What is an appeal?
An appeal is a vehicle for moving a case from a lower court to a higher court in an attempt to correct an error that occurred in the lower court.
If the case is being prosecuted by the county, then an appeal would be moving the case from the county court system to the Georgia Court of Appeals or to the Georgia Supreme Court.
If the case is being prosecuted by the federal government, then the appeal would flow from the district court to the federal court of appeals and possibly the United State Supreme Court.
What other post-conviction relief is there?
In addition to appeals, there is a motion called Motion for New Trial. It is a motion filed in the same court that heard the trial. In that motion, the attorney argues that there was some type of error made in the trial and the case should be re-tried. The judge that sat in the trial is the one that makes the ruling on the Motion for New Trial.
Another type of relief is a Write of Habeas Corpus. Georgia law provides that post conviction habeas relief may be granted if there was a substantial violation of the convicted person's federal or Georgia constitutional rights in the proceedings resulting in the conviction. Postconviction relief may be granted if there was a violation of the petitioner's constitutional rights rendering the conviction invalid at the the criminal trial or guilty plea. The constitutional claims raised in support of a contention that the conviction is unconstitutional could include: convicted person received ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial or hearing; the person was denied due process because at the criminal trial the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence; or because the guilty plea was involuntary. If the conviction is deemed constitutional, a convicted person may still obtain relief if the sentence is invalid due to the sentence imposes a punishment in excess of the lawful maximum for the offense. If this is the case, usually the conviction will be left undisturbed but the convicted person must be re-sentenced. Finally, even if both the conviction and the sentence are valid, relief is nonetheless available if the habeas petitioner's custody pursuant to the conviction is unconstitutional on grounds unrelated to the conviction or sentence, as where the petitioner's probation was revoked in violation of a constitutional right.
Post conviction motions can also consist of Motions to Modify Sentencing. In many cases, the sentencing involves "stay aways" from particular people, sex offender registry, or other limiting conditions on your freedom while you are on probation or parole. In some cases, the judge has the authority to modify those conditions. Filing a motion to modify gives you the opportunity to petition to the judge what conditions you think should be changed and why.
I've already been convicted. Is there really a point of challenging my conviction?
Criminal convictions can result in years of prison, lost wages and job opportunities, lost family connections and time, and a criminal record that will haunt you for the rest of your life.
Innocent people get convicted all the time. We like to think the best out of people but sometimes things just go wrong. Whether it is from lack of good counsel at trial, poor legal advice from bad attorneys, a wrong judgement from a judge, the state withholding exculpatory evidence, or from a prosecutor not doing his job well. We all like to think that justice always works out in the end. But sometimes it doesn't.
That's why you have to keep fighting. And you have to have an attorney that will fight for you beside you the entire time. Bray Law will fight for your rights and file any and all appeals and other post-conviction motions needed to get you the justice you deserve. Contact us for your Free Consultation.