Success on appeal requires excellent analytical skills, strategic thinking, powerful written briefs, and forceful oral advocacy.  Our record on appeal is outstanding.  We have briefed, argued and won numerous appeals, in both state and federal court.  

A verdict or judgment at the trial court level is not the end of the road in either a criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit.  Criminal defendants have the right to challenge guilty verdicts on appeal, just as civil litigants can appeal adverse final judgments.  

The appellate process is an essential part of the American criminal justice system because opportunities for errors abound at the trial court level – in both civil and criminal matters – and the appellate court is the appropriate place to litigate these errors.

THE APPEALS PROCESS

The appeals process begins with the filing of a notice of appeal immediately after judgment.  The appellant – that is, the party seeking the appeal – must act quickly to preserve his or her appellate rights.  Failure to file a notice of appeal in a timely manner may prevent the appellant from moving forward with the appeal.  Notably, an appeal is not a second trial, and the introduction of new evidence on appeal is not allowed.  Rather, appeals usually turn on the existence of legal errors.

CONTACT EXPERIENCED APPELLATE COUNSEL

The parties to an appeal must submit extensive written briefs, and may appear for oral argument before a randomly assigned three-justice panel of a California Court of Appeal.  (Other states have similar processes.  For example, in New York – where we practice and where we have prevailed on appeal – a randomly assigned three-judge panel of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division hears civil and criminal appeals.)

Whether defending a favorable civil decision, working to overturn a civil loss, or fighting a criminal verdict, we know how to make arguments that move judges.  If you’re facing a civil or criminal appeal, contact us for a confidential and complimentary consultation.