Pembroke Pines Federal Appeals Attorney
Decades of experience handling state & federal appellate cases
For people who are convicted by the federal criminal court system, the federal appeals process may be a second chance at justice. Because the federal appeals process depends on the presence of a technical error the court made that unfairly influenced the defendant’s case, federal appeals are more likely to be successful for the defendant if the defendant retains an experienced federal defense attorney. Our Florida federal defense attorney, David Joffe, has represented defendants in the federal criminal court system for more than three decades. Joffe Law has the experience, professionalism, and winning track record defendants need on their side when filing a federal appeal. Contact Joffe Law if you have been convicted in federal court on a criminal charge.
How federal courts are structured
If someone is charged with a federal offense, the case will be prosecuted in the federal court system. In many cases, federal prosecutors offer plea deals to avoid going to trial. However, if the case proceeds to trial, the trial will take place in a federal district court. Federal district courts are often referred to interchangeably as federal trial courts. Criminal defendants who are convicted at trial may file an appeal with a federal circuit court.
There are currently 13 federal circuits in the United States. Each circuit has one circuit courthouse that handles appellate cases that come from the corresponding federal trial courts. With the exception of one circuit that reviews cases that have national jurisdiction, the remaining 12 circuits consist of small groups of states that are in close geographical proximity to each other. Florida, along with Georgia and Alabama, is in the Eleventh Circuit. Defendants who want to file an appeal after conviction by a federal district court in Florida must file their federal appeal with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which is located in Atlanta, Georgia. The location of the circuit court generally does not pose challenges for defendants in terms of travel. Criminal court defendants do not make appearances before the court in appellate cases. In fact, in most appellate cases, the attorneys who represent each side also do not make an appearance before the court.
The party that loses its case at the circuit court level may file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to have the Supreme Court review its case. Although the state and federal court systems are mostly separate, the party that loses its case in the highest-ranking state level appellate court may also file a petition to have its case reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Federal trial courts vs. federal appellate courts
Most people learn about trial courts in school, from watching television and movies, by reading books, or from first-hand experience. Trial courts are tasked with fact-finding, the process through which a court determines exactly what happened in a case. Each side presents its version of events by making opening and closing statements, introducing physical evidence if available, examining their own witnesses, and cross-examining each other’s witnesses. Unless the defense requests a bench decision by a judge, a jury will listen to the presentations throughout the trial and deliberate at the end of the trial to decide on a collective verdict.
Instead of fact-finding, appellate courts are limited to reviewing the trial proceedings to determine whether a legal error occurred to the extent that the error negatively affected the defendant’s case. Because appellate courts do not engage in fact-finding, the two parties do not make opening and closing statements or re-introduce evidence that was presented at trial. However, if new evidence is available or if the trial court failed to admit evidence that supported the defendant’s case, the defense may request the appellate court to order a new trial to allow the new or wrongfully excluded evidence to be introduced.
Appellate courts accept the trial court’s substantive findings as fact. Transcripts of the trial court proceedings become the official record in the appellate case, and the court reviews the transcript along with reading appellate briefs from each side. Oral arguments are not standard in appellate cases. However, if appellate judges have questions about the case, they may request each attorney to appear before the court and schedule a date and time for the attorney to present his or her case in the form of an oral argument.
TRIAL COURT JUDGES VS. APPELLATE COURT JUDGES
When a case goes to trial, one judge is assigned to preside over the case. At the federal circuit court level, a panel of three judges presides over a case. The judges who make up an appellate court panel have generally received their appointments to the bench from the U.S. president who was in office at the time of their appointment. The appellate panel collectively reviews the case and votes to issue a collective decision in the case. When the court publishes its decision on the case, the decision will include a count to show how many judges voted for or against overturning the trial court’s ruling. Additionally, each judge on the appellate panel may publish a written opinion to detail the legal analysis the judge applied in arriving at his or her vote. Appellate opinions carry legal authority. Attorneys and judges may cite the published opinions of appellate court judges from previous cases in their appellate briefs, decisions, and opinions in future cases that cover the same or similar subject matter.
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Potential outcomes in federal appellate cases
Appellate courts do not directly decide whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. When an appellate case reviews a case, the court’s objective is to determine whether it will uphold or overturn the previous court’s decision. Federal circuit courts review decisions made by trial courts. The U.S. The Supreme Court reviews decisions made by federal circuit courts. At either appellate level, the court may decide to:
- affirm the trial court’s decision
- reverse the trial court’s decision
- remand the case back to the trial court with instructions on how to correct the error
Reversals are generally favorable for defendants. Some reversals result in the conviction being automatically overturned without the need for a new trial while others result in the defendant receiving a new trial. In either case, the effect is to announce that the trial court has made an error that invalidates the court’s previous decision.
The federal appeals process
Defendants must wait until after a federal trial court issues a guilty verdict before the defendant may file an appeal. If the defendant wishes to take the case to the appellate level, the first step is to file a Notice of Appeal. The defendant must file the Notice of Appeal within 14 days of the date of conviction. Failure to file the appeal within 14 days may have the effect of the defendant forfeiting his or her right to file a federal appeal. If the 14-day window has passed in your case, ask a Florida federal defense attorney about other options for post-conviction relief. There are other legal strategies that may be of benefit to your case.
When the federal circuit court receives the Notice of Appeal, the court schedules a date by which each side must file an appellate brief with the appellate court. Apart from the Notice of Appeal, the appellate brief is arguably one of the most important documents in a federal appeals case. Most appellate cases are decided solely on the appellate briefs and the transcript from the previous court. Therefore, defendants who want to appeal a federal conviction in Pembroke Pines should retain a Florida federal appeals lawyer who has a strong ability to write persuasively. Your Pembroke Pines federal appeals attorney should also be well-versed in the related federal statutes and case law.
The defense is responsible for providing the appellate court with transcripts from the trial proceedings. However, both sides determine which portions of the transcripts will become part of the official record in the appellate case. In most cases, the appellate court will review the transcript and each side’s appellate brief without scheduling oral arguments. In a small percentage of cases, the appellate court will schedule oral arguments if the judges on the panel have questions about the case. Although federal appellate courts generally never overturn a decision without first scheduling oral arguments, a request for oral arguments does not guarantee the court will issue a reversal. During oral arguments, each attorney receives a designated allotment of time to present his or her case in front of the judges. As the attorney presents his or her case, the judges interject to ask questions Q&A-style. Oral arguments at the federal appellate level can be intimidating to experienced attorneys. Our Pembroke Pines FL federal appeals attorney’s seasoned approach to every step in the federal appeals process is a strong advantage to our clients.
After attorneys in a federal appeals case submit their appellate briefs and, if necessary, deliver their oral arguments, the court may take several more weeks or even months to publish its decision. Contact a Pembroke Pines FL federal appeals lawyer to learn more about the federal appeals process.
Grounds for filing a federal appeal
Appellate briefs that win on appeal are generally based on the argument that the previous court made a material legal error that affected the defendant’s case. Your Pembroke Pines federal appeals lawyer will identify the strongest arguments in your case and use those arguments to write an appellate brief. Some common issues that are the basis of successful appellate briefs for convicted defendants include:
- problems with the criminal investigation
- problems with the prosecution’s evidence
- problems with the jury
INVESTIGATIVE ISSUES IN FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASES
When investigating a suspected crime, law enforcement agencies must follow certain rules. People generally imagine that investigators do things by the book, but even federal agents make missteps. Failure to follow the rules may result in any criminal case that arises out of the investigation being compromised. Common investigative issues in federal criminal cases include:
- failure to obtain a search warrant or permission from an authorized person before entering a property to conduct a search
- use of illegal interrogation tactics
- failure to advise someone of the Miranda warnings when taking the into police custody
PROBLEMS WITH EVIDENCE IN FEDERAL CRIMINAL TRIALS
There are also rules that govern the types of evidence criminal trial courts may admit into the record. Attorneys introduce physical evidence, which includes tangible items like fingerprints and hair samples to, and witness testimony. Witness testimony can be written, or it may be provided by calling a witness to take the witness stand in court. Evidence that is inadmissible cannot be entered into the court record or considered by the jury in arriving at a case verdict. Reasons evidence may be inadmissible include:
- contamination of physical evidence
- mishandling of physical evidence
- witness statement is speculative and is not a statement of a known fact
- witness statement is hearsay and does not come from a direct source
FEDERAL JURY ERRORS
The jury is one of the most impactful components in a trial. Because most jurors do not have a formal background in the legal profession, judges give instructions to the jury to help the jurors understand and apply the applicable laws. Any error that affects the jury can have a negative effect on the case outcome. Common jury errors include:
- incorrect jury instructions
- confusing jury instructions
- biased jury
- jury tampering
Legal errors can be obscure to the untrained eye. If you have recently been convicted for a federal crime in Pembroke Pines, our Florida federal appeals attorney is available to review your case to determine if a legal error may have occurred.
Pembroke Pines lawyer for federal appeals
Joffe Law is South Florida’s trusted federal appeals defense law firm. Contact our professional team to learn more about our track record in federal appeals or to inquire about post-conviction relief. A member of our team will review your case and determine the next steps.