New York Criminal Appeals Lawyer

Experienced in the appeal of criminal convictions

A criminal conviction is not the end of the road

If you have been convicted of a crime after trial, or even after a plea, do not give up hope of regaining your freedom or your reputation. A conviction is not the end of a criminal case, but just the beginning of the appellate process.

After a conviction, under the law you have the right to have your trial and conviction reviewed by judges who examine the conduct of the prosecutor, the judge, and even your own attorney at trial. In both the state and federal system, there is even another layer of review after that, and sometimes still another.

You also have the right, as a convicted defendant, to bring on motions for relief before the trial court, appellate court, or federal court having jurisdiction over the court in which the conviction was rendered.

In other words, don’t give up hope after conviction at trial! There are many avenues by which you can challenge the jury verdict. Sometimes even plea bargains can be challenged on appeal, even if you have waived your right to appeal as part of the plea.

Nonetheless, appeals are frequently uphill battles. You need an experienced appellate attorney such as Robert Reuland to assess the strength of your appeal.

What is an “appeal”?

Following an unsuccessful trial, every criminal defendant has the right of appeal, which is essentially a request to a higher court to examine the conviction below for any legal errors committed by any of the parties at trial which may have been more than merely harmless.

In the New York State criminal justice system, a defendant may also make certain post-trial motions to the trial court, such as a section 440 motion, but primarily his first appeal will be to the Appellate Division of the borough in which he was tried.

Thereafter, the case may be appealed to the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals. From there, the defendant may seek to take an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

Certain other post-verdict motions for relief, such as the section 440 motion, are also considered appeals. Other motions include the so-called Great Writ, or the habeas corpus petition, which is typically asserted in a federal court.

Generally, an appeal can either attack the verdict based upon evidence and conduct contained in the trial record, such as errors committed by the trial judge concerning the admission of evidence at trial. Or the appeal can attack the conviction on the basis of evidence outside the trial record. The latter might consist of newly discovered evidence of the defendant’s actual innocence of the crime alleged, such where DNA sample not introduced at trial exonerates the defendant.

We are well-versed in the art of the appeal

Robert Reuland has handled numerous appeals and post-trial motions for relief. He has appeared to argue numerous times before the Appellate Division and before the Court of Appeals, where he argued the important case of People v. Mendoza in 1995 as a Special Assistant District Attorney to the Manhattan DA.

Mr. Reuland is admitted to Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appellate court that encompasses New York City. He has also been a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court since 1994.