Question 1

How long does an appeal take?

Accepted Answer

The courts set deadlines for the attorneys handling an appeal to file their paperwork, known as legal briefs.  However, after the briefs are submitted, the court sets no deadline on itself to rule on the appeal.  Criminal Appeals attorney Richard Della Fera knows this can be frustrating for the client and the family who are anxious for an outcome. All that said, appeals are usually decided within 6 to 18 months with one year being the average.

Question 2

Can a defendant be released from jail while the appeal is pending?

Accepted Answer

Possibly. However, the rules of procedure are quite strict regarding whether a person who has been convicted and sentenced may be released on bond pending appeal. Some courts allow bond only if it can be shown that the sentence imposed is longer that an appeal would take.  Other courts are bound by law to hold a defendant pending appeal based on the specific crime of conviction.

Question 3

What are the possible outcomes of an appeal?

Accepted Answer

There are a number of different outcomes of a criminal appeal.  The best outcome is that the appellate court finds that there was a fundamental error in the trial that requires a complete reversal of the conviction. In such a case, the defendant is freed and cannot be retried by the prosecution. In other cases, the appellate court finds that errors were made that were not fundamental but nevertheless denied a defendant a fair trial.  In that case, the appellate court will direct that the case be retried but that the prejudicial testimony or evidence must be excluded. In the case of the appeal of a sentencing issue, the appellate court can find error that caused the imposition of a higher sentence and order that the defendant be re-sentenced accordingly. Finally, it must be acknowledged that the appellate court can find that no error was committed by the judge or that any error was harmless in light of the evidence presented. In that case, there are separate post-conviction procedures that a defendant can pursue to obtain relief from the conviction and sentence.

Question 4

If I take an appeal, can I end up getting more time?

Accepted Answer

Generally speaking, the answer is no.  The United State Supreme Court has said that it is a violation of due process to sentence a defendant to more time for exercising his appellate rights.  Example – the appellate court determines that the sentence that was imposed was based on factors that the sentencing court should not have considered and the case is sent back to the sentencing court (remanded) for a new sentencing hearing.  If the judge were to sentence the person to more time, that would be seen as vindictive and the sentence would be overturned. The only rare exception to this rule is that if evidence that would support a higher sentence was not available to the court at the time of the original sentencing.  On the contrary, the typical outcome is that the sentencing guidelines are now lower because of the appellate court ruling and the sentencing judge is obliged to impose a lesser sentence.

Question 5

If my case gets reversed on appeal for re-trial or re-sentencing, do I have to go back to the original judge?

Accepted Answer

Generally speaking, yes. You are not automatically entitled to a new judge just because the appellate court found that your trial judge made a mistake. There are times, however, where the judge’s mistake was so prejudicial that a request on appeal that the case be assigned to a different judge is granted.  However, in my experience, trial court judges are respectful of the higher court’s decision and go out of their way to make sure they remedy the mistake that has been called to their attention.

Question 6

How much does an appeal cost?

Accepted Answer

This will depend on a number of factors, including whether your case involved a guilty plea or a trial. If your case was a trial, you can expect that your appeal will be more expensive, particularly if the trial was lengthy or if there were a number of pretrial issues involved.  This is because each pleading filed in the case and the transcript of each court hearing must be fully reviewed.  Once the review of the documents is completed, exhaustive legal research on the issues identified must be conducted. Then, the legal brief must be composed, laying out in clear writing the facts of the case as gleaned from the documents and transcripts and the case law presented in a thorough fashion, all of which are analogized into a cohesive legal argument with the purpose of persuading the Court to decide in your favor.  In addition to the attorney’s fees charged, clients are also responsible for costs.  The cost of transcript for a single trial day can reach $1500 so that the cost for transcripts for a 10 day trial is $15,000.  Appeals are not cheap but liberty is priceless.

You can't afford to Lose Your Criminal Appeal.

Don’t let a negative outcome in court discourage you

Richard Della Fera is a Florida and Federal criminal appeals specialist.

Understand this,

Losing at trial in criminal court can be devastating. Errors can sometimes be made during a trial. Errors that are life-changing. To correct those errors you need an attorney who is a criminal Appeals specialist in both state and federal. Filing an appeal can correct those errors and the outcome.

For this reason, I am here to help now

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