MASSACHUSETTS CRIMINAL APPELLATE ATTORNEYS

HANDLE CRIMINAL APPEALS IN MASSACHUSETTS

WE HANDLE BOTH WRITS & APPEALS

POST CONVICTION RELIEF

We handle criminal appeals for clients who did not get a fair trial. Clients may have had a lawyer who missed a possible defense or there has been newly discovered evidence that supports your innocence. Sometimes, even a judge or jury may have made a mistake. Either way, the only way you may possibly get justice is to file an appeal. Our appellate attorneys can explore these possible issues and help you determine whether you should file an appeal.

We will review your case and advise you as to what possible errors may have occurred. We will also give you an idea as to what the chances of success are in regards to your appeal. One thing is for certain, if you do not contemplate an appeal, you will never know for sure whether you got railroaded or not.

The Massachusetts attorneys and Law Offices of SRIS, P.C., are located in the City of Boston, Massachusetts. For more information or to make an appointment with SRIS, P.C., please call, send an e-mail or complete the on-line form .

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE:
101 Federal Street, Suite 1900
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Phone: 888-437-7747

To obtain a general overview of criminal appeal defense, please click here.

To learn more about the laws pertaining to criminal appeal defense in Virginia or Maryland, please click on the state.

CRIMINAL APPEAL LAWS IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

• Appeal to supreme judicial court
• Appellate division of superior court for review of sentences
• Right of appeal to appellate division; time limit; stay of execution of sentence; jurisdiction; review of judgment, etc.; disposition
• Appeals and hearings

§ 28. Appeal to supreme judicial court (top)

A defendant aggrieved by a judgment of the district court or of the superior court in any criminal proceeding may appeal there from to the supreme judicial court.

§ 28A Appellate division of superior court for review of sentences (top)

There shall be an appellate division of the superior court for the review of sentences to the state prison imposed by final judgments in criminal cases, except in any case in which a different sentence could not have been imposed, and for the review of sentences to the reformatory for women for terms of more than five years imposed by final judgments in such criminal cases. Said appellate division shall consist of three justices of the superior court to be designated from time to time by the chief justice of said court and shall sit in Boston or at a Massachusetts correctional institution or at such other place as may be designated by the chief justice and at such times as he shall determine. No justice shall sit or act on an appeal from a sentence imposed by him. Two justices shall constitute a quorum to decide all matters before the appellate division.
A designation by the chief justice of the members of the appellate division shall be recorded by the clerk of the appellate division who shall forthwith send copies thereof to the several clerks of the superior court.
The clerk of the superior court for criminal business in Suffolk county shall be the clerk of the appellate division of the superior court. The first assistant clerk of superior court for criminal business in Suffolk county shall be the first assistant clerk of the appellate division of the superior court; the second assistant clerk of the superior court for criminal business in Suffolk county shall be the second assistant clerk of the appellate division of the superior court.
The clerk or an assistant clerk of the appellate division of the superior court shall attend all sittings of the appellate division wherever such sittings are held and shall record the proceedings thereof. The clerk shall have the care and custody of all records, books and papers which pertain to said appellate division. The clerk and the assistant clerks of the appellate division shall have all the power and authority of a clerk of courts in any county of the commonwealth in any and all matters pertaining to the appellate division or to any criminal case in which an appeal for a review of a sentence imposed in any county has been filed.

Chapter 278: Section 28B. Right of appeal to appellate division; time limit; stay of execution of sentence; jurisdiction; review of judgment, etc.; disposition (top)

Section 28B A person aggrieved by a sentence which may be reviewed may appeal to the appellate division for a review of such sentence. Upon the imposition of a sentence which may be reviewed, the clerk of the court shall notify the person sentenced of his right to appeal. The appeal shall be filed with the clerk of the court for the county where the judgment was rendered within ten days after the imposition of said sentence. An appeal shall not stay the execution of a sentence. The clerk of the court shall notify the chief justice, the justice who imposed the sentence and the clerk of the appellate division of the filing of an appeal. The justice who imposed the sentence appealed from may transmit to the appellate division a statement of his reasons for imposing the sentence and shall make such a statement within seven days if requested to do so by the appellate division.
The appellate division shall have jurisdiction to consider an appeal with or without a hearing, review the judgment so far as it relates to the sentence imposed and also any other sentence imposed when the sentence appealed from was imposed, notwithstanding the partial execution of any such sentence, and shall have jurisdiction to amend the judgment by ordering substituted therefor a different appropriate sentence or sentences or any other disposition of the case which could have been made at the time of the imposition of the sentence or sentences under review, but no sentence shall be increased without giving the defendant an opportunity to be heard. If the appellate division decides that the original sentence or sentences should stand, it shall dismiss the appeal. Its decision shall be final. The clerk of the appellate division shall forthwith notify the appellant, the superintendent of the correctional institution in which the appellant is confined, the clerk of the court in which judgment was rendered, the justice who imposed the sentence appealed from and the chief justice of the final action of the appellate division on an appeal. The appellate division may require the production of any records, documents, exhibits or other things connected with the proceedings. The superior court shall by rule establish forms for appeals hereunder and may by rule make such other regulations of procedure relative thereto, consistent with law, as justice may require.

§ 28. Appeals and hearings (top)

Any person aggrieved by a ruling or decision of the registrar may, within ten days thereafter, appeal from such ruling or decision to the board of appeal on motor vehicle liability policies and bonds created by section eight A of chapter twenty-six, which board may, after a hearing, order such ruling or decision to be affirmed, modified or annulled; but no such appeal shall operate to stay any ruling or decision of the registrar. In the administration of the laws and regulations relative to motor vehicles, the registrar, or any person by him authorized, may summon witnesses in behalf of the commonwealth and may administer oaths and take testimony. The board or the registrar may also cause depositions to be taken, and may order the production of books, papers, agreements and documents. Any person who swears or affirms falsely in regard to any matter or thing respecting which an oath or affirmation is required by the board or the registrar or by this chapter shall be deemed guilty of perjury. The fees for the attendance and travel of witnesses shall be the same as for witnesses in civil actions before the courts, and shall be paid by the commonwealth upon the certificate of the registrar filed with the comptroller. The supreme judicial or superior court may, upon the application of the board or the registrar, enforce all lawful orders of the board or the registrar under this section.

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