What happens when you win a crimial appeal?

Criminal Defense

appeals

Every thorough trial consultation should include a discussion about a “worse case scenario.”  Oftentimes, the worse case scenario involves a substantial amount prison time.  The common rebuttal to this conversation is, “well, we will just appeal the conviction.”  Appealing a conviction can take over a year to resolve.  During this time, the convicted person does NOT have a right to remain out on bond.  Typically, the defendant will start serving their prison sentence while the appeal is pending.

Unlike trial where the defendant is initially presumed innocent, on appeal, the defendant is presumed guilty.  Meaning, appellate courts start with the presumption that the guilty verdict is correct.  Appeals are very seldom won on the grounds that there just was not enough evidence to convict someone.  An appellate attorney must be able to point to an error by the judge or trial attorney that affected the outcome of the trial.  This is a very difficult to prove because it essentially says that, “but for” the mistake of the judge or attorney the person would have been found not guilty.

Even if you are able to successfully persuade an appellate court that there was an error of this magnitude made, only the conviction will be reversed.  This means that the defendant may not be released from prison. Most often, the defendant will be returned to the county where s/he was charged.  There, they would stand trial all over again.

Appellate work involves a lot of strategy and forward thinking to anticipate issues on retrial.  You are often best served by hiring a trial attorney who is well experienced in appeals.

Ruth McMullin
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