If you are the victim of a miscarriage of justice and were wrongfully convicted of a crime, you are in a very tough spot. With limited time in which to file an appeal, and very stringent criteria for having any appeal approved, at this critical juncture, you need a highly skilled Round Rock criminal appeals attorney to take action for you. Our legal team is headed up by a former Texas prosecutor with a Superb rating from Avvo.
When your future life and your freedom are at stake, you simply cannot take chances. Talk to us at The Law Office of Ryan H. Deck immediately. Read our testimonials so you have confidence in our ability to serve you professionally. As an appeal must be filed within a few short weeks, there are many actions that must be accomplished if you are hoping to finally get justice.
It is clear that it will take great skill to prepare and present arguments to the appeals court; most law firms do not get involved in the appeals process, as it takes intensive work, research into case law, and is a very different process than creating a defense case to present to the court. At our firm, we are proud to serve in this capacity, and offer our services to any person who has been a victim of a miscarriage of justice. We fight for any advantage, and we urge you to call us immediately in cases of an unfair conviction, or sentencing that violates the state guidelines.
How the Appeals Process Works in Texas?
An appeal is a legal request to take a case to a higher court to review a decision made at a lower court. There is more than one chance to seek an appeal; if the higher court refuses to allow a new trial, the case can be brought before the next highest court of appeals. The facts that will determine whether the appeal is granted are fairly limited; essentially, the question is whether the prosecutor, judge and jury followed the letter of the law during the proceedings, and if any violations took place, did those errors or other violations impact the final outcome of the case in any significant way.
The process involves the filing of a written notice of appeal which must be filed fairly quickly after the verdict. In order for the investigation into the trial to take place, a full transcript of the trial must be prepared by the court reporter. Once this is completed, the parties involved, including the prosecutor and the convicted person and all others will be notified by the appeals court.
The issues that could allow the appeals court to agree that another trial should take place could involve:
Admissibility of evidence
The withholding of evidence by the prosecutor that should have been disclosed to the defense
A misapplication of the law
Errors in the process of jury selection or in the instructions given to the jury
A case in which there was insufficient evidence to actually support a guilty verdict.
A failure by a defense lawyer who represented the accused to be effective could also allow the appeals court to allow for a new trial, but these cases are fairly rare.
Once this record has been filed, there is very limited time in which to prepare what is termed a "brief." This is the document your Round Rock criminal appeals attorney prepares that is a written statement to the appeals court, outlining the issues in question, such as any challenge to a specific ruling made during the proceedings that could have impacted the outcome of the case. This brief includes the law or regulation that was violated, as well as earlier court decisions about similar matters. The prosecutor then has the opportunity to prepare a brief that challenges these issues.
A panel of judges reviews this material, and there may be an order for oral arguments to be made by both sides. The judges, during this process, have the opportunity to question the lawyers about the case about the various legal issues in the appeal. After this process is completed, one of the judges will prepare what is termed an "opinion," which is actually a written statement outlining the decision of the panel, and the legal matters that were raised by the attorney representing the convicted person.
Ryan Deck grew up in Williamson County where he attended Round Rock High School. After graduation, he attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Finance, he attended The University of Houston Law Center, graduating in 2003.
