Grand Canyon Law Group
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Receiving a criminal conviction is always cause for concern. However, it is essential to remember that you have the right to pursue an appeal if you feel an error in your case entitles you to a new trial or outright acquittal. Even so, the reasons to seek a remedy are limited. Pursuing an appeal requires the ability to quickly interpret the law and submit the necessary paperwork to the correct courts.
A Scottsdale appeals lawyer can help you complete these steps and fight for your rights. At the Grand Canyon Law Group, our dedicated attorneys work to evaluate the facts of your trial to identify any potential avenues for appeal. If there are reasons to bring your case to the Court of Appeals, we will gather the necessary information and submit your case brief to the court. We are here to work toward the relief you deserve.
All criminal defendants who receive a conviction have the right to pursue an appeal. However, this does not mean that all defendants will have a valid reason to do so. In general, appeals are only appropriate when an error of law has occurred that has violated a defendant’s right to a fair trial. Usually, this involves a decision that a trial judge makes about how the trial will proceed. Common reasons to seek an appeal include:
A skilled appeals attorney is ready to take the first step in evaluating the events during a trial in Scottsdale. Legal counsel can file a notice of appeal with either the original trial court or the Court of Appeals, depending on the relief a person is seeking. In some cases, there is a time limit of 20 days after the issuance of a sentence to file these notices of appeals, so it is vital to act quickly.
The main goal of an appeal is to right a wrong that has affected a defendant. However, the exact nature of the possible relief depends upon the type of appeal a defendant files.
Most appeals will move through the Court of Appeals. Here, a defendant and their local attorney argue that a specific legal error during their trial resulted in an unfair outcome. As a result, they may ask the Court of Appeals to order a new trial or even issue an acquittal. The Court itself may affirm the trial court’s ruling, order the trial court to reconsider the issue, or rule on its own and end the case.
Other appeals take the form of a defendant requesting post-conviction relief, or PCR. Here, the defendant may ask the original trial judge to reconsider a decision concerning the sentence length. Alternatively, they may argue that new information has come forward that calls a defendant’s guilt into question.
Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure § 32.4 gives most people no more than 90 days after the imposition of a sentence to file these requests for relief. The goal is to convince a judge to reconsider the original sentence or issue a total acquittal. A Scottsdale lawyer could help determine which appeals option is best for the specific situation.
Errors occur every day during trials in Scottsdale criminal courts. In many cases, these errors result in unfair trials that harm your chances of acquittal or result in an excessive sentence after conviction. If you face this unjust situation, an appeal might help bring relief.
A Scottsdale appeals lawyer is ready to fight for you. The team at Grand Canyon Law Group can evaluate the actions of the trial judge to determine where an error may have occurred. If we can identify a plausible reason to pursue an appeal, we are ready to submit the necessary paperwork and legal arguments to the correct court and demand an appropriate remedy. Contact us now, as you may have a limited amount of time after the end of a case to exercise your right to appeal.
Grand Canyon Law Group
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