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Managing Expectations for Federal Criminal Appeals
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Managing Expectations for Federal Criminal Appeals
Appealing a federal criminal conviction or sentence can be a long and complicated process. Many people go into it with unrealistic expectations about what an appeal can accomplish or how long it will take.
The Limited Scope of Appeals
I think the most important thing to understand going into the appeals process is that appeals courts have a pretty limited scope in what they can review. They generally can’t reconsider the entire case and make their own judgment about guilt or innocence. Instead, they are looking at specific procedural or legal errors that may have affected the outcome.
Some common things appeals courts might review:
- Whether evidence was improperly admitted or excluded
- Whether jury instructions were erroneous
- Whether the sentence imposed was reasonable
- Whether the defendant’s constitutional rights were violated
If the appeals court finds a significant error that prejudiced the defendant, it might order a new trial or sentencing. But appeals courts give a lot of deference to the lower court’s judgment. Outright reversals are pretty rare, especially when a case went to trial instead of ending in a guilty plea.
So when you’re considering an appeal, don’t go into it expecting the appeals court to take a fresh look at the case and decide if you’re really innocent. That’s not their role. The focus is on fixing procedural or legal errors – not second guessing a jury’s judgment about the facts.
It’s a Slow Process
The next thing to understand is that appeals take time – often a lot of time. For a typical federal criminal case, it usually takes between one to three years from the notice of appeal being filed to the appeals court decision. And that doesn’t include the time it takes the Supreme Court to decide whether to hear the case if there’s a request for review.
There are several reasons why appeals drag out:
- Courts have large caseloads and limited resources.
- It takes time to prepare the record from the lower court.
- Defense attorneys request extensions to work on the complex appeals brief.
- The prosecution gets substantial time to respond.
- Judges need time to thoroughly review arguments on both sides.
Delays can be frustrating, but courts deliberately move slow to ensure careful consideration. Rushing through cases risks missing important issues.
While you’re waiting, don’t expect frequent updates from attorneys. They are busy working on the arguments for the brief. The next time you’ll likely hear from them is when they send you a draft of the brief to review.
So if you decide to appeal, prepare yourself and your family for a long road ahead. It will likely be years before you get a definitive answer. Consider focusing your energy on more constructive things during this time.
What Happens After the Appeal
If you lose on appeal, that doesn’t necessarily mean all legal options are exhausted. For federal criminal cases, there are two potential next steps:
Request an En Banc Hearing: This means asking all the judges on the appeals court to reconsider the decision, rather than just the three-judge panel. These requests are rarely granted, but may be worth trying if there was a strong dissent in the panel’s ruling.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari: This formal request asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. However, the Supreme Court rejects over 99% of cert petitions. They tend to only take cases that involve important Constitutional issues or conflicts between Circuit courts. Still, it’s an option if your legal team believes the case raises issues warranting the Supreme Court’s attention.
If you lose in the Supreme Court – or decide not to petition them – then your direct appeals are over. The only remaining option after that is trying collateral attacks, like petitions for habeas corpus or motions to vacate sentence. But the bar for winning those types of challenges is extremely high. At that point, the conviction and sentence are considered final in the eyes of the law.
Conclusion
Appealing a federal conviction or sentence can feel like your last hope. But the reality is that appeals offer only a narrow path to overturning the judgment, and the road is long and difficult. Going in, have realistic expectations about the limited role appeals courts play. Focus your energy not on obsessing over the case, but on making the most of your life in the years ahead while awaiting the court’s decision.
