Criminal Appeals

Wrong decisions must be righted. Our lawyers are experienced in filing the necessary appeal to ensure that happens for your case. Be it a wrongfully denied pretrial motion or an illegal sentence imposed, our attorneys are experienced in not only trial level work, but the appellate process after your case has been resolved. If there are good grounds for an appeal, we are confident we can help! Every criminal case at one point or another will require the Judge to make a ruling on a contested issue. Though the Tampa Bay area is blessed with an excellent Judiciary, sometimes our Judges make the wrong decision when deciding an issue. Mistakes happen. Luckily for us we have the potential to obtain relief from an incorrect ruling by appealing to a higher court asking them to review and overturn the lower court’s ruling.

The appellate process is one very strict in conformity with procedural timelines and format. In order to file an appeal of a final order in Florida’s State court system, Florida Rules of Appellate procedure require that a notice of appeal be filed within 30 days of rendition of the final order to be appealed. With this notice, a filing fee must be paid to ensure your appeal is heard and not summarily denied due to procedure not being followed. From the time of filing the notice, the petitioner (person appealing the decision by the lower court) has 70 days to serve an initial brief upon the respondent (person responding to the petitioner). After filing the notice, as your appellate lawyer we will continue our in-depth research process so as to include all case law, statutes, administrative rules, and expert commentary to aid in our effort. We will draft your appellate brief and serve it upon the respondent. From the date of delivery of our brief, the respondent will have 20 days to draft and serve upon us their answer brief. Should we choose, we can serve a reply brief back upon the respondent to refute their assertions.

On the other side of the fence, the State Attorney’s Office can appeal any number of contested issues not resolved in their favor should they have proper grounds. The State’s rights in this arena are similar to a criminal defendant with the exception that they must file their notice of appeal within 15 days of the rendition of the order at issue. Because the burden is generally on the State Attorney’s office on most issues throughout a criminal case, it follows that they would have 15 days less time to get their notice to the clerk. From the date of filing the notice of appeal, the State has 70 days to serve the initial brief upon the Defendant/Respondent pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.210.

If you feel the Judge made an incorrect ruling in your case, it is extremely important that you contact an experienced appellate lawyer as soon as possible. Time is of the essence or you could risk waiving your right forever. At The Mayberry Law Firm our lawyers have the experience, expertise and drive to ensure the correct rulings are made in your case, even if that means doing so after the case has resolved. Don’t allow your rights to be trampled upon. Contact us at 813-444-7435 or online today!