Philadelphia Criminal Appellate Attorneys | State and Federal Resources | Goldstein Mehta LLC | Goldstein Mehta LLC (2023)

HOW TO WIN A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT IN PENNSYLVANIA

The Philadelphia appellate attorneys at Goldstein Mehta LLC have extensive experience representing clients after trial or guilty pleas in a variety of criminal matters. The experience and tireless work ethic of our appellate attorneys is why we are one of the premier criminal law firms in Philadelphia, handling requests for re-sentencing, acquittal and new post-conviction trials, as well as direct criminal appeals to the Pennsylvania supervisor. and supreme courts. We also process applications under the Sentences Relief Act based on newly discovered evidence, constitutional changes and ineffective counsel.

As the day progresses you may waive your right to appeal, so it is vital to your case that you do not procrastinate. To ensure you get the appeal you are entitled to, speak with one of our top appellate and PCRA attorneys today.

The appeal process: how to get a new trial?

post-judgment requests

The most common question from potential clients seeking a criminal appeal is, “How do I get a new test?Instead of an immediate appeal to the High Court, the battle begins for a new trial in the court that found the accused guilty. The first step in any appeal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is to ask the trial judge to reconsider the sentence or sentence. To do this, an application must be made within ten days of the verdict, asking the judge to determine that one of the following reasons applies:

1. Insufficient evidence to convict

2. The weight of the evidence was so contrary to the verdict that the judge or jury erred in sentencing, and/or

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3. The penalty imposed was unreasonable and excessive.

In addition, a motion to withdraw a guilty plea must be filed within 10 days of the sentencing date, otherwise it is nearly impossible to challenge the validity of the guilty plea at a later date or on appeal.

The deadline for the post-judgment application

If a post-judgment motion is not filed within ten days of the judgment, many of these questions will be waived on appeal. This is particularly true in the case of appeals against excessive sentences or burdens of proof, as requests must be made to uphold these points. Therefore, if you are considering an appeal, it is critical that you act quickly and contact experienced criminal attorneys promptly to protect those rights while you are challenging the conviction.

Once a post-judgment motion is filed, the trial judge may order a hearing, or the judge may grant or deny the motion without a hearing. The judge must rule on the application within 120 days, otherwise it will be automatically rejected by operation of law. And at that time, the appeal must be filed within thirty days or the right to appeal may be waived forever. If the post-judgment motion is filed following a violation of the parole hearing, the thirty-day appeal period will not be affected by the filing of the post-conviction motion. The appeal must be filed even if the parole judge has not ruled on the request, or you will miss the deadline to file the request for relief in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Our criminal appellate attorneys have successfully served post-judgment requests in both our own cases and cases where the defendant was represented in court by another attorney. As one of the top rated criminal law firms in Philadelphia, we have successfully filed motions for post-sentencing reduced sentences, direct appeals of acquittals based on insufficient evidence, and post-trial motions for new trials.

Direct appeal to the High Court or Supreme Court

Our Philadelphia appellate attorneys can also assist you with a direct appeal to the Superior Court. After post-sentence motions are ruled by the trial judge or denied by operation of law, a criminal defendant may appeal his or her conviction directly to the Superior Court. The defendant must appeal within 30 days of the verdict, or if post-judgment motions were filed, appeal within 30 days of the decision on post-verdict motions. However, it is important to note that while filing post-conviction motions may delay the post-conviction appeal period, post-conviction motions do not delay the post-conviction appeal period. Regardless of the situation, you should remember that the clock is about to start ticking and you should speak to an appellate attorney immediately to protect all of your rights and give yourself the best possible opportunity to challenge your wrongful conviction or judgment.

Once an appeal is filed, the trial judge directs the defendant to file a statement of alleged errors in the appeal under rule 1925(b). The error statement identifies the issues that the defendant wishes to raise before the trial judge on appeal. Any items omitted from the error statement, with few exceptions, cannot be asserted on appeal, so it is important that you have appellate attorneys with extensive knowledge and experience in identifying these errors. Once the error statement has been filed, the trial judge will write an opinion on these issues and explain why the conviction should be upheld. The High Court then draws up a timetable for briefings, in which the complainant (the party who lodged the complaint) first files a brief, to which the complainant (the party that prevails in the lower court) will reply.

Once the briefs are filed, the Supreme Court can schedule the case for hearing before a panel of three judges. After reasoning, the Superior Court decides the issues raised in the appeal by means of a written opinion, which may be published or unpublished. In making its decision, the Supreme Court reviews the files and briefs prepared by the Appellate Attorney and the Prosecutor and assesses whether the trial court made any errors of law that would justify overturning a conviction.

Timing is everything in the direct grievance process

The entire process can take anywhere from six months to several years, depending on how quickly applications are filed and whether the parties are seeking extensions. Our criminal appeals attorneys work to bring appeals to court in a timely manner, knowing the damage any delay can cause to a client who has been convicted of a crime and is incarcerated or suffering other consequences. For more serious crimes such askillingand sexual or aggravatedattack, your entire future is at stake, so do not hesitate to contact our office.

Mistakes that appellate solicitors can address in the High Court

There are several potential issues that could be addressed by our appellate attorneys. For example, if the trial judge misapplied the law by denying a motion to suppress a gun, the Supreme Court could suppress the gun and order a new trial without that evidence. A lack of physical evidence could force the Commonwealth to drop the charges and, depending on the error, the Supreme Court could decide to grant the accused a new trial or an acquittal.

If the initial three-judge panel of the High Court rejects the appeal, the accused may request that the full High Court reconsider the decision.on the bench -instead of having the reports reviewed by a three-judge panel, or the defendant may petition the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for review by filing a Petition for Grant of Appeal. The Supreme Court reviews only a limited number of cases each year, most of which concern new legal issues not yet dealt with by the Court. The Supreme Court can also consider a case closed because you no longer agree with an earlier decision.

In a direct appeal, the appellant and his appellate attorneys can challenge only errors of law. This means the defendant cannot present new evidence or argue what specific witnesses have said. Instead, a direct appeal is limited to the record made at the hearing. In this case, our appellate attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation of the trial records and evidence to locate any errors of law that may lead to a remedy. We will use our extensive knowledge of the rules of criminal procedure and our experience of dealing with appeals, along with evidence and constitutional law, to determine the best possible arguments to make in the Superior Court or the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A DIRECT COMPLAINT IS UNSUCCESSFUL?

Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”) Petitions

After exhausting all of your direct appeals, our Pennsylvania PCRA appellate attorneys are here to assist you with a Post Conviction Relief Act petition. In this case, a criminal defendant has one year after denial of direct appeal to file a Post-Sentence Act Petition and seek a new trial. There are several reasons for a PCRA petition, including the following:

PCRA petitions to restore appeal rights

One of the most common problems our appellate attorneys see in PCRA petitions is that the defendant may have requested an appeal or filing of motions after the verdict, but the trial attorney missed the filing deadlines, causing the defendant's rights to be waived. In many cases, if we act quickly enough, we can often file a lawsuitnow to the nextPCRA Petition to Restore Defendant's Appeal Rights. These motions are more likely to succeed if the defendant has evidence that he actually requested that the trial attorney file a motion or post-judgment appeal.

For example, if the trial attorney admits that he was asked to appeal, the defendant's motion is on record at the sentencing hearing, or the defendant has a copy of a letter that was sent to the trial attorney, then these PCRA petitions to restoration rights are often successful. Even if the defendant has no evidence to support the appeal, the defendant may testify at the hearing of evidence that he has appealed. If the judge believes the testimony, bias is presumed and the rights of appeal can be restored.

To ensure you understand how to avoid a waiver of your appeal and how to fight for your appeal rights, it is important that you call the best appellate attorneys in the Philadelphia area. Our team of experienced appeals attorneys know the right arguments to protect your rights and freedoms.

Strict time limits for PCRA and criminal appeals

Again, when considering post-judgment motions, a direct appeal, or a PCRA petition, it is important to consult with experienced appellate attorneys as soon as possible. PCRA petitions and direct appeals are extremely complicated and require competent representation by the best appellate attorneys. There are many excellent criminal defense attorneys who are not experts in appeals. Successful appeals and PCRAs require not only a thorough knowledge of the court process, the appellate process, constitutional law, and rules of evidence, but also a thorough review of the record for errors by the trial attorney and a re-examination of the case for possible errors. Witnesses and evidence that may have made a difference at trial.

It can be very difficult to reopen a case after a conviction, and it is very rare that you will be given more than one opportunity to do so. It is vital that you have a team of top criminal lawyers who understand how to litigate and win your case.

Common complaint problems

Sufficient Evidence

It is very common to challenge a conviction based on sufficient evidence. In this type of appeal, our criminal appellate attorneys in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court argue that the judge or jury erred in convicting the defendant because there was insufficient evidence to establish one or more of the elements prosecutors charged to prove beyond a doubt.

This defense can always be made on appeal, even if no post-judgment requests have been made. For example at onedrug caseIf the Commonwealth has not produced sufficient evidence that the accused actually intended to sell the drugs seized by the police, it is possible to challenge on appeal the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction of possession with intent to sell.

In any criminal proceeding, the Commonwealth has a duty to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, which means that in cases where there are other, non-criminal explanations for how something happened, or it is possible that someone else may have been responsible for the offence it may be possible to challenge the conviction on the basis of sufficient evidence. It is important to remember that we cannot reopen credibility issues on a direct appeal since it is the job of the trial judge or jury to decide who to believe. However, whether or not the Commonwealth has produced sufficient evidence is a point of law that is subject to appeal.

weight of evidence

In some cases it is possible to challenge the burden of proof on appeal. However, you should be aware that the weight of evidence cannot be challenged on appeal if no post-judgment requests have been made within ten days of the judgment. Again, it is extremely important to consult with appellate attorneys immediately after a guilty verdict so that your valuable rights are not forfeited.

In the post-conviction motion, the defense will ask the trial judge to vacate the verdict and grant a new trial because the verdict violated the weight of the evidence. The trial court must exercise its discretion in reviewing the entire record and determining whether, despite the existence of sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict, the court abused its discretion by concluding that the evidence was insufficient to contradict the verdict have decided and that a crime. there may be a miscarriage of justice.

If the trial judge denies the motion for a post-sentence retrial on the basis of the burden of proof, the defendant may appeal the trial court's decision to the Superior Court. The Superior Court will not weigh the burden of proof itself, but will consider whether the trial court properly exercised its discretion in deciding the application. This is a difficult standard to meet, but when the evidence shows overwhelmingly that the accused was not guilty, although technically sufficient to support a conviction, it is possible to initiate a new trial based on the weight of the evidence to obtain.

Legal issues and requests rejected for suppression

As long as they have been properly preserved for appellate review by filing pre-trial motions and appeals in court, it is possible to appeal based on many legal issues and the denial of pre-trial motions. For example, if the trial court were to reject an objection by the defense to the inadmissible production of the accused's criminal record at trial, this could provide the basis for an appeal to the High Court. If the trial court denies a pretrial motion for suppression or a motion for dismissal on an expedited basis that the court should have granted, that could also be the basis for an appeal.

One of the most important questions in the appeals process is whether the trial court gave the jury the proper instructions before deliberating. If the trial court gives the jury incorrect instructions or fails to give specific instructions that it should have given, an appeal may be possible on that basis so long as defense counsel enters a well-documented objection after the jury found the case.

Judgment Complaints

In some cases, the defendant may accept that the jury or judge found him guilty, but feel that the judge's sentence was too harsh, making it possible to appeal the judge's verdict. The first step in appealing a judgment is to file a request for a review of the judgment within ten days of the judgment, because if you don't do it within this period, it becomes almost impossible to challenge the appeal judgment.

The request for review of the judgment must claim that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive and unreasonable penalty. Once the post-judgment reconsideration request is made, the judge has 120 days to rule on the request, which can be extended by an additional 30 days upon request. If the judge does not rule on the motion within that time, it is automatically denied by operation of law and the defendant has thirty days from the denial of the motion to appeal to the Superior Court.

Philadelphia judges have wide discretion in choosing between different sentencing options, but Pennsylvania sentencing law does not provide unlimited discretion. There are still some rules that the righteous must follow when handing down a sentence that could be challenged on appeal.

For example, the judge must calculate penal measures and take them into account when imposing a sentence. In some cases, there may be disputes about which policies apply, which could lead to an appeal. Therefore, if the defendant was convicted of a firearms charge, the guidelines may vary depending on whether the gun was loaded or not. If the gun was never actually recovered, an appeal is possible if the court applies the guidelines for a loaded gun without sufficient evidence that the gun was actually loaded.

Even if the court issues a model judgment, there are potential appeal issues if the court:

1. It didn't fully address and address the sentencing factors.

2. He imposed a penalty that was not individualized.

3. He imposed a sentence that was unlikely to end in the defendant's lifetime.

4. He imposed an obviously unreasonable penalty.

In cases where the court deviates from sentencing guidelines, there are additional grounds for appeal. If the deviation from the guidelines was unreasonable and not on record or due solely to the nature of the burden, a judgment can be challenged with an appeal.

These are just a few of the many issues that could potentially be addressed in a direct appeal or petition under the Convictions Act. The most important thing to remember is that deadlines start running immediately, so it is important that a team of experienced appellate attorneys conduct a thorough desk review as soon as possible.

We can assist with criminal appeals and PCRA petitions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Our criminal appeals attorneys have litigated countless appeals, PCRA petitions and litigationfederal habeas corpus petitions. Even after a conviction, we will continue to fight for justice and reverse a wrongful conviction or excessive penalty. Just because you've been convicted doesn't mean you should give up. Maybe we can help.If you or a loved one needs an experienced Pennsylvania appeals court attorney or PCRA petition attorney, call us at267-225-2545today for a free 15-minute criminal defense strategy session.

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