Indiana Criminal Appellate Attorneys

In Indiana, anyone convicted of a crime has the right to appeal their conviction to the Indiana Court of Appeals and to eventually seek review by the Indiana Supreme Court. The appellate courts can review legal mistakes that may have occurred at trial. The courts can also consider whether the evidence offered at trial is sufficient to support a criminal conviction. And, according to court rules and the Indiana Constitution, the appellate courts can also look at whether a criminal sentence is appropriate or too strict.

An Indiana criminal appellate attorney can help you determine whether an appeal of your conviction or sentence might be successful. However, timing is of the essence. In most cases, you must begin your appeal within 30 days of being sentenced by the trial court. If you have missed this 30-day deadline, Indiana law does contain another procedure that may still permit a criminal defendant to file a belated appeal of his or her conviction.

After the appeal process has begun, a lawyer will start to obtain transcripts and evidence from trial and pre-trial hearings. Your lawyer will then discuss the case with you and potential appellate issues before filing a brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals. After your brief is filed, the state of Indiana (representing the prosecutor) has approximately 30 days to file a brief in the response. Finally, your attorney has 15 days to file a reply brief that addresses the state’s arguments.

The Court of Appeals will then consider all of the briefs, the trial transcripts, and other documents in the court record. In some cases, the Court of Appeals will direct the parties to appear for oral argument in front of a panel of three appellate judges. After considering all of the arguments, the Court of Appeals will issue a written opinion explaining its decision in the case. The Court of Appeals can affirm or reverse all or part of a criminal conviction or sentence. If you disagree with the decision of the Court of Appeals, you have the option to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to review the case as well. The state of Indiana also has the option to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to review a decision of the Court of Appeals. In most cases, the Indiana Supreme Court has discretion to decide whether to accept a criminal case for review.

At Harper and Harper, LLC, our attorneys have experience handling criminal appeals in the Indiana Court of Appeals and Indiana Supreme Court. They recognize the importance of carefully reviewing all of the evidence in each case and consulting closely with clients and their trial attorney to identify issues to raise on appeal. If you believe that you may have grounds for appeal a conviction or wish to discuss a criminal appeal, contact our office at 219-733-8837 or reach out online to discuss your case.