We often think of the jury’s verdict as the final word on your criminal charges. However, not every verdict is correct or reached in a legally appropriate manner. There are procedures allowing courts to check verdicts and trials for errors. Nearly all criminal defendants have the right to appeal their convictions.

Appeals must be filed within a strict timeframe. Direct appeals are filed quickly and encompass non-specific, general legal errors that you believe occurred during your trial. An appeal under the state’s Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) has a longer time limit of one year and covers more limited, specific types of errors. If successful, you may receive a new trial and a second chance to defend yourself.

Call our Pennsylvania criminal appeals lawyers with the Liberty Law Team at (215) 509-5235 to get a free, private case evaluation.

What Are Grounds for Criminal Appeals in Pennsylvania

We must file a direct appeal within 30 days of when the judgment becomes final. Your appeal is a new hearing before a different court, with the goal of identifying errors that may have resulted in an unfair or unjust outcome. The errors are errors of law and procedure rather than evidence and facts. Your guilt is not debated in an appellate hearing.

On a direct appeal, you can raise various issues that happened at the trial level. This includes objections by your attorney that were overruled, the admission of certain evidence, or the jury instructions provided by the judge, among other things. Your appeal must allege a legal mistake. For example, you could appeal because a particular piece of evidence was unlawfully admitted because the police seized it illegally.

Process for Filing a Direct Appeal in Pennsylvania

You have 30 days to submit your notice of appeal. This time usually begins on the day of your conviction or after the judge has ruled on any post-sentence motions. Your appeal must contain specific information about the errors you believe plagued your initial trial.

The appellate court will not review your case for all possible errors. Instead, your review is limited to the errors contained in your appeal. If you want the court to review an error regarding jury instructions but forget to include it, the court will not check for those errors, even if they are present.

In some cases, the trial court that decided your case may require you to submit a 1925(b) statement. This statement, named for the section of rules that define it, requires appellants to include information regarding the matters they wish to complain about. This is only required if the judge who heard your initial criminal trial needs clarification on why you are appealing. Failure to do so upon request may result in a waiver of all your appellate rights.

Depending on the nature of your appeal and the arguments you wish to make, you can request in-person hearings or allow the court to review your case on its own.

Preserving Issues from Trial for Appeal in Pennsylvania

Legal errors may be appealed only if they are properly preserved during the trial. Preservation can occur in several different ways. First, trial issues can be preserved by objecting. We’ve all seen it on TV when a lawyer stands up in court and shouts, “I object!” In real life, objections are not so dramatic, but they bring errors to the court’s attention.

If the court overrules your objection, you may appeal the issue after the trial. Just remember, objections must have a basis in the law. If you object, you must be prepared to explain why. Baseless objections are not eligible for appeal.

Another way to preserve an issue is to file a motion. Motions can be filed before, during, and after trial, depending on the nature of the motion. Most occur pre-trial and often deal with what should and should not be admissible as evidence. By filing a motion to exclude a specific piece of evidence, the matter is preserved for appeal. Our Montgomery criminal appeals lawyers will help you determine what issues in your case can be appealed.

Common Reasons for Filing a Direct Appeal in Pennsylvania

One of the most important aspects of your appeal is understanding what issues you can appeal. Remember, an appeal must be based on alleged legal errors. You cannot file an appeal simply because you dislike the outcome of your trial.

Any objection you make at trial may become grounds for an appeal. Objections can arise for several reasons, and if your objection is overruled, the issue is preserved for appeal. Common reasons for objections include hearsay testimony and other statements that the jury should not have heard.

You can also appeal evidence you believe should not have been introduced by the prosecutor. Evidence must meet strict legal standards before it can be presented to a jury. If evidence is irrelevant, unfairly prejudicial, or illegally obtained, it may not be admissible. If you believe that evidence was mistakenly admitted in court, you can include it in your appeal.

Other issues frequently heard on appeal include problems with your attorney, often referred to as ineffective assistance of counsel. If your lawyer failed to provide adequate representation, you might include the matter in your appeal under the PCRA.

Waiving Your Appellate Rights in Pennsylvania

Not all convicted defendants had a trial. Many defendants opt for a plea agreement instead of having a trial. A plea agreement is when the defendant agrees to plead guilty and, in exchange, the prosecutor will drop or reduce charges or recommend a lesser sentence. While there are some benefits to a plea agreement, one drawback is that it severely limits your appellate options. As explained more below, there really is not much to appeal when there was never a trial.

Appellate rights may also be waived by waiting too long to file your appeal. Typically, a defendant has 30 days to file an appeal after they are sentenced. If you miss the 30-day time limit, you might be out of luck. You might have some wiggle room if you only missed the deadline by a few days. A judge might show mercy and allow your appeal to go through. However, if you miss the deadline by too much, you will have effectively waived your right to a direct appeal.

Filing an Appeal After Accepting a Plea Deal in Pennsylvania

Many criminal cases in Pennsylvania are resolved through plea negotiations. This way, the prosecutor has one less case to worry about, and the defendant often serves a much lighter sentence. However, a plea agreement may complicate the appeals process.

An appeal from a criminal conviction requires the appellate court to review the trial court’s records and transcripts. No new evidence, information, or testimony is presented. If a defendant accepts a plea agreement, there is no trial. If there is no trial, there is no record for the appellate court to review. In short, without a trial, there are no legal errors that the appellate court could use to reverse a conviction or order a new trial.

Appealing a plea deal may be possible under limited circumstances. Defendants who accept a plea deal may appeal their plea if prosecutors unlawfully induced it. When negotiating a deal, prosecutors must be honest with the defendant about the consequences of the agreement.

For example, suppose a defendant is facing a felony and three misdemeanor charges. Next, suppose the prosecutor agrees to drop the misdemeanors if the defendant agrees to plead guilty. However, after the defendant enters a guilty plea, suppose the prosecutor only drops one of the misdemeanor charges. The defendant may appeal and argue that they were tricked into a guilty plea.

Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act

If you have waived your appellate rights or exhausted your direct appeal options, there may still be hope. Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) allows defendants to appeal more limited, indirect issues relating to their trials. The deadline for filing a petition under the PCRA is generally one year from the date of your sentence or the final disposition of your direct appeal. You do not have to file a direct appeal to file a PCRA petition.

A petition under the PCRA is different than filing a direct appeal. Issues do not have to be preserved at trial to be heard in a PCRA hearing. Also, a PCRA petition does not go to a higher court but returns to the court that convicted you. Matters that can be appealed under the PCRA include:

  • A violation of your state or federal constitutional rights
  • Ineffective assistance of counsel
  • Unlawful inducement of a guilty plea
  • Unlawful governmental obstruction of your right to appeal
  • New evidence that was unavailable at the time of your trial
  • An unlawful sentence
  • The trial court lacked proper jurisdiction over your case

Each claim under a PCRA petition will have its own rules and nuances to consider. For example, to claim new evidence, the evidence must have been unavailable at the time of trial. You must also have made diligent efforts to obtain all possible evidence. Evidence that existed but was overlooked will not count.

What Happens if You Win Your Appeal in Pennsylvania?

If you are successful on appeal, you may be granted a new trial. Your new trial will involve a new jury that will hear your case for the first time, and the mistakes you complained of on appeal must be corrected.

For example, suppose you claimed that a certain piece of evidence was seized illegally and should not have been admitted, and the appellate court agreed. In that case, the trial court must conduct the new trial without that evidence.

In more unusual cases, the error could be so significant that the appellate court not only reverses the lower court’s decision but dismisses the case entirely. This tends to happen when, after certain evidence has been excluded, what remains is insufficient to warrant a trial. This is why it is important to include as many possible errors in your appeal as possible. The more evidence you can have excluded from a new trial, the better your odds are for a dismissal.

Your new trial does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause, which prevents defendants from being prosecuted for the same offense twice.

The Process for Appealing a Federal Conviction in Pennsylvania

One of the most complex aspects of our legal system is the distinction between state and federal law. Some defendants are charged with crimes at the state level, while others are charged at the federal level. Much like state criminal cases, federal criminal defendants have the right to file an appeal after being convicted.

How Federal and State Appeals Differ

Federal appeals are similar to appeals from state criminal courts. Direct appeals in both courts often involve similar issues. For example, you may file a direct appeal for issues like improper jury instructions, unlawfully admitted evidence, and due process violations in both state and federal courts.

Also, like state courts, federal courts require that issues be preserved for appeal. This is often accomplished when your lawyer objects to certain rulings or court decisions. If there is no objection, the issue is not preserved for appeal. Things like denied pretrial motions at the federal level may also be preserved for appeal.

One of the biggest differences between the state and federal appellate processes is the court structure. In Pennsylvania state court, criminal cases begin in the trial court and may be appealed to the Superior Court. Some appeals may proceed all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the state’s highest court.

Federal courts adhere to a different structure. Instead of a regular trial court, federal criminal trials are heard in Federal District Courts. These courts may be found in every state. If you file an appeal from a federal conviction, your case may escalate to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Federal appeals in Pennsylvania may be heard in the Third Circuit Court.

It is possible to appeal a case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. However, this court is not required to hear every appeal, and the justices may select which appeals they hear.

When to Appeal a Federal Conviction

According to Rule 4(b) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, a federal criminal defendant has only 14 days to file a notice of their appeal with the appropriate district court. This time limit begins when the judgment or order of the court is formally entered or when the government files a notice of appeal, whichever is later.

While 14 days is a very tight timeframe, you do not have to file everything for your federal appeal within this time. Instead, you only need to file the notice of your appeal. This is usually a one-page document that explains your intention to appeal the case. We can file a more detailed appellate brief explaining the grounds for your appeal later.

Grounds for a Federal Appeal

One common reason for federal appeals is a civil rights violation. For example, you have the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement. If federal investigators entered your home without a warrant and seized your property as evidence, your rights may have been violated. On appeal, we can argue that the illegally seized evidence should be excluded in a new trial.

Due process violations are another common reason for federal appeals. Due process refers to your constitutional right to a fair legal process. If the trial court denies you a fair process, you may appeal. For example, the right to cross-examine a witness is a significant part of a federal defendant’s due process rights. If the court did not permit you to cross-examine a witness or cut your cross-examination short, we can appeal your conviction.

Jurisdictional issues are another common reason for federal appeals. One possibility is that you and your lawyer believe that your case should never have gone to federal court. State and federal laws sometimes overlap, and your case might have been removed to federal court by mistake when it should have been heard in state court. The appellate court may address this issue.

Call Our Pennsylvania Criminal Appeals Attorneys for a Consultation

Contact our Pennsylvania criminal appeals attorneys at The Liberty Law Team by calling (215) 509-5235 to receive a free and confidential case assessment.