Unveiling the Appeals Process: Beyond TV Dramas and Legal Misconceptions

This episode explores the appeals process in criminal law, clarifying common misconceptions and outlining the essential steps involved when a trial verdict is contested. Listeners learn about the timeline, different levels of appellate courts, and the potential outcomes of an appeal, empowering them with the knowledge to navigate this critical aspect of the legal system.

• Understanding what an appeal truly entails 
• Key timelines for filing an appeal 
• Different types of appeals categorized 
• Overview of appellate courts in Texas 
• The briefing process and oral argument opportunities 
• Potential outcomes of the appellate court's decision 
• Limitations on appeals following non-guilty verdicts 
• Importance of timely communication with attorneys 

If you have any questions about appeals, give me a call at 210-775-0852 or you can click this link to schedule a free consultation where we will discuss your case. https://seanhenricksen.com/schedule-consultation/

We also have a free download for you: 4 Things You Should Do Right Now If You've Been Arrested:
https://bit.ly/2Xjj9Eh

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Sean Henricksen Law Firm

210-775-0852

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San Antonio, Texas 78217

www.seanhenricksen.com

Transcript

Sean Henricksen: 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of what to expect when you're arrested. My name is Sean Henricksen. I am a criminal defense attorney here in San Antonio and the host of this podcast. I help good people like you avoid the devastating consequences of criminal charges. Today, we're going to be talking about appeals and the appeals process. Before we get to that, we do have a free download for you. If you click in the show notes, we've got a link in there and we can send out five things you should be doing right now if you've been arrested. We also have a link to schedule a free consultation. You don't even have to call in, you can just click on that link and schedule a consultation right from there.

Sean Henricksen: 0:41

Before I became a lawyer, I actually had a misunderstanding of what an appeal was. I always saw on TV that if they lost the trial, they'd say we'll just appeal it, and it always seemed to me that it was essentially just a redo of the trial, which is not what an appeal is. An appeal is essentially where you're saying that the trial court made a mistake and you're asking a higher level court or an appellate court to review that case to see if they agree with you and to see if the trial court did make a mistake. There are a couple of different ways where a case could end up on appeal. One of those is that if a case goes to trial and if you lost a trial, then you would be able to appeal that ruling to that higher court and if that happens, you've got 30 days from the verdict to file a motion for a new trial or to file a notice of appeal. If you file a motion for a new trial, that actually extends out the time limit to file the notice of appeal, but that's something that you should talk with your attorney about to make sure that you're meeting whatever deadlines you need to meet. The other instance in which you could ask for an appeal on your case is if you have a motion that the judge rules on before trial, so like a motion to suppress or a motion to dismiss because of the speedy trial violation, things like those. Those would be common reasons that you may want to appeal. If you think that the judge ruled incorrectly on your case because they didn't follow the law, then that's another time where you can appeal the ruling.

Sean Henricksen: 2:18

There are a few different appellate courts and the way that it works is after the trial level court, which is the court where your case is normally going to be at. If you appeal that case, then it's going to go to your local appellate court and in Texas there are several different appellate courts in different regions of the state. If you disagree with the appellate court then you can actually appeal that. Also. There are two different levels of appellate courts. In Texas You've got the local appellate courts and above those you've got the Court of Criminal Appeals, which is essentially like the Supreme Court for criminal cases.

Sean Henricksen: 2:56

Here in Texas. If there's a federal issue or constitutional issue, then you can actually even appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeals up to the US Supreme Court and ask for it to be heard there. You have a right to have your court heard on appeal at the regional level. You don't have a right to have the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals or the US Supreme Court hear your case. In both of those cases you can essentially submit a petition asking those courts to hear your case if it's at the right time in your case and it's up to them to make the decision about whether or not they want to hear your case or not. They can deny it. They can do a couple of other things, but they don't have to hear your case if they don't want to.

Sean Henricksen: 3:41

Now what happens after you file your notice of appeal is that each side is going to submit a brief saying why they think that the trial court made a decision, or the other side is going to have a chance to say that they think that the trial court got it right. So each side is going to be able to submit a brief saying what they thought was an error, showing the law, pointing to how that was an error and saying how they think the judge should have ruled. When you submit the brief for your side, you can also ask for what's called oral arguments, where you would go to the appellate court or your attorney would go to the appellate court and actually argue in front of the judges why they think that the trial court made a mistake and be able to answer questions that the appellate court and actually argue in front of the judges why they think that the trial court made a mistake and be able to answer questions that the appellate court may have about their argument, and it could be some back and forth. That is not as common Most cases are just ruled on on the briefs. But it's definitely a possibility to have oral arguments. But it's up to the appellate judges on whether or not they're going to have oral arguments or not, so it's not going to happen in every case. One big difference between the trial level court and the appellate courts is the number of judges that there are on that position. So at the trial level you will have one judge who's presiding over your trial or who's going to hear your motion and argument on that motion. At the appellate level it's going to be a group of judges who collectively make a decision and who discuss and argue about your case and ultimately the side who has the most judges that side with them is going to decide who wins on appeal, after oral arguments or after the briefs are submitted. If there aren't any oral arguments, the judges will review the argument of each side and will ultimately make a decision about how they're going to rule on that case and they may issue what's called an opinion stating essentially the facts of the case, the law of the case that they're following, applying that law to those facts and making a decision From there.

Sean Henricksen: 5:46

A number of things could happen. They could send it back down to the trial court to have a new trial. They could uphold the trial court. They could have send it back down to the trial court to hear it on just a certain issue. There are a lot of different things that the appellate court can do. One thing to note on criminal cases is that if the jury comes back with a non-guilty verdict, the state can't appeal that verdict. The case is over with from there. It's really the defendant's right to have an appeal on their case if they lose a trial, not the state's right to appeal if they lose a trial. I hope that this has been helpful for you. If you're being charged with a crime here in San Antonio, or if you have any questions about appeals, give me a call at 210-775-0852 or you can click that link in the show notes and schedule a consultation with me. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have or discuss your case with you. I hope you have a great day.