Appeals of Criminal Convictions
(State and Federal)
In both the federal and state systems the district courts are where the initial criminal proceedings take place. If a defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty after a trial, the defendant may have grounds for appeal of his conviction if the trial or plea-bargain was not in strict compliance with established rules and standards. Appeals from Texas state district courts are first taken to intermediate state appellate courts. An unfavorable ruling in state appellate court can then be further pursued in Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the highest state criminal appellate court. Finally, a criminal defendant can take his or her appeal to the United States Supreme Court. In the federal system appeals from district court proceedings are first pursued in the Circuit Courts of Appeals and then to the United States Supreme Court if necessary.
Another potential avenue of relief for a criminal defendant, who was unsuccessful in the trial court, is the Writ of Habeas Corpus (writ), which is the remedy of last resort. Writs are limited to alleging violations of a person's constitutional rights such as complaints regarding deficient performance of trial or appellate counsel, violations of due process, or allegations of serious police or prosecutor misconduct. Writs require extensive new investigation because many of these violations only become apparent after the trial or appeal process is complete.
In an appeal or writ, a complaint is made to the appellate court alleging that the trial court made some sort of mistake. The appeal or writ is based on the record at trial and the briefs submitted by the defendant and the government. The appeal or writ can result in a complete or partial new trial or outright dismissal of the charges. Preparing a compelling appellate brief or writ is extremely time consuming and requires a lawyer have extensive familiarity with the law and exemplary writing skills.
If you or a loved one are incarcerated and/or have a criminal conviction that you may wish to appeal, contact us and we will evaluate and discuss with the feasibility of an appeal. It is important that you contact us as soon as possible because there are often strict time limits and delay generally only makes the entire process more difficult.
Below are a few of the types of criminal matters that we are prepared to aggressively defend against on your behalf:
