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There are numerous options to seek relief from the criminal justice system, and filing a criminal appeal is one of them. It may overturn the conviction or significantly reduce the sentence. Criminal appeals lawyers in Houston, Texas offer to those who need to file an appeal. With knowledge of basics, it becomes a lot easy to find one that will deliver the desired results.

Overview of Criminal Appeal

Those who have been convicted in any crime may appeal their case. In this way, they are asking a higher court to take a review of the case and for any legal error. The critical thing to note is that it is not the same as asking for a new trial. The appeal determines whether the conviction or the sentence is due to an error.

The appellant must show to the higher court that there were errors in the way the trial was conducted. But bear in mind that no new evidence is considered.

The Process

In the appeal, the appellant makes an argument before the court that there were legal mistakes that affected the decision of the jury and led to the sentence imposed. To give justice, the case should be dismissed, or the appellant should be tried again and then sentenced.

Once the appeal is accepted and considered, the court reviews the case and looks at the record of proceedings in the lower court. As mentioned above no new evidence is considered. The records are maintained by the reporters who make transcripts of everything said in the court. So the statements of a judge, the attorneys, and the witnesses are recorded. Anything else admitted as part of evidence, e.g. documents; objects are also preserved as records.

In deciding on the appeal, the ‘appellate court’ looks consider all the records associated with the case and the written briefs which are filed by both the sides of the appeal.

The appellant challenging the conviction or sentence files a brief and make an argument on how and why the conviction or sentence contained errors. The government files then file its brief to reason why the conviction or the sentence should be upheld.

The appellant can file a second brief in response to the position of the government. The appellate court will hear the arguments from each side before deciding on the criminal appeal.

How And When An Appeal Could Be Filed?

There are many options to obtain relief after a criminal conviction or the sentence at the state or the federal court level. It may take several months for a criminal appeal to be heard and decided. Most states need the appellant to bring it to the notice of the court and the government of the intent to appeal immediately after the conviction or the sentence.

In the End

As the procedure to file an appeal are not simple and may need a lot of time, so you should hire Criminal appeals lawyers in Houston, Texas to do things for you.