Criminal Appeals

Criminal Appeals in New York and Connecticut

What do you do if you are wrongly convicted by a Judge or jury after trial, or if you rethink your decision to take the Prosecutor's plea "Deal"?

Answer: You carefully research the factual and legal mistakes which were made at your first trial or in plea negotiations and you file an appeal.

Why Are Criminal Appeals Necessary? Criminal appeals are necessary because although "justice is blind" the criminal justice system is far from perfect.

Anyone who has ever seen the movies The Fugitive or The Hurricane knows that appeals are necessary because, unfortunately, sometimes innocent people are wrongly convicted of a crime they did not commit.

In addition, appeals are necessary even where a person originally plead guilty because perhaps they did so, not because they were in fact guilty, but solely due to the fear of a much harsher sentence if they did not do so.

Appeals can be based upon a myriad of factors including, without limitation, human error, improper instructions given by the Judge at trial, police and/or prosecutorial misconduct (including planting of evidence) and, sometimes, mistakes made by a Defendant's attorney at the first trial.

Experience

Mr. McMillan is a seasoned and highly successful former prosecutor and appellate lawyer with over 15 years experience and is experienced not only in defending the rights of those accused of crimes at trials but in carefully drafting criminal appeals.

Types of Criminal Cases

Mr. McMillan has appellate experience involving misdemeanors and felonies in the following types of cases:

• DWI;
• Fraud/White Collar Crime;
• Weapons Possession;
• Drug Offenses;
• Theft/Larceny;
• Assault; and
• Traffic Related Appeals