Criminal convictions mean more than the loss of good character and/or immediate custodial sentence. Presently, the courts have more powers to impose ancillary orders such as disqualifying the offenders from driving, working with children, owning a pet, imposing a restraining order, signing the sex offenders register, and even imposing a football banning order. Besides the powers of the court, many of the criminal convictions usually carry several forms of social stigma with them, including instigate bouts of vigilantism and irreparable damage to families.
Criminal Appeals solicitors can help, and as a matter of good practice, good ones should offer opinions on whether their clients should appeal against a sentence and/or conviction. In addition, should they be taking over a case that they did not act upon in the first instance, they can look through your case and give you advice on the merits (or lack thereof) of appealing against conviction and/or sentence. However, this work is usually time consuming and tedious, as it involves a thorough checking and analysis of your case.
Some of the aspects that could potentially overturn a conviction include: wrong decision on the legal argument by the court, the coming to light of new evidence that was not available during the first instance of your trial, or the judge erred when summing up the case, or imposed a conviction that was either wrong in law or was manifestly excessive. The process of overturning a conviction could be long, expensive, and difficult. However, it is important that you feel your lawyer is always on your side, and that they can articulate all grounds for appeals succinctly while still keeping the relevant law in mind.
At times, the conviction or sentence of immediate custody can be so short, calling for urgent attention and sometimes, the ancillary orders made by the court can be overly onerous and arbitrarily imposed. Criminal appeals solicitors are experts in reopening such cases, and have the skills to re-examine the evidence vigorously, regardless of how complicated and extensive this process is. In this case, you can trust them to be committed to your cause and that they will do whatever it takes to make sure that you have the best chance at getting justice.
Appealing against a sentence or conviction can be as trying as the initial proceeding, especially for clients. Appeal solicitors fully understand this, and will therefore make sure that the necessary information is available in adequacy whenever needed. Due to their experience in the field, they are able to keep the joint expectations as realistic as possible on both sides. The first step involves requesting permission from the court of appeal. This may require fresh evidence, which the lawyers are often willing to spend a significant amount of time to find.
Since the time allowed through which an appeal can be made against a sentence or conviction is normally limited, ask your appeals solicitors to give you the full and relevant information in time. This will help you decide whether you will be willing to go through the appeal process or not.