Federal and State Criminal Appeals can be extremely complex, requiring the services of talented Houston Criminal Lawyers with experience in Criminal Appeals. If you want to appeal a Harris County Criminal Court decision or Federal District Court decision, your Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer will be required to present viable arguments, claiming the trial court made errors of law or fact. Whether a Federal or State Criminal Appeal, the appeals court will make a decision on whether the fairness of your trial was compromised by procedural matters.
Selecting the Best Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me to Handle Your Criminal Appeal: A Houston Criminal Lawyer from Sullo & Sullo can both prepare and present your appeal, whether at the State or Federal level in your Harris County Criminal Court case or Federal District Court case. A Houston Criminal Lawyer from Sullo & Sullo will first make a determination on whether you have grounds for your Federal or State Criminal Appeal. This determination is reached through evaluating the procedural issues related to your case. These procedural issues could include jury instruction, evidence, points of law or hearsay rules. Perhaps the Harris County Criminal Court judge in your case did not properly instruct the jury, or failed to properly apply the law in your case. In short, if any action on the part of the judge, the Harris County District Attorney or a police officer compromised the fairness of your trial, then these circumstances will be used as the basis of your appeal. Sullo & Sullo Attorneys provide Houston Criminal Lawyer Free Consultations and are Houston Criminal Defense Lawyers with Payment Plans. Below is more information regarding Federal and State Criminal Appeals in the State of Texas.
- Texas State Court Criminal Appeals - After a Harris County Criminal Court has decided a criminal case, the defendant may appeal to a Texas appeals court. Appeals of all cases in which the death penalty has been assessed, go directly from the trial court to the Court of Criminal Appeals. All other criminal case appeals will go to one of the fourteen Courts of Appeals in Texas. The decisions of these fourteen courts may be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2016, the Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed four death-penalty cases, while the fourteen other state appeals courts reviewed 4,454 appeals. Among those 4,454 appeals to state courts, 1325 were asked to grant further review in 1325, however only 96 of those were granted review.
- Federal Criminal Appeals - Like a Texas State Court Criminal Appeal, a Federal Criminal Appeal is neither a retrial nor a rehearing of the evidence—a fact many people fail to understand. In fact, a Federal Criminal Appeal and a trial have virtually nothing in common. The federal appeal is a proceeding in which a lower court’s judgment (usually from a Federal District Court) is questioned due to a specific legal ground or grounds. The Federal Criminal Appeal takes place largely through writing—your Houston Criminal Appeals Lawyers will file briefs which both raise and respond to alleged legal errors which occurred in Federal District Court. Federal Criminal Appeals courts are not “courts of record,” that is, there are no juries, no witness stands and no court reporters, plus there is no testimony or evidence presented.
Federal & State Criminal Appeals courts consider and resolve legal arguments—not the facts of the case. A notice of appeal will notify both the Federal District Court and the appellate court of your intention to appeal. In federal appeals courts, this notice must be filed within ten days of the entry of your judgment. It is important to note that federal criminal appeals typically take many months, or even more than a year due to the fact that the federal courts are so crowded. As many as three-quarters of federal appeals are resolved without oral argument, rather via a brief or briefs written by your attorney. This makes the brief the most important part of your State or Federal Criminal Appeal. The appellate brief will detail the facts of the case, as well as the legal errors you are alleging were committed in district court. There is no “creativity with the facts” allowed in a state or federal criminal brief, rather arguments with legal citations to back them up are made in a compelling, persuasive way. The appellate briefs are by far, the most important part of your appeal, meaning having an experienced Houston Criminal Lawyer by your side who knows the appeals process is imperative.
The Best Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me Should be Capable of a Compelling Oral Argument: An oral argument is one more opportunity to convince the judges that your position is correct. Your Houston Criminal Attorney can take a number of steps to encourage the court to grant an oral argument, most notably, to write a compelling brief. Most federal appellate courts are very formal, with three judges. It is typical that stern instructions be given to counsel from those judges regarding what is and is not acceptable. Each party generally has 20-30 minutes to present their argument, and may include questions and answers. Obviously, your Houston Criminal Attorney must have totally mastered the entire record regarding your case, therefore it is particularly important that you have a very experienced Houston Criminal Attorney on your side during your State or Federal Criminal Appeal.
State or Federal Criminal Appeals May be Costly - Because lengthy trial transcripts and thousands of pages of documentary evidence can take a significant amount of time to read and process, the cost of a State or Federal Criminal Appeal can be high, although in most cases, these expenses are relatively predictable and can be estimated by experienced Houston Criminal Attorney. It currently costs $455 for the filing fee for a Federal Criminal Appeal, and in some cases, the transcript for original jury trial can be as much as $5,000, although the cost depends on a variety of factors.
Getting the Help You Need for Your Federal or State Criminal Appeal - To be successful in Federal & State Criminal Appeals, choosing the right Houston Criminal Lawyer is extremely important. A Sullo & Sullo Houston Criminal Lawyer will have significant experience helping clients through a State or Federal Criminal Appeal. If you have already gone through the often-harrowing experience of a Harris County Arrest and Harris County Criminal Court, it can be daunting to consider a State or Federal Appeal of your case. On the other hand, if there were mistakes of law made in your case, and you believe those mistakes directly contributed to your guilty verdict, there is really little choice—you must have your Houston Criminal Lawyer file an appeal on your behalf. Remember, your time is short to file a Federal or State Criminal Appeal, therefore you must contact a Sullo & Sullo Houston Criminal Defense Attorney as quickly as possible.
The Search for an Affordable Criminal Defense Attorney in Houston, Texas - In your search to find the Best Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me, you may be tempted to go with a Cheap Lawyer. Keep in mind that a Houston Criminal Lawyers from Sullo & Sullo will strive to keep costs low while still maintaining the quality of legal representation. We offer Houston Criminal Lawyer Free Consultations and we are Houston Criminal Defense Lawyers with Payment Plans.