"If no appeal were possible. this would not be a desirable country to live in..."
- Charles Bowen, 1893
If you're found guilty after a trial, you're entitled to an appeals process. This process varies depending upon the crime, but there are always time deadlines by which you must file an appeal. In Florida, you generally have 30 days following sentencing to file an appeal, so you cannot wait to call a Tampa criminal attorney who can assist you with the appeal.
If you pled guilty, you may not be able to appeal your conviction, unless you try to withdraw your guilty plea under a special set of rules. But you can appeal your sentence, if the sentence is illegal or if it was higher than you and the prosecutor agreed to in a plea bargain, and the court agreed to the terms of the bargain before sentencing you. For a sentence to be illegal (which is rare), it has to be higher than that allowed by law. You may also be able to request a reconsideration of your sentence on general mercy grounds.
It’s also possible to have your conviction and/or sentence set aside on the grounds that the conviction or sentence violated one or more of your constitutional rights, or that new evidence has been discovered since your trial. For newly discovered evidence, you'll likely have to show that you couldn't have reasonably found out about it before trial, and that if it was presented at a new trial, it would likely result in a different verdict.
Your best bet is to immediately contact a criminal defense lawyer in your state, such as Florida appeals attorney Joe Bodiford, who can review the facts of your case and advise you of all your available options. This should be done right away, as there are probably time limits on some of your options.
You cannot afford to wait; call our law firm to set up a meeting with a Tampa criminal lawyer now at (813)222-0032.
