Things You Need To Know About Criminal Appeals

The common misconception is that a federal criminal appeal is a retrial, another chance to hear and study the facts again. Any Philadelphia federal criminal appeals lawyer would say that an appeal is so much different from a trial.

What is a federal criminal appeal?

It is a direct appeal, a legal proceeding to review the judgment of a court and to check for legal errors. Clients who seek such appeals do so to contest the decision of a court, which is usually a district court. There is little “talking” if anything, as the proceedings would virtually involve writing. The lawyer of the appealing party shall submit briefs that points out alleged legal errors during the district court proceedings. The lawyer of the other party shall submit briefs to respond to the assertions of the first lawyer.

There are no witnesses involved.

Appellate courts are unlike district courts in so many aspects. They are not courts of record, of reporters, of witnesses, and of juries. These courts do not hear testimonies or pieces of evidence. What they do is tackle legal arguments after the pieces of evidence and testimonies have been presented in the district court. Then again, the appellate court may summon these items for the perusal of the appellate judges. However, only items originally presented in the district court shall be perused. Appellate courts cannot accept new evidence or new witnesses. A criminal lawyer in Philadelphia should inform his client that records from the district court are already inflexible. The appellate court will not ask to alter the records in any way.

The process runs for several months.

Someone asking for federal criminal appeals should be informed about the sluggishness of the process. Some clients get frustrated after a few months, but they have to understand that federal courts deal with a pile of cases. Courts do not make hasty decisions, too. They consider legal claims, and that takes time, although the process today may be a bit hastened by technology. For instance, several appellate courts now accept briefs submitted online.

Even though judges can do legal research online, decision-making would still require them to thoroughly read and consider arguments presented. As these people are human beings, the tasks they could handle are limited. Appellate judges may have assistants that handle paperwork and lawyers that handle usual cases. But appellate courts still have to deal with hundreds of cases. Clients will have to be realistic and understanding. The sluggishness of proceedings is not because the judges are lazy. It is because they have to tackle previously filed appeals. Generally, cases run for a year.

Most appeals were resolved without oral argument.

About 7 in 10 appeals cases were solved on the briefs. Briefs are written documents filed by the appealing party. A brief supplies both facts of the case and persuasive arguments pertaining to particular errors that the appealing party claims the district court has committed. Legal assertions should be supported by valid citations. Briefs are essential in any appeal, and since appellate attorney does the briefs, it is important for him to have extensive legal research skills. More importantly, he has to possess persuasive legal writing abilities. This is why finding a good Philadelphia federal criminal appeals lawyer is crucial to the success of criminal appeals.

By: Cedric Loiselle

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