The timeframe to appeal a sex crime conviction varies depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the appeal. The important thing is to have an appellate counsel who knows those timelines and knows when those windows open. It can be both a very fast and a very slow process. The window to file the notice for appeal may be very short, but the time it takes to get a decision up to years. It’s really incumbent upon you to have an attorney who walks you through the process. You only get one chance to go through the appeals process. If you miss that window, the window is closed. It is a good time to pick up the phone and start calling attorneys to try to make the decision of who you want to represent you all the way through to the end.
Who Are The Main Players Involved In a Sex Crime Appeals Process?
The appeals process really comes down to the attorneys for the appellant (the person who was convicted) and the attorneys for the appellee (the government). Unlike in a trial, they are not usually fighting on their feet; they are fighting in writing. They are writing appeals briefs to the appellate courts. Each state has their own appellate courts that take the first level of appeals. From there, there is either one more layer of appeal, or directly to the state’s highest court.
The appellate judges go through the lawyers’ briefs and the record of trial, and they make a decision based on their view of the facts and the law. After that ruling is reached, there are additional appeals channels. You can appeal back to that same court, asking them to look over it again, or you can go to the next higher court.
What Factors Would Lead To A Reversal Of a Sex Crime Conviction?
There are a tremendous number of ways in which sex crime conviction can be overturned on appeal. We’ve had remarkable success with these types of victories. Not every case is the same and every case has to be assessed on its individual facts. The best way to start an appeal is by looking at the question of whether there were insufficient facts for the jury to have found you guilty. The appellate courts may be able to look at the facts of your case and determine the jury got it wrong. We’ve had cases overturned on that very ground.
There are a number of other ways that cases can be overturned and those are usually something that people would call a legal technicality, meaning the judge got something wrong or the prosecutors did something wrong. It could even be that your own defense counsel did something wrong in the way that they were representing you, such that the case was manifestly unjust. Oftentimes, you are looking at things like certain types of evidence that were allowed in and shouldn’t have been or you weren’t allowed to present certain evidence that you should have been allowed to present.
