Los Angeles Criminal Appeals Attorney

Appellate Lawyer Serving Los Angeles, California

If you or someone you know has been convicted of a crime, it is important to consult with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who is experienced in appeals, writs of habeas corpus, and other post-conviction means of getting the conviction overturned.

An appeal is a process by which a panel of judges reviews what happened during the trial. If the appellate judges find that “legal errors” occurred during the trial, they have the authority to reverse the conviction based on those legal errors. These legal errors can be a number of things: excluding important defense evidence; allowing prosecution evidence that should have been excluded; incorrect jury instructions; juror misconduct; improperly excluding jurors based on race or gender; prosecutorial misconduct; constitutional violations; errors concerning the sentence; etc.

About The Los Angeles Appeal Process

An appeal is vastly different from a trial. Unlike a trial where everything happens live and in court, an appeal occurs mostly on paper. The process begins when the attorney files what is called a “notice of appeal” in the trial court. Once the transcripts and the rest of the record on appeal are prepared, the appeals attorney then reviews the entire record, looking for those legal errors that can result in the conviction getting overturned. The attorney then files what are called “briefs” in the appeals court. The briefs identify the legal errors and argue to the appeals court why the conviction should be reversed.

A habeas corpus petition is like an appeal except that it usually concerns information that was not presented at the defendant’s trial. Two of the most common arguments made in a habeas corpus petition are that the defendant’s conviction should be reversed based on “ineffective assistance of counsel” or on “newly discovered evidence.” That is, if there is helpful information that was not discovered at the time of trial or if the defense attorney simply failed to present it, this could be a reason for reversing the defendant’s conviction.

At the Law Offices of Robert M. Bernstein, we handle many types of appeals, habeas corpus petitions, and other post-conviction remedies:

Felony appeals in the California Court of Appeals and California Supreme Court
Misdemeanor appeals in the appellate division of the superior court
Federal appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
California state habeas corpus petitions in all California courts
Federal habeas corpus petitions (28 U.S.C. 2255 and 2254)
Expungements
Pardons and certificates of rehabilitation
Parole hearings before the California Board of Prison Terms

Consult a Los Angeles Appeals Lawyer

The rules and procedures concerning appeals and habeas corpus petition are very intricate and complicated. If you don’t hire an attorney who knows this area of law, you could compromise or even lose your ability to get your conviction overturned.

Expungement

Anyone who has been convicted of a crime can tell you the impact it can have on your life. Whether looking for a job or experiencing the daily discrimination of how others treat you, a felony conviction can linger long after the trial has finished or the sentence has been served.

An expungement is a legal process where your criminal conviction is wiped clean. It may no longer appear on background checks and will allow you to legally answer “no” to a potential employer when asked if you have been convicted of a felony. An expungement can be done in two ways: either by reducing a felony to a misdemeanor, or if the conviction was already a misdemeanor then the court will withdraw your previously entered plea of guilty and dismiss the charges. Either way, the effects are the same.

Although eligibility for expungement can vary from case to case, it may pay to find out if you can put your past behind you. Call for a free consultation today.

Contact the Law Offices of Robert M. Bernstein to speak with an experienced Los Angeles appeals attorney now.