Appealing Your Criminal Conviction in Georgia
State and Federal Appeals • Writs of Habeas Corpus
If a judge or jury found you guilty of a crime at trial, it may not be the last word. Phillips & Roberts, Attorneys at Law will explore whether you have grounds for a criminal appeal to argue that the conviction should be reversed.
Trial lawyer Bobby Phillips has practiced in criminal defense in Chatham County and southeast Georgia since 1974, and is also an experienced appellate lawyer. He provides a FREE CASE EVALUATION to discuss your possible post-conviction remedies.
Trial Lawyer Mandy Roberts was a lead felony trial attorney for Georgia's Eastern Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office and is known as "Savannah's Top Female Criminal Defense Attorney". She provides a FREE CASE EVALUATION to discuss your possible post-conviction remedies.
| TIME IS CRITICAL. Notice of criminal appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of a state court conviction, or within 10 days of a federal conviction. Call our Savannah office at 1-877-851-5392. |
Criminal Appeals
An appeal is not a new trial or a chance to introduce new evidence or witnesses. It is an opportunity to argue that errors of law prevented you from getting a fair trial, such as faulty jury instructions, wrongly excluded witnesses, or tainted evidence that should not have been allowed. An appeals court will review the trial record to determine if those errors are serious enough to overturn the conviction.
In a drug case, for example, the prosecution referred to a "dime bag" of marijuana but never established if the quantity was more or less than an ounce (the criteria for felony charges versus a misdemeanor). The defense lawyer made all the right motions and objections at trial, but was overruled. Attorneys Phillips and Roberts appealed, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, and our client was not re-tried.
Another common basis for post-trial relief is ineffective assistance of counsel; for example, your defense attorney did not call witnesses on your behalf, declined to cross-examine prosecution witnesses or otherwise failed to properly mount a defense. In such cases, you may have been deprived of your Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel and you may be entitled to a new trial.
Habeas Corpus
A writ of habeas corpus is a last chance opportunity to reverse an injustice. The grounds are more wide open — newly discovered evidence, errors of law, constitutional violations, prosecutor misconduct, or issues not previously raised at trial or on appeal. Writs may be filed up to four years after a felony conviction. Habeas corpus petitions rarely succeed, but it greatly depends on the facts of the case, and may be worth a try when a long prison sentence is on the line.
Contact us today to discuss your post-conviction options. Bobby Phillips has a background in state and federal criminal defense and has argued before the Georgia Supreme Court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
