Understanding the Federal Appeals Process for White Collar Crimes

Understanding the Federal Appeals Process for White Collar Crimes

So you or your loved one has been convicted of a white collar crime and you want to appeal. That’s understandable – nobody wants to just accept a guilty verdict and go to prison without at least trying to fight it. But the appeals process can be confusing and intimidating. This article will walk you through the basics so you understand your options.

What is a White Collar Crime?

White collar crimes are nonviolent crimes committed by businesses or individuals, usually for financial gain. Some examples include:

• Fraud
• Embezzlement
• Tax evasion
• Money laundering
• Insider trading
• Bribery

So if you or a loved one was convicted of something like wire fraud, securities fraud, or identity theft, that would be considered a white collar crime.

Why File an Appeal?

There’s a few reasons you might want to appeal a white collar conviction:

• You believe there were legal errors in your trial – maybe evidence was admitted that shouldn’t have been, or the jury instructions were wrong.
• You have new evidence that wasn’t presented at trial.
• You think your sentence is too harsh.
• You believe you had ineffective assistance from your attorney.

Appeals allow higher courts to review what happened at the trial court level and fix any mistakes. It’s a way to get a second opinion, essentially.

How Does the Appeals Process Work?

Here are the basic steps in a federal criminal appeal:

1. File a notice of appeal within 14 days of the judgment being entered. This is a simple document saying you intend to appeal.
2. Order the trial transcripts and court documents. The appeals court will need the record of what happened at trial.
3. File an appeals brief explaining your arguments within 40 days of the record being ready. The government gets 30 days to respond.
4. Request oral argument if you want to argue your case before the appeals judges.
5. The appeals court will issue a written decision some months later, either affirming or reversing your conviction.

One important thing to know is that you can only raise arguments on appeal that were first raised at trial. So if your attorney failed to object to something at trial, you may not be able to argue against it on appeal.

Where Do Criminal Appeals Go?

For federal criminal cases, you first appeal to the Circuit Court of Appeals covering the region where your trial took place. There are 12 regional Circuit Courts that handle appeals from the various District Courts.

If you lose at the Circuit Court, you can request an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court rejects most petitions, so this is difficult to obtain.

What Are Your Chances on Appeal?

The appeals court will give strong deference to the trial court and uphold convictions in most cases. Only around 15% of federal criminal appeals result in reversals or reduced sentences. So while it’s possible to win on appeal, the odds are against you.

Certain issues have better chances than others. Appeals based on insufficient evidence or procedural errors at trial have the best shot. Sentencing appeals also have decent odds if the sentence was way above guidelines.

But appeals arguing the verdict was against the weight of evidence usually fail. The appeals court won’t just second-guess the jury and redo the trial.

Should You Hire an Appellate Attorney?

Absolutely. The appeals process has complex rules and procedures. An experienced appellate lawyer knows how to identify the best issues to raise on appeal and frame arguments persuasively.

Your trial attorney may handle the appeal as well. But it’s often wise to hire a specialist used to navigating federal appeals courts. This gives you the best chance of success.

What Happens if You Win?

There’s a few different outcomes if you win on appeal:

• The appeals court could order a new trial if errors tainted the original trial.
• They might reverse select convictions and uphold others.
• They could vacate the convictions but still allow a retrial.
• They may reverse the convictions and bar any retrial.
• They could leave convictions intact but reduce the sentence.

The best victory is getting convictions thrown out completely. But any ruling giving you a second chance is still a win.

Can You Get Bail While Appealing?

Sometimes. If you appeal your conviction, the trial court can release you on bail while your appeal is pending. But you have to show your appeal raises substantial legal issues that could result in a reversal. They won’t give bail for weak appeals just to delay prison time.

Getting bail pending appeal requires having a lawyer argue this before the trial judge. The judge has broad discretion whether to grant bail or not.

How Long Does an Appeal Take?

The appeals process is notoriously slow. Just getting the trial record prepared can take months. After all briefs are filed, it may take the appeals court another 6 months or more to issue a decision.

And if you lose and want to appeal to the Supreme Court, that can easily add another year or more. So expect the whole appeal process to take at least 1-2 years before there’s a final resolution.

What Are Common Appeal Arguments?

Some of the most common arguments raised on federal criminal appeals include:

• Insufficient evidence – Claiming the prosecution didn’t present enough evidence at trial for a reasonable jury to convict. This argues the verdict goes against the weight of evidence.
• Unfair trial publicity – Arguing news coverage biased the jury pool and made it impossible to get a fair trial.
• Prosecutorial misconduct – When prosecutors behave improperly, like failing to disclose exculpatory evidence or making inflammatory arguments.
• Ineffective assistance of counsel – Arguing your defense attorney’s performance was so deficient it violated your right to counsel.
• Improper jury instructions – When the judge gave incorrect or confusing instructions that misled the jury.
• Fourth Amendment violations – When evidence was collected through illegal searches or seizures.
• Sentencing errors – Arguing the sentence was improperly calculated or based on mistaken facts.

These are just some examples. There are many other potential arguments, depending on the facts of your case.

What’s the Standard of Review?

The “standard of review” refers to how much deference the appeals court gives the trial court’s rulings. For most issues, the standard is “abuse of discretion” – meaning the trial judge has wide leeway and the appeals court only overturns rulings that are arbitrary or irrational.

But for constitutional issues like free speech or search and seizure, the standard is “de novo” – meaning no deference to the trial court. The appeals court reviews the issues completely fresh.

Knowing the standard of review helps evaluate your chances on different appeal arguments.

Can You Get a Sentence Reduction?

Yes, appealing your sentence is possible even if your conviction stands. Appeals courts can reduce sentences they feel are unreasonable or improperly calculated.

You can also file a motion in the trial court to get your sentence reduced after appeal. And the Bureau of Prisons can shave up to 15% off sentences for good behavior.

So there are options to get sentences decreased through the appeal process or while serving time.

What Are En Banc and Interlocutory Appeals?

Two less common types of appeals are:

• En banc – Appealing to the full appeals court rather than just a three-judge panel. This is granted rarely and usually only for very important legal issues.
• Interlocutory – Appealing a ruling before the trial ends. This is only permitted for a few types of orders, like suppressing evidence.

These are specialized appeals your lawyer would know about if they apply in your case.

Can You Appeal a Guilty Plea?

Yes, but it’s very limited. When you plead guilty, you waive most appeal rights. You can really only appeal if your plea wasn’t voluntary or the sentence exceeded what you agreed to in a plea bargain.

Appealing a guilty plea is difficult and rarely succeeds. It’s better to go to trial if you want full appeal rights.

What Happens if You Lose?

If you lose on appeal, that typically ends the road in federal court. Generally you can’t appeal again to a higher court. And you can’t keep re-filing the same appeal endlessly.

Once appeals are exhausted, your only remaining option is to file a habeas corpus petition claiming your imprisonment is unlawful. But the bar for succeeding on habeas is extremely high.

So losing on appeal often means you have to accept the results and move on. Though there may still be options like sentence reductions.

The appeals process is daunting but critical for those seeking justice. With commitment and smart legal help, many appellants achieve favorable results. Learn all you can about the system so you can make informed choices and advocate effectively.

Good luck with your case!