The Criminal Appeal Process

You can argue ineffective assistance of counsel if your defense attorney did such a bad job that it impacted the outcome of your case. You must prove your attorney’s conduct was unreasonable and had your attorney provided effective counsel, then you would not have been convicted.

Both the California and Federal Rules of Evidence have rules regarding when and how lawyers can submit character evidence. Evidence of a person’s character is not admissible to prove that on a certain occasion, that person acted in accordance with their character or trait. This evidence must fit within a certain exception to be admitted.

During a criminal trial, the prosecutor has the burden of proving you committed the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor cannot shift that burden by suggesting you must prove your innocence.

At the end of a trial, the judge reads the jury a set of instructions. These instructions can be modeled on pattern jury instructions, but are up to the judge and the lawyers. If the instructions contain a legal error, such as a missing or improperly included instruction, then we can argue for a conviction to be reversed.

Certain jury instructions are appropriate, some are necessary, and others are required by law. If the judge leaves out required jury instructions, we may be able to appeal the conviction.

You are legally entitled to present relevant evidence during your trial, which includes witnesses’ testimony. You may be able to appeal if a judge improperly excluded a witness from the trial who could have testified on your behalf.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees your right to cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses. If the judge restricted your right to cross-examination, you may be able to ask for the conviction to be overturned.

Both your constitutional rights and rules of evidence prevent courts from admitting many out-of-court statements, including many confessions made by a defendant. If a statement you made was admitted to the court, we might appeal on the basis of hearsay or other legal error.

You are entitled to have legal counsel during the criminal process, and you are entitled to choose an attorney. When you can hire your own lawyer, you can choose who represents you as long as they are admitted to practice in that court. If you cannot afford to retain a private attorney, the court must appoint a public defender.

It is typically not wise for criminal defendants to represent themselves. However, the law technically gives you the right to do so. If you are competent, the court must allow you to represent yourself. If the judge inappropriately denied your right to represent yourself, then this may be grounds for appeal.

Any evidence obtained through or indirectly from illegal means is not admissible in court. For example, evidence obtained through an unreasonable and illegal search and seizure by the police. If the judge fails to exclude illegally obtained evidence, you may be able to ask for the conviction to be overturned.

The police must have probable cause to obtain a search or arrest warrant. Probable cause is a low threshold. There simply must be enough facts to support the likelihood you committed an offense. But if the police act without probable cause, any resulting evidence is unlawful and inadmissible.

The prosecution’s burden is to prove you committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the highest burden of proof in the court system. There must be no reasonable doubt remaining about whether or not you committed the offense. If the prosecution did not present enough evidence to reach this burden, you may be able to ask for the conviction to be reversed.

In order for the results of a police lineup to be admissible in court, it must be performed in a certain manner. Any amount of suggestion can lead to a false identification of a suspect. It may be possible to challenge a lineup that led to you being charged with the crime.

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects you from being compelled to be a witness against yourself during police interrogations and at trial. As a criminal defendant, you cannot be forced to testify at trial. Also, this constitutional right requires the police to adhere to certain procedures when questioning suspects.

You have the constitutional right not to be tried for the same crime twice. If a jury acquits you of a crime, the prosecutor cannot try to convict you of that crime again.

The U.S. and California Constitutions grant you the right to a speedy trial. Once you are arrested or charged with a crime, the criminal court process must move at a reasonable pace. There cannot be any unnecessary delays in having a trial.

If you and one or more other persons are charged with a crime together, then you may be tried jointly. However, in some circumstances, a joint trial is not appropriate, and you and your co-defendants should have separate trials. You may be able to appeal your case if being tried with one or more co-defendants prejudiced the jury against you or led to a different legal error in your case.

You have a constitutional right to a jury trial when charged with a crime. If the judge improperly conducts a bench trial, you may be able to appeal. Also, if the judge decides any material questions of fact during your case that should have gone to the jury, it may be grounds to appeal.

A defendant must be mentally competent to stand trial. If a defendant has a mental disorder or developmental disability that makes them unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings, then they are not mentally competent and cannot be tried for a crime.

Crimes are defined by state and federal statutes. These statutes must be clear and reasonably limited in the conduct they prohibit. Overly broad and vague statutes are unconstitutional.

We will ask for your conviction to be overturned if the statute describing the crime violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

You have a constitutional right to a public trial. Typically, criminal proceedings are open to the public unless there is a specific need to exclude the public.

Once the jury is given their instructions at the conclusion of the trial, they are left to deliberate in private. No other party is allowed to communicate with the jury during deliberations, with the exception of the judge who can communicate with the jury in open court after giving the lawyers notice. Any interference with deliberations is the basis for appeal.

The appellate court does not review new evidence on appeal. However, if you are actually innocent, there are several arguments we can use to fight for the conviction to be overturned. We may argue evidence of your innocence was improperly excluded or the prosecutor did not provide us with exculpatory innocence. We may file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in order to utilize new evidence supporting your actual innocence.

California and federal judges are limited by law to the sentence they can impose. If the sentence you receive is overly harsh and outside of the bounds of California or federal sentencing laws, you may be able to fight to have your sentence overturned and revised.

Different crimes have different statutes of limitation under California and federal law. It may be necessary to calculate the appropriate statute of limitations in your case. If the charges were brought against you too late, you may be able to appeal. The trial court should dismiss charges that violate the statute of limitations.

A court must have subject matter jurisdiction in order to make decisions about a certain legal matter. Some courts have general jurisdiction and can hear most types of cases. Other courts have jurisdiction over specific types of matters only. It may be pertinent to review the court’s jurisdiction over your case, and if it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, you may be able to file an appeal.

The court venue refers to the specific location of the court where your case will be heard. Typically, a case is tried in the county or federal district where the crime allegedly took place. You may be able to appeal if your case was filed in the improper venue. Changing venue may be appropriate if holding a jury trial in a certain location is likely to lead to unfair prejudice. It may be possible to file an appeal if your trial attorney filed a motion to change the venue and it was improperly denied.

Physical restraints and prison outfits can prejudice the jury against you. Unless the judge orders that restraints are necessary, you should not be restrained in front of the jury. You may be able to appeal if you were inappropriately restrained in front of the jury or if the judge abused his/her discretion in ordering you to be restrained.

Defendants are typically transported to a courthouse in jail or prison-issued clothing and handcuffs or shackles. You should be given an opportunity to change before you enter the courtroom, and the jury sees you. The jury should not be allowed or enabled to see you in the prison clothing and restraints.

You are entitled to be present during criminal court proceedings against you unless there is a specific reason to exclude you from certain portions of the proceedings. For example, you can be removed from the courtroom for disorderly conduct. However, if you were improperly excluded by the judge, you may be able to appeal.

Judges are not allowed to improperly influence juries, which is why judges are not entitled to speak with the jury without the defense attorney and prosecutor present. You may be able to appeal if you discover that the judge spoke with one or more jurors improperly.

A defendant’s confession can only be admitted at trial if it was obtained after the police gave read them the Miranda Rights. The U.S. Supreme Court determined the Miranda warnings are necessary to protect a person’s constitutional right against self-incrimination. If the judge admitted a confession that was obtained without the police informing you of your Miranda rights, you may be able to appeal.

A warrant is a legal document signed by a judge giving the police the right to search a particular place and look for and seize specific property or to arrest a specific person. To obtain a warrant, the police must have probable cause. If the judge improperly decided a motion based on an invalid warrant, it may be possible to appeal.

If the police did not follow proper procedures when using identification techniques, like lineups, this may violate your due process rights and provide a basis for an appeal.

If you are denied your right to have an attorney at any stage of the criminal court process, this is a violation of your constitutional rights.

Your trial attorney, whether a public defender or private defense counsel, owes you a duty of loyalty and professional care. They cannot represent effectively if they have a conflict of interest. If your trial lawyer had a conflict of interest during your case, it may be possible to appeal on the basis of ineffective counsel.

You have the right to have an impartial jury decide your case. However, pre-trial media coverage in the county or federal district may have tainted the jury pool. When prospective jurors are likely prejudiced against you, then the judge should approve a motion for a change of venue. If you believe you were convicted by a jury that was unfairly prejudiced against you, then you may have grounds for an appeal.

Before trial, there is the voir dire process. This is the process through which the lawyers choose a jury from a pool of individuals. Both the defense counsel and prosecutor are given a number of peremptory challenges through which they can dismiss a potential juror without giving a reason. However, the defense counsel can challenge a dismissal if it is based on a potential juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or other characteristics. You may also be able to use this issue as a basis for an appeal.

For experts to testify at trial, they must meet certain requirements. If the judge allows expert testimony from someone who does not satisfy the prerequisites or denies an expert for the defense who does satisfy them, then you may be able to appeal.

The judge gives the jury a verdict form, which the jurors use to give the court their verdict. This form must meet certain requirements. If the form does not meet the requirements when given to the jury or the jury improperly fills it out, this may be a basis for appeal.

The “Golden Rule” is a type of argument in which the prosecution asks the jurors to place themselves in the victim’s shoes when determining whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. It is a highly prejudicial argument. It asks the jury to focus on their emotions rather than decide the case on objective facts. Because of this, Golden Rule arguments are not allowed. If the prosecutor used this type of strategy in your case, then you may be able to appeal.

Your constitutional rights require prosecutors to disclose any potentially exculpatory evidence. This is evidence that tends to prove you are not guilty. If the prosecutor failed to hand over evidence, you may be able to ask for the conviction to be overturned.

Prosecutors must disclose relevant information about witnesses, including any leniency offered by the prosecutor’s office or material aspects of that witness’s character. This is considered a type of exculpatory evidence.