Criminal Appeals

Criminal Defense

Criminal Appeals Lawyer in Anchorage

Have you been wrongfully convicted of a crime? Being found guilty of a crime can cause you to believe that all hope is lost, your record is permanently stained, and that you are in fact a criminal. In many cases, the trial court’s errors caused prejudice to the defendant. The trial court often makes legal mistakes by allowing the jury to consider inadmissible evidence, not giving the jury instructions that are favorable to the defendant, and allowing the prosecutor to violate the rules of procedure and evidence.

Appealing a verdict

Although the appeals process is not a fast process, it may be your best chance to clear your good name. An appeal can be viewed as having four main stages:

  • preparation of the appellate record
  • brief writing
  • oral argument
  • appellate decision

Preparation of the Record

After an appeal is initiated, the first few months are spent preparing what is called the “record on appeal.” The “record” is composed of transcripts of what happened in court, and copies of the legal papers that were filed in the trial court. The transcripts are called the verbatim report of proceedings, and they consist of transcripts of literally every word that was spoken while court was in session.The party who is appealing, called the “appellant,” makes the initial decision as to what transcripts to order. It is not necessary to order a transcript of every single court hearing. For example, unless the appellant plans on raising some issue regarding some action that was taken at the arraignment hearing, there is no reason to order a transcript of it. Similarly, usually one does not need to order a transcript of the jury selection process which occurs at the outset of the trial. On the other hand, generally one does have to order a complete transcript of every single day of the trial. After the appellant orders those transcripts which he believes are necessary for appellate court review, the prosecution has an opportunity to order additional transcripts if it believes they are necessary.

Writing the Appellate Brief

We write and file your opening brief with the Court of Appeals. That brief contains a statement of the issues which the appellant is raising, a statement of the facts of the case, and legal argument. Once the prosecution writes and files its brief, the appellant has the option of filing a reply brief that responds to the prosecutor’s arguments. The brief-writing process requires us to summarize and synthesize your case into a written brief that may not exceed 25 pages for misdemeanors and 50 pages for felonies.

Oral Argument

After the appellate judges read the briefs, an oral argument is scheduled. We appear before a panel of three appellate judges. The arguments are open to the public. The appellate judges generally will ask questions of the appellate attorneys, but not all judges will do this, and frequently one of the three judges will take a leading role in questioning the attorneys.

The Decision

The Court of Appeals does not rule immediately, but it will instead take the case under advisement and will issue a written decision at a later date.

Call us today, and give our team the opportunity to earn your trust and business.