Orange County Criminal Appeals Attorneys

A criminal appeal can be filed in the Orange County Court of Appeals when someone wants to "appeal" or challenge a decision made by a trier of fact (judge or jury) in a trial court. An Orange County criminal appeal is usually filed when a defendant's or a criminal defense attorney believes that an error has been committed during the trial or some important evidence has been overlooked during the trial.

Mistakes during trials happen more commonly that we know or hear about. In some cases, evidence that may have helped or even acquitted the defendant of the charges, may have been mistakenly or wrongly withheld at the time of the trial. There may have been "prosecutorial misconduct." When the defendant alleges prosecutorial misconduct, it means that the prosecution may have acted in an inappropriate or unfair manner. Such arguments could also involve allegations that the prosecution withheld evidence deliberately or knowingly permitted false testimony.

In some cases the wrong law may have been applied or the jury instructions may have been incorrect or confused the jurors. In certain other cases, the sentence may not have been appropriate for the crime. All these errors at the trial court may have been made unintentionally by attorneys, judges or the jury. An Orange County criminal appeal basically gives the convicted individual a second chance to obtain justice. The appellate court has the authority to overturn or overrule the trial court's decision and reverse it based on the legal argument made by the defense attorney.

Filing an Orange County criminal appeal is not a simple process and requires very specialized expertise. Under California law, a criminal appeal must be filed within 30 days after a misdemeanor conviction or 60 days after the sentencing in felony matter. The notice of appeal is filed in the court where a conviction occurred.

Following that, a copy of all the criminal trial papers and testimony are gathered and filed with the Orange County Court of Appeals. If it involves a federal crime, it is filed in the federal appellate court. The appellate process is complex and involves extensive research. It could take a year or more for the appeal to get resolved. If the appellate court reverses your conviction, then you will be entitled to a new trial. If the court upholds your conviction, then there are other options that may be available that you can discuss with your Orange County appellate attorneys at Wallin & Klarich.

There is no testimony taken in an appeal as opposed to a jury trial. The court of appeals makes a determination on the merit of the written briefs filed by your attorney and the Attorney General's office, who represents the prosecution seeking an affirmation of the conviction. If you have been convicted of a crime in Orange County, it is critical that you retain the services of a law firm that has years of experience, knowledge, expertise and a successful track record of filing and winning Orange County criminal appeals. The Orange County appellate attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been handling criminal appeals for the last 30 years. We have the experience and understanding of the law to maximize your chances that your appeal will be a success. We make sure that you truly have that precious second chance.