If you have had a case tried in court and it did not turn out how you would have liked, it may be possible for you to file an appeal. It is crucial that you have criminal appeals barristers help you through this. The following information will help you navigate this process.
The first thing you should keep in mind is the fact that you do not want the same barrister that handled your original case to help you with the appeal. This may seem like a logical choice since they would not have to learn the case from the bottom up, but this is never a good idea. The reality is that you should look for fresh eyes to look at the materials. A new person may see something that the first person missed, which means that you may have a more favourable outcome.
Always look for criminal appeals barristers that have solid experience. Every legal eagle out there is not well-versed when it comes to appeals. It would be a huge mistake for you to trust your appeal in the hands of someone that is only familiar with trial court. Appeals are far more involved and you want to make sure that the person you trust to handle it is experienced enough to provide you with decent representation.
Be very selective when you are choosing appeals barristers. You should never settle for the first one you come across, even if they have a solid track record. You need to meet with several candidates and carefully assess them before coming to a conclusion and hiring someone. Making a choice too quickly means that you may not weigh all of the pros and cons of each candidate carefully, which means it is very possible you will make the wrong decision.
Once you have narrowed down a few candidates, you will have to find out how much they are expecting to represent you. Bear in mind that the appeals process is usually rather long and these cases can be very costly. You do not want to be frugal at this time since it means that you may end up with a barrister that is not prepared to give your case the care and attention it deserves.
In the event that you hire a barrister that does not seem to be doing a very good job, take action quickly. Speak to them and address any concerns you have when it comes to the way they are handling your case. If they are willing to make changes, great, but you should not hold on to someone that is not willing to go the extra mile in order to meet your needs.
Just because your criminal case ended in a conviction, that does not mean that you have to lie down and accept this outcome. The best thing to do would be to get in touch with an appeals barrister to see if there is anything they can do to help.