Challenging Convictions That Shouldn’t Stand.
Strategic criminal appellate advocacy focused on correcting legal error, protecting constitutional rights, and challenging unlawful convictions and sentences.
Why Errors in Criminal Cases Matter
A criminal appeal isn’t about asking for sympathy or a second chance.
It’s about enforcing the law when the rules weren’t followed the first time.
In criminal cases, trial courts make thousands of discretionary decisions — from evidentiary rulings, to jury instructions, to sentencing determinations. When those decisions violate constitutional protections, misapply statutes, or undermine a fair trial, the conviction or sentence may not stand.
Some errors change the outcome outright. Others quietly distort the process in ways that only become clear on review.
Criminal appeals exist to correct those failures — and to ensure that convictions are based on lawful procedure, reliable evidence, and a fair application of the law.
Errors matter most when they affect:
Whether evidence should have been admitted or excluded
Whether the jury was properly instructed on the law
Whether constitutional rights were violated during investigation or trial
Whether a sentence exceeded legal limits or was improperly enhanced
Without appellate review, those errors remain permanent — even when they never should have occurred.
Why These Errors Can’t Be Ignored
Criminal convictions carry consequences that extend far beyond the courtroom.
Uncorrected legal error can mean:
Years of additional incarceration
Permanent felony records
Loss of civil rights and employment opportunities
Collateral consequences that follow long after a sentence ends
Appellate courts exist to stop those outcomes when they are the result of legal mistake — not lawful judgment.
But appeals are strictly limited to the record and governed by tight deadlines. If issues aren’t identified early — or preserved correctly — they can be lost forever.
That’s why criminal appeals require focused legal analysis, not general trial advocacy.
A Focused, Strategic Approach to Criminal Appeals
Criminal appeals are not volume exercises.
They are precision work.
Every appeal begins with a disciplined review of the trial record — not to re-litigate the case, but to identify specific, outcome-affecting legal error. Strong appeals are built on a narrow set of well-preserved issues, supported by the record and controlling authority.
Our approach is deliberate and methodical:
We evaluate whether the error is reviewable, preserved, and material — meaning it had a real impact on the verdict or sentence. From there, we develop a strategy focused on correction, not noise.
This process allows us to move efficiently, meet strict appellate deadlines, and present arguments that appellate courts are positioned to act on.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Step 1 — Record Review & Issue Identification
We analyze transcripts, rulings, jury instructions, motions, and sentencing to identify legal errors that can support reversal, remand, or resentencing.
Step 2 — Appellate Strategy & Briefing
We select the strongest issues, frame them under the correct standard of review, and present them clearly and persuasively — grounded in the record and applicable law.
Step 3 — Appellate Resolution
Depending on the case, this may result in reversal, a new trial, resentencing, or remand for correction of legal error.
Not every case is appealable — but when it is, clarity and timing matter.
What an Appeal Can Actually Change
An appeal isn’t about retrying your case or presenting new evidence.
It’s about correcting legal error that affected the outcome.
Appellate courts review whether the trial court:
applied the law correctly
relied on evidence that actually supports its findings
stayed within the discretion the law allows
When a trial court gets those things wrong, the result can be unjust — even if the process felt “final” at the time.
A successful appeal can:
reverse or modify an unjust ruling
send the case back for a new hearing under the correct legal standard
require proper findings to be made based on the actual record
correct financial, custody, or liberty consequences caused by legal error
Appeals don’t guarantee a specific result — but they do create a meaningful opportunity to fix decisions that never should have stood in the first place.
That’s why precision matters. And why appeals are often won or lost before the first brief is filed.
What Most People Get Wrong About Criminal Appeals
Many people assume an appeal is just a second chance to argue their case.
It isn’t.
Criminal appeals are about legal error, not guilt or innocence. Appellate courts don’t reweigh evidence or hear new testimony — they review the trial record to determine whether the law was applied correctly and whether the defendant received a fair process.
That distinction matters.
Some of the strongest appeals arise not from dramatic courtroom moments, but from quieter errors — improper jury instructions, unconstitutional evidence rulings, or sentencing decisions that exceed statutory authority.
Identifying those issues requires a different skill set than trial advocacy. It requires precision, restraint, and a deep understanding of appellate standards.
That’s where appeals are won or lost.
Family Law Appeals — Frequently Asked Questions
If You’re Considering an Appeal, Here’s What Matters Most
Criminal appeals are built on the record — and timing matters.
What happens next can determine whether appellate review is available at all.
Before taking action, you should understand:
whether your case involves reversible legal or constitutional error
which rulings or objections were preserved for appeal
how appellate deadlines apply to your conviction or sentence
whether an appeal can realistically change the outcome
A focused appellate review can tell you:
if an appeal is legally viable
which issues are strongest
and whether an appeal or post-conviction strategy makes the most sense
That clarity — early — is critical when liberty is at stake.
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You may be able to appeal a criminal conviction if legal error affected the outcome of your case.
Criminal appeals focus on whether the trial court:
applied the law correctly,
admitted or excluded evidence improperly,
violated constitutional rights, or
committed procedural errors that affected the verdict or sentence.
An appeal is not about retrying the case or arguing innocence again — it is about whether the conviction was obtained lawfully.
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Yes — and criminal appeal deadlines are strict and unforgiving.
In Indiana criminal cases, deadlines often begin running immediately after sentencing or entry of judgment. Missing a filing deadline can permanently bar appellate review, even where serious legal or constitutional error exists.
In some situations, post-conviction relief may still be available — but that is a different process with different standards.
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Not automatically.
Appellate courts do not hear witnesses or consider new evidence. Instead, they review the trial record to determine whether legal error occurred.
If an appeal is successful, the appellate court may:
reverse the conviction,
order a new trial,
vacate or reduce a sentence, or
remand the case with instructions to correct specific errors.
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Not in most cases.
A criminal conviction generally remains in effect during the appeal unless a bond or stay is granted — which is uncommon and highly case-specific.
That said, a successful appeal can ultimately result in release, a new trial, or a reduced sentence.
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Most criminal appeals take many months to over a year, depending on the complexity of the case and the appellate court’s schedule.
Appeals move deliberately. The process is driven by written briefing, record analysis, and legal precision — not speed.
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