The American justice system isn't perfect. Sometimes errors are made during the court process that can result in unfair criminal convictions. The California criminal appeals process can correct court errors and overturn wrongful criminal convictions.
In the United States, a convicted criminal defendant has the right to challenge that conviction. This challenge is called an appeal. Appeals are heard in special appellate courts that review and have the power to change decisions made in lower trial courts. On the state level, the Court of Appeal is an intermediary court that sits between the trial courts and the state supreme court. On the federal level, appellate courts are organized into geographical regions called circuits. Federal convictions are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the particular circuit that has jurisdiction over the case. On both state and federal levels, because state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court choose to review only a minute number of cases each year, the Court of Appeals is likely to be a defendant's last chance to receive justice.
Through an experienced criminal appellate lawyer, convicted defendants can challenge their conviction on two fronts: the conviction itself or the trial court's sentencing decision. Unlike trial courts, appellate courts decide issues of law, not issues of fact. The appellate attorney may not present new evidence, call witnesses or retry the case. The Court of Appeals considers only written and oral arguments based on the written original trial record. Incorrect application of a law, improper jury instructions and insufficient evidence to support the verdict are among the points of law on which the appellate court may rule. Rulings typically take 8 to 12 months.
Because appeals must rely on the written record of the original trial, it is vital that the trial record be comprehensive and complete. The appellate attorney must base his entire appeal on the record made in court by the previous criminal defense lawyer. The more complete the trial court record, the more material the appellate attorney will have to work with in searching for possible mistakes made by the court, and the better the defendant's chance for a successful appeal. Successful appeals can result in the court ruling that the conviction be overturned. A new trial date can be set for reprosecution or the defendant can be resentenced. The skill and experience of the appellate attorney are critical to achieving a successful result.
[...] we noted in our November 3 post, courts do sometimes make mistakes. Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to appeal their [...]
[...] we have previously discussed (see our Nov. 3 and Nov. 5 posts), the appellate process exists to correct judicial errors and ensure that criminal [...]