A criminal appeal is a right awarded to a defendant who receives an unfavorable verdict or outcome in a previously heard trial; the criminal appeal process provides a defendant the opportunity to contest his or her conviction to a formal appeals court. Attorney Ramon A. Moore has the experience to help you with your case and your appeal.
The criminal appeal process is initiated typically by the defendant in a criminal trial who believes that an egregious error, present in their particular trial, prevented them from obtaining an accurate judgment in their case.
Not every individual who receives an unfavorable decision in their particular court hearing will be able to engage in the criminal appeal process; an individual cannot engage in a criminal appeal solely because they were unhappy with the trial’s outcome. The criminal appeal also does not reevaluate the evidence or witness testimonials that were present in the previous case; the criminal appeal only evaluates the procedure and protocol of the hearing in alignment with written statements delivered by the appealing party.
Criminal Appeal Time Frame
The criminal appeal process will vary based on location; each state maintains different timeframes and a statute of limitations to engage in the criminal appeal process. To initiate the criminal appeal process, the individual must file a “Notice of Appeal” within 30 days; this document is the formal starting point and serves as the official acknowledgment to start the criminal appeal process.
In the majority of jurisdictions across the United States, a handwritten “I file a criminal appeal”, signed and dated, will suffice in moving the case from the trial court to an appellate system. If the individual was tried in a state court, the appeal and the surrounding limitations is reliant on the particular state’s appellate system; if the applicant was tried in a federal court; however, the individual will proceed to the federal appellate system assigned to cover the particular state in which the individual was formerly tried in.