction has been finalized. This ensures that the original trial attorney doesn’t present your appeals in such a way that benefits their own case during the appeal process.
2) Appeals attorneys work in various ways: They may write briefs, go before judges on issues like custody or other family law matters, or they may take some other approach depending on their personal practice preferences. In addition, their practice areas may include a mix of appellate law or post-conviction work.
3) Every lawyer is different but in terms of appeals attorneys, the differences are often significant. For example, the skills of an appellate attorney in assisting you with your appeal will be very different than the skill set of a defense attorney who is just arguing on issues like pros/cons regarding what evidence to use at trial.
4) Appeals attorneys often have a great deal of experience with appeals from mistrial and other post-conviction cases like these. This experience is often why appeals attorneys can successfully advocate for you at trial even though they are not present during your actual case.
5) Appeals in criminal cases can be very expensive. This is because they are often much more complicated to handle than other types of appeals. They often require additional judges and involve a great deal of research to ensure that you have sufficient grounds for your appeal.
6) Appeals can be very time-consuming. Judges often set short deadlines to appeal or will decide that the appeal is too complex for their court. For example, some appellate courts will decline to consider an appeal if it has not been filed within one year although this varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
7) Your appeals attorney should be the strongest ally in your case. He or she should be someone you trust and rely on to ensure that your appeal is handled the right way.
Why a Lawyer Is So Important After a Criminal Conviction
In the criminal justice system, there is always the possibility that you will be found guilty of a crime. This can happen whether you have been charged with a felony or misdemeanor. In fact, even if you are innocent and your case goes to trial, there is still the possibility that you may be convicted.
If this happens to you, it is important that you understand what happens next. There are certain things that happen automatically after any conviction occurs in a criminal case, and your attorney can help with these as well as your formal appeals when necessary.
What Happens After a Conviction?
First and foremost, once you have been convicted, the prosecutor in your case will be required to report the conviction to the state where you were convicted. These reports are typically referred to as “sentencing data” and are usually reported electronically.
The police and prosecutors involved in your case will continue working on their cases, but because they know that an appeal is coming, they will be more careful about what evidence they use against you at trial. In many cases, this police and prosecutors will stop using evidence they believe has little chance of being useful at an appeal.
