VIRGINIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE CASES IN STATE & FEDERAL COURT

Do you feel that the judge or jury made an error? Do you feel there was something wrong with how the court handled the case or evidence?

The Law Offices of SRIS, P.C. has Virginia criminal appeal attorneys who are ready and available to help you seek and get post conviction relief.

The Virginia criminal appeal lawyers at the Law Offices of SRIS, P.C., are located in Fairfax, Lynchburg, Manassas, Richmond and Virginia Beach, but our sphere of activity is statewide.

For more information or to make an appointment with SRIS, P.C., please call, send an e-mail or complete the on-line form.

The lawyers of SRIS, P.C file writs and appeals in State and Federal Courts for criminal cases. The criminal appeal attorneys of SRIS, P.C. have offices in Fairfax, Lynchburg, Manassas, Virginia Beach & Richmond, Virginia. The Law Offices of SRIS, P.C. is a regional law firm that is known for helping clients wrongfully convicted. At the same time, the criminal appeal attorneys of SRIS, P.C. will be honest and tell you if we do not believe that you will succeed in a writ or an appeal. We routinely tell people who want to file a writ or an appeal that TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. Our criminal appeal lawyers tell our clients that if all the steps of a writ or an appeal are not handled in a timely manner, then the client may never be able to find justice. The state and federal courts place severe deadlines on people who wish to file an appeal. Also, there is a tremendous amount of information that has to be gathered to prepare a case for an appeal.

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

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

A Writ - What is a Writ?

An writ is an order from a higher court to a lower court or to a government official. Defendants may seek several types of writs from appellate judges directed at the trial court or at a lower appellate court. Most states have two levels of appellate courts—an intermediate appellate court and the state Supreme Court.

A writ is used only when the defendant has no other adequate remedy, such as an appeal. The following are some of the different types of writs that can be filed: writ of mandamus, writ of prohibition, writ of habeas corpus, writ of error, and writ of Certiorari.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

When a defendant is convicted, the defendant can take a number of different approaches to challenge guilty verdicts and/or to correct violations of constitutional rights, including motions, appeals and writs. However, time is of the essence when notifying a court that a defendant may take a writ or appeal.

When an appeal is to filed in State or Federal Courts, a defendant and/or their attorney must file a notice of appeal within a VERY short time period after the conviction. This is a document which informs the the trial court that the defendant is appealing the conviction. The clock starts ticking from the moment a judge enters a final ruling in a case. If a defendant does not file a notice of appeal or if the notice of appeal is filed late, they may not be able to file an appeal at all.

This same principle applies in writ cases as well. Immediately after you or a loved one thinks he or she has been wronged, and assuming that there are facts outside the record which need to be shown to the higher court, a writ must be filed.

An appeal is a request to a higher court (usually called an appellate or appeals court), to review and change the decision of a lower court. The person who is convicted may challenge the conviction itself or may appeal the trial court's sentencing decision without actually challenging the underlying conviction. Some of the common post conviction appeals include:

• An Appeal to a State Appellate Court, contends that lower court judge made some legal error.
  
  
• A State Supreme Court Appeal requests the highest state court to review and overturn the decision of the mid-level appeals court.
  
  
• An Appeal of Federal Habeas Corpus Petition to the Circuit Court requests a mid-level federal court to review the lower federal trial court's decision denying the writ.

Do you believe that justice was done? Do you think that you were mistakenly found guilty of a crime? Are you interested in finding out whether a criminal charge against yourself or a loved one can be reversed in Virginia? Contact a SRIS, P.C. Virginia criminal appeal lawyer to see what options you may have.

The Virginia criminal appeal attorneys and Law Offices of SRIS, P.C., are located in Fairfax, Lynchburg, Manassas, Richmond and Virginia Beach but our sphere of activity is statewide. The Virginia criminal appellate attorneys and staff of SRIS, P.C. speak the following languages: Tamil, Spanish, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi and Telugu.

For more information or to make an appointment with SRIS, P.C., please call, send an e-mail or complete the on-line form

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