How the Criminal Appeal Process Works

Lori Kaspar Law, PC, is a law firm in Granbury, Texas. Headed Lori Kaspar, a former assistant district attorney with Hood County, Texas, the law firm specializes in criminal law. Lori Kaspar Law, PC, has handled many criminal appeals since its establishment in 2017.

After conviction, a person has thirty days to file a notice of appeal. (At this point the person is called the “appellant.”)

Appeal cases do not involve any new evidence. Rather, cases on appeal involve reviews of the case for legal errors at trial. Attorneys examine the court clerk’s record and the court reporter’s record. If an appellant is indigent, his or her attorney will request these records at no cost to the convicted person. If an appellant is not indigent, he or she will have to pay for the record and transcripts.

Once the records are filed, the appellant’s attorney reviews the records to look for errors. She has thirty days to file a brief stating which errors she believes should overturn an appellant’s conviction. The State has thirty days to respond to the appellant’s arguments.

The justices at the court of appeals will review the briefs and the records. They may also set oral arguments in the case. The justices will then decide the case and issue a written opinion.

If an appellant loses an appeal, he or she has thirty days to file a petition for discretionary review to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. If the court denies the review, then the appeal is final. If the court grants the review, the court will consider the case and make its own judgment.