If you were convicted as a defendant in a criminal case, or if you were either a plaintiff or defendant in a civil case, you have the right to appeal your verdict at trial in front of an appellate court in your jurisdiction. You will of course need to work with your appeals attorney to determine what your grounds for appeal are (e.g. improperly admitted evidence, juror misconduct, etc.), which can take some time and analysis as your attorney reviews the trial record and develops arguments, but the most important issue you need to address at the outset is filing your appeal in a timely manner.
If you do not file your appeal within a certain amount of time after your judgment at trial is handed down, you can lose your ability to appeal as a matter of right. How much time you have to appeal a court decision will be based on the rules of procedure applicable to your court’s jurisdiction, but here are a few examples from state and federal court.
California State Court
A party in either a civil or criminal case who wishes to appeal the outcome of the case has only 60 days from the date of judgment to file a notice of appeal. Note that the notice of appeal can be very brief, and your appeals attorney will have time after filing the notice to develop your arguments for a successful appeal. Thus, even if that date is approaching rapidly, it is worth reaching out to an appeals attorney to discuss your options.
Washington State Court
As with California, a party in a civil or criminal case in Washington state court must file a notice of appeal (which, again, can be brief) within 30 days of the judgment at trial.
Federal Court
Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, appellants may face even shorter windows in which they can appeal an outcome. Parties to civil suits have 30 days from the notice of judgment to file an appeal, or 14 days after another party files an appeal in the suit. But in criminal cases, a defendant has only 14 days from the notice of judgment to file a timely appeal.
Help With Civil and Criminal Appeals in California
If you believe you received an improper outcome in a civil or criminal trial, you may be able to successfully appeal. The Law Office of Corey Evan Parker is focused on the civil and criminal appeals process in Washington and California. Feel free to contact Mr. Parker today for a no obligation 30 minute consultation regarding your matter.