Appeals and Post Convictions
Post-conviction is the legal process that occurs after a trial is complete and a defendant is found guilty. The next step in the process is for the court to determine the punishment for the guilty party. Since it is a criminal conviction and sentence, a defendant is permitted to challenge the sentence and the conviction. This can occur with a federal habeas corpus proceeding or filing an appeal. Most court decisions rendered after a state or federal trial are able to be reviewed by an appeals court. This includes the many different types of decisions regarding civil cases. It is the job of the appeals court to carefully review what occurred during the court proceedings. They will determine if any errors of law occurred.
Post Convictions
This is used to describe any type of legal challenge to a sentence or conviction once a judgment has been rendered. There are a number of different types of post convictions actions that can be taken. Each of these legal challenges can be very complex. All of them are subject to time limitations. An attorney will know what options a person can pursue based on a court’s decision.
Appellate Court
The first motion after a conviction is a direct appeal. It is heard by an appellate court. If an appellate court determines that some type of legal error occurred during the trial that improperly influenced the court’s decision, it has the authority to reverse the decision. When this happens, attorneys representing both parties are permitted to submit legal briefs to the appellate court. They may also be permitted to give verbal arguments. Once an appellate court has made its decision, the chance for any other type of appeal is limited. The number of parties filing an appeal has increased significantly during the past decades. This has caused federal and state court systems to alter their procedures in order to keep up with the rising number of cases.
Post-Appellate Court Decision
Should a defendant not receive a favorable decision in a state or federal appellate court, an attorney could appeal to the state’s supreme court or the U.S. Supreme Court. It is up to these courts to decide if they want to review a case. These courts receive many more cases for review than is possible for them to handle. They will usually only review a case if it has an unsettling question involving the law. The U.S. Supreme Court will only review cases that challenge a constitutional or federal issue. Any case that only involves legal issues on a state level is not part of their jurisdiction.
Habeas Corpus Review
When a prisoner is convicted of a crime in a state court, a habeas corpus review is usually provided. This type of review is done after a convicted person’s direct appeal has been denied, and it usually follows a procedure defined by a state’s statutes. The review often occurs when new information has been discovered.
2255 Motion
When a person from Ann Arbor, MI is convicted in federal court and then incarcerated because of that conviction, they can challenge it with a 2255 motion. The success or failure of this motion is based upon discovering facts that are not found in the court record of the case. When a 2255 motion is successful, the new facts are added to the legal record and an evidentiary hearing is held concerning the new facts. This may also occur if the defense can prove prosecutorial misconduct. This could be the result of the government withholding pertinent information. It could also happen if inadequate assistance of counsel can be proven. This could result from a defendant’s lawyer failing to introduce evidence that would have assisted in their defense and more.
For a better understanding of Motions to Withdraw, please reference the following documents.
BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO WITHDRAW PLEA