Appeals

ORANGE COUNTY CRIMINAL APPEALS ATTORNEY  | CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL APPEALS LAWYER

Orange County Criminal Appeals Attorneys

How can Orange County Criminal Appeals attorney help you ?

Under California law, a convicted criminal defendant can file to appeal an unfavorable verdict. The defendant has 60 days after being convicted to file for notice of appeal. If this deadline elapses before you file, you lose your right to challenge the verdict.

California law governing criminal appeals can be incredibly complicated. It takes years of study and “on the ground” experience for an Orange County criminal appeals lawyer to master the intricacies of filing, preparing written and oral arguments, and drafting counterarguments.

Can any criminal defendant file for an appeal?

No. An appeal can only be made if the defendant can allege substantial error or errors made during the original trial by the judge, jury, and/or attorneys involved. Appeals can be granted based on the following:

  • Evidence that would have helped your case was disallowed for inappropriate reasons.
  • Evidence that hurt your case was allowed when it shouldn’t have been.
  • The judge and/or jury applied the wrong law to your situation.
  • Either your attorney or the prosecutor argued the case incorrectly.
  • The jury delivered a confused verdict.
  • The sentence rendered did not fit the crime.

Although criminal appeals are difficult to win (on average), if you can prove that a substantial error of law was made, the decision can be overturned by appellate judges.

Notice of Appeal

The first document your Orange County criminal appeals attorney will file is a notice of appeal. This consists of all relevant materials from both the trial and pre-trial and goes out to opposing counsel as well as to the appellate court. This record includes the court reporter’s “transcript on appeal” and the clerk’s “transcript on appeal,” which contains documents filed in the lower court as well as any and all motions. In addition, exhibits used for evidence are also counted in the record.

Next Steps

Your attorney will then study the materials and prepare what are known as appellant briefs. The court will not consider new or alternative evidence – it will only reinterpret the evidence presented in the original proceedings. Given how important this original record is, your criminal defense attorney will (or at least should) scrutinize all aspects of it to find points of possible contention. At the Orange County criminal appeal law firm of Michael L. Guisti, we understand how to examine everything in the original trial record, including:

  • Motions filed
  • Opening statements made by both sides
  • Objections
  • Evidence filed
  • Details of rulings
  • Main arguments
  • Sentences passed

Research

Once we’ve identified errors in the lower court ruling, we then research and investigate to develop arguments to support the appeal.

Appellant Brief

Then an Appellant Brief is written and filed with the court. This brief will contain the so-called “grounds for appeal” -- the reasons why the attorney beliefs that the lower court decision should be overturned.

Respondent Brief

The prosecution counters with what’s known as a Respondent Brief, which attempts to negate the appellate arguments.

Reply Brief

Your Orange County criminal defense attorney then files a Reply Brief to counter the prosecutor’s counter-arguments.

Oral Arguments

Each California Court of Appeals is presided over by three judges, who then allow both sides to make what are known as “oral arguments” for their positions.

Opinion

Following all these filings and arguments, the court eventually renders its decision, also known as its “opinion,” about your case.

Conclusion

The appellate process can last a year or longer. Just because you lose an appeal, however, doesn’t mean that you’ve exhausted all potential remedies. In some cases, particularly matters that speak to broad issues about the law, the case may be appealed to the highest court in the state, The California Supreme Court. However, The Supreme Court only hears a very small percentage of cases submitted to it. Connect with the law offices of Michael L. Guisti to develop your best criminal appeal. Contact our Orange County criminal defense firm today for a free consultation at (714) 530-9690.