I Object!

Finding yourself in a legal process is not typically the type of event that gives you the “warm and fuzzies.” And not all legal proceedings will “go your way.” The old adage is true here, “you win some, you lose some.” While the idea of guilt and innocence is of utmost importance in legal situations, sometimes the wrong people are convicted and other times, the guilty party walks away free.

What is an appeal? 

“Sometimes, one side of a case, called a party in legal terms, thinks the trial court made the wrong decision. When that happens the party can ask the appellate court to hear the case. This process, called an appeal, takes place after a case is decided by a trial court. The party who lost at trial and is bringing the appeal is called the appellant. The party who won at trial and is responding to the appeal is called the appellee. The appellate court has the power to reverse (overrule) the decision of the trial court. It does this by reviewing the written record from the trial court, called the transcript, along with the written arguments presented by each side.”[1]

It is not unheard of to see mistakes inside the courtroom or by investigators. Because of this risk, taking another look at the proceedings can be very beneficial.

What do I need to appeal?

While there are a lot of steps involved with any legal proceeding, some are straightforward and some are not. “Filing a notice to appeal” begins the entire appeals process. From the moment a judgement is entered and marked “filed” you can file a notice of appeal. There are many factors that set the timeline of your appeal process namely what court your judgement was filed. In addition there are a few key factors that can actually extend the timeline in which you could file an appeal: a motion for a new trial, a motion to vacate (cancel) or set aside the judgement, a motion for judgement notwithstanding the verdict or finally, a motion to reconsider an appealable order. [2] 

What now?

“In most civil appeals, no later than 10 days after you file your Notice of Appeal, you must let the superior court know what documents and oral proceedings you want them to include in the record that will be sent to the appellate court. This is called "designating the record." In most civil appeals, the appellant must pay for both the record that is sent to the appellate court and for his or her copy of the record, and the respondent must pay for his or her copy of the record. You may have to deposit the estimated amount of these fees upfront. If you do this, you will get a refund for any unused portion of your deposit.

For certain types of juvenile appeals (dependency and delinquency), what is included in the record is set by the rules of court, so you do not have to designate the record. In these cases, the record is also provided to you for free, so you do not have to worry about paying for the record.”[3]

As always, if you are in a legal dispute it is always of utmost importance to find good legal representation that you can trust.

[1] What is an Appeal? https://www.in.gov/judiciary/2676.htm

[2] Filing the Notice of Appeal https://www.courts.ca.gov/12428.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

[3] How to file a notice of appeal https://www.courts.ca.gov/12428.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en