Appeals process in New York state courts & proving miscarriage of justice

[draegonhawke]

I've got a story set in present-day New York, in an alternate universe in which, instead of a massive prison system, the main mode of punishment in for most crimes in the US is to have your labor leased for a period of time to private, corporate, or governmental entities in what amounts to a modern-day, punitive slavery. (Significant because there

Comments

[bauble]

Disclaimer: Criminal law and in particular, appellate (appeals-related) criminal law isn't my area of expertise, so this is just based off of what I learned in school. Anyone with more experience is free to jump in and correct anything I say, but I figure some information/insight for you is more helpful than none

[draegonhawke]

Awesome! Thank you. This is much more information than I was able to find/sift out on my own.

[lawrence520]

In the federal system, at least, the public defender's office would file an appeal almost automatically if the client indicated at sentencing (or any point, really) that he or she wanted an appeal filed. Because the public defender had already been appointed, there wouldn't need to be any forms signed. And no, there isn't anything that would stop a third party from hiring an attorney on the defendant's behalf (happens all the time). It's somewhat trickier if a third party hires an attorney and the defendant DOESN'T want an appeal - then you have a conflict between the party who's paying and the party who's being represented. Ultimately, the wishes of the party being represented (the defendant) would win, unless (as your first commenter suggested) there's some sort of competency issue. But a third-party hired attorney should be able to file a notice of appearance and notice of appeal without ever meeting with, speaking with, or getting any sort of signature from the defendant initially

[draegonhawke]

Awesome! Thank you, this is incredibly useful information.