In a criminal case, if there's a decision against the defendant, usually conviction, most times he has the right to appeal, or ask, a higher court to review the case. However, it's not likely an appellate court will end up reversing the decision. It's a real challenge to convince a higher court that mistakes were made at trial.

Immediate Considerations

The sentencing judge typically orders a defendant to be held in jail after conviction. The defendant's lawyer might ask for bail pending filing an appeal. He must show that the defendant won't flee or be a threat to public safety. If there's a prison sentence, bail won't be granted unless the lawyer shows that there are issues that could result in reversal or a new trial. The lawyer can also ask for a stay, or suspension of other sentence terms, such as fines or restitution during the appeal process.

What Can You Ask the Court to Review?

All issues you correctly preserved before and during trial can be looked at or raised on appeal. Generally, a defense attorney objects to rulings to preserve issues so they can be appealed. Exceptions are made when a trial court error is a plain error, meaning the mistake was clearly unjust. Fairness demands those errors are appealable, even if the issue wasn't preserved. Examples of appealable issues include rulings on admitting evidence, jury instructions and verdicts.

Post-Trial Motions

Filing a post-trial motion in the trial court is another option before filing an appeal. Trial courts would much rather correct their own mistakes than have reversal on appeal. If you can show the trial court a mistake, it might fix it.

There are pros and cons to these motions. One pro is it's more likely the trial court will change its mind that an appellate court ruling in your favor. A con is if the trial court writes a good opinion against your position on a post-trial motion, it could be harder to win on that point if you appeal. On the other hand, the opinion on the motion could help on appeal if it shows error in the trial court's reasoning.

Conditional Pleas

Typically, when someone enters a guilty plea, he can't appeal. However, a defendant can enter a conditional plea of guilty or no contest and keep appeal rights for pre-trial motions. For example, if the trial court denies a motion to suppress evidence and this ruling essentially guarantees conviction, then you can enter a conditional plea and appeal the evidence ruling. You could then withdraw your plea if you won on appeal.

Questions for Your Attorney

  • Have you ever won an appeal?
  • If I want bail during the appeal, how do I show there's no flight risk or danger to the public? 
  • Can I appeal if the trial judge doesn't follow negotiated plea bargain terms?