Each and every criminal defendant has certain
constitutional rights, the most important being the right to have a jury of his
or her own peers decide whether they are guilty or innocent of the alleged
crime. Taking a case to trial is a risky proposition for those participating,
especially for the criminal defendant involved in the case. If a defendant is
convicted of a crime at trial, there are certain appellate rights they have.
The government may also appeal a case.
In order for an appellate court to hear an appeal
from a lower court the aggrieved party must demonstrate to the appellate court
that an error was made at the trial level. The error must have been
substantial. "Harmless errors," or those unlikely to make a
substantial impact on the result at trial, are not grounds for reversing the
judgment of a lower court. Any error, defect, irregularity, or variance which
does not affect substantial rights, are generally disregarded.
Assuming that there was no harmless error, there are
two basic grounds for appeal. The first being that the lower court may have
made a serious error of the established law (plain error) and the second being
that the weight of the evidence does not support the verdict reached by a judge
or jury.
Plain error is an error or defect that affects the
defendant's substantial rights, even though the parties did not bring this
error or defect to the judge's attention during trial. Of course, some plain
errors or defects affecting substantial rights may be noticed although they
were not brought to the attention of the court. In any event, plain error will
form a basis for an appeal of a criminal conviction.
It is much more difficult to prevail in an appeal
based on the alleged insufficient weight of evidence. Although appellate courts
review the transcripts of trials, they almost never hear actual testimony of
witnesses, view the presentation of evidence, or hear the parties' opening and
closing arguments. As a result, they are not in the best position to assess the
weight of the evidence in many cases. For this reason they place much
confidence in trial courts' decisions on issues of facts. In an appeal based on
an alleged insufficient weight of evidence to support a verdict, the error or
misjudgment of evidence must truly be egregious for a defendant to expect to
prevail on appeal.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a
criminal charge, immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Criminal
lawyer is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes mistakes.
Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties,
and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and
many times even get them dismissed. So it should go without saying that someone
cited for a misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s
personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State
should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer.
No comments:
Post a Comment