Individuals convicted of federal crimes generally have the option to appeal their cases to potentially change their verdicts. If you were convicted of a crime and want to further pursue the case, speak with a DeKalb County federal appeals lawyer. By submitting a detailed appeal, you might be able to reduce your sentence or get it dismissed entirely.
A dedicated attorney is essential in any case, but can be even more important during appeal proceedings. Once the appeal occurs, the resulting decision is usually final and cannot undergo a second or third contesting. An experienced attorney could understand what the federal appeals process involves and could work hard to strengthen your case.
Georgia, Florida, and Alabama state lines include the 11th Federal Court Circuit. Any appeal cases in Georgia subsequently require filing in one of the state’s three federal District Courts for review by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The appeal process does not involve hearing new evidence or otherwise re-trying the case, but rather reviews the current case for errors, negligence, and misinformation that affected due process and therefore the trial’s outcome. In civil cases, both parties can appeal the case. However, the government cannot interfere if the judge or jury finds the accused party not guilty in a criminal case.
The process begins with a DeKalb County federal appeals attorney filing a “notice of appeal” on behalf of their client detailing the intention to contest its outcome. The filing must occur within several days of the trial’s end and include a brief summary of specific case errors and how they contributed to the final ruling. Since the summary provides the foundation of the appeal, it is important to have a knowledgeable, skilled legal professional compose it.
Parties file three briefs with the court. In addition to the opening brief discussing the case’s history and related errors, the non-appealing party, or “respondent,” files a response. The response details the reasons why the ruling should stand as is. The defendant, or “appellate” can file a brief responding to the non-appealing party citing why the claims are incorrect. They can only reply, not make a new legal argument.
Appellate courts reverse rulings only if they find that the trial court committed one or several errors during proceedings. Some of the most common errors in trial cases that cause federal appellate lawyers in DeKalb County to file these cases include:
If the appellate court does find errors, they will determine if the errors were “prejudicial,” meaning they clearly affected the case’s outcome. Minor legal errors, such as failing to furnish evidence that did not influence the case, do not fall under prejudicial guidelines.
Appealing the outcome of your criminal case is your legal right, and you can exercise that right by consulting with a DeKalb County federal appeals lawyer. An experienced legal professional could take all possible measures to appeal your case and hopefully either modify or overturn it. Call today to set up a consultation and get started on your appeal.
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Phone: (423) 888-3030 
