Federal Appeals

Michigan Appellate Law Attorney

Federal Crimes and Federal Appeals

Defendants who have been convicted of a federal criminal crime are entitled to file a direct appeal under federal statute 18 U.S.C. §§ 3732, 3742. Examples of federal crimes include:

• Drug crimes;
• Embezzlement, white-collar crimes, mail fraud, wire fraud;
• Identity theft; and
• Crimes committed on federal property, such as a post office or government building.

The defendant may appeal either the conviction or the sentence imposed after either a guilty plea has been entered, or after a trial. A defendant's conviction is not final until it has been affirmed on direct appeal.

Defendants who file an appeal are known as the "appellate." An appeal is sent to a court of appeals in which the trial court proceedings are reviewed to make sure that all proceedings were carried out in accordance with the law.

Your lawyer may not introduce new evidence in an appeal and an appeal is not a request for a new trial— it is a request for a review of the proceedings that led to a conviction or served as the basis for sentencing.

The appellate court takes into consideration the merits for the appeal and compares that information to existing court records including:

• Records of the trial court proceedings; and
• Court reporter's transcripts which are the verbatim transcript of oral proceedings.

The appellant does not have to appear in court; most of a criminal appeal is handled in writing by the filing attorney, who may appear in court to argue the appeal, but this is not always the case. Many appeals are decided strictly on the basis of what your attorney files, and the subsequent review by the court of appeals.

Experienced Michigan Federal Appeals Attorneys

We handle appeals throughout the state of Michigan including Kalamazoo, Lansing, Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Saginaw.

Attorney Scott Grabel has experience working for the Michigan Court of Appeals and has more than 10 years of experience successfully handling appeals cases for people convicted of federal and state crimes throughout the state of Michigan. Criminal appeals are highly specialized and need a criminal defense firm that understands the intricacy of how to identify high quality issues on behalf of clients and argue for them in the most aggressive and persuasive fashion to convince appellate court to lower the court’s decision. Scott Grabel has also been asked to speak as an expert on Court TV’s Best Defense.

To arrange for a free consultation to discuss your rights and options to appeal, call us toll free at 1-800-342-7896 or email our law firm today. At our firm, your future is always worth fighting for, but there is a statute of limitations for filing an appeal, so the sooner you call, the sooner we can help you.

Federal Laws: Title 18, Part II, Chapter 235 - Appeal

• § 3731. Appeal by United States
• § 3732. Taking of appeal; notice; time (Rule)
• § 3733. Assignment of errors (Rule)
• § 3734. Bill of exceptions abolished (Rule)
• § 3735. Bail on appeal or certiorari (Rule)
• § 3736. Certiorari (Rule)
• § 3737. Record (Rule)
• § 3738. Docketing appeal and record (Rule)
• § 3739. Supervision (Rule)
• § 3740. Argument (Rule)
• § 3741. Harmless error and plain error (Rule)
• § 3742. Review of a sentence

Disclaimer

As laws are dynamic and subject to change, this website may not always reflect recent changes. We refer you to The United States Congress website, which may have more current or accurate information. To discuss your appeal, or how appellate laws may apply in your case, contact our law offices to schedule a free consultation.