appeals

May 25, 2022

SCOTUS Makes it More Difficult to Appeal on the Basis of Ineffective Counsel

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A recent Supreme Court decision will make it more difficult for those convicted of crimes to appeal the outcome of a trial on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. The measure was decided in favor of the states in a 6-3 decision. However, the dissenting justices did not mince words when describing the decision. Judge Sotomayor called the decision “perverse.” Judge Clarence Thomas who wrote the prevailing opinion said the federal government should have minimal right to “relitigate” cases years after juries rendered a decision.

Understanding the Legal Issues

The Sixth Amendment guarantees every citizen who is charged with a crime an attorney to represent them. It is assumed that this attorney is competent, can follow the case, and is providing their client with the best possible representation under the circumstances. If they fail to do this, then the defendant can appeal a conviction on the basis that their lawyer did not represent them to the best of their ability. In these cases, the court must render a decision on whether or not a similar attorney in the same position would have taken a better approach and whether or not that approach would have made a significant difference over the outcome.

April 19, 2019

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Could Overturn Murder Conviction

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Erick Maya has successfully appealed his conviction by arguing that he suffered from ineffective assistance of counsel. This is despite the fact that he was represented by one of the most highly-regarded criminal defense attorneys in Illinois, George Lenard. Maya was accused and convicted of murdering Romeoville 15-year-old Briana Valle in 2014 in a highly publicized criminal trial. The case brought to light several issues in the age of the internet including Facebook stalking.

According to the prosecution, Valle met the young woman on Facebook when she was 13 years old. The two carried on a romantic relationship of sorts until, at some point, the relationship went downhill. The prosecution accused Maya of threatening to rape Valle and kill her family and then shoot her to death. They say that Maya then hired a taxi driver to bring him to Valle’s home. He got cold feet and left but, later, he went back and carried out his threat. He was charged in the murder of Briana Valle and the attempted murder of her other family members, including her mother whom he shot in the neck.

Attorneys for Maya appealed the verdict, which saw the defendant sentenced to 122 years for the murder and attempted murder. The appeals court has not yet overturned the verdict in the trial nor have they ordered a new trial. They did, however, rule against the circuit court’s decision that Maya received a fair defense.

February 9, 2018

How to Appeal Court Errors in Chicago

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Our judicial system is no doubt one of the best, but the truth is that it is not always perfect. This is why the state has set up an appeal system at both state and federal court levels. Usually, mistakes during the criminal defense process are the cause of all the wrongful convictions in Chicago. Under the Illinois law, defendants are allowed to file direct or post-conviction appeals.

Direct appeals apply when a defendant requests an appeal at the end of the trial. The law allows the defendant 30 days to file a direct petition for a criminal case in Illinois. A defendant can also file a post-conviction appeal, which allows the petitioner to seek other legal solutions. These include requesting a new trial, a pardon, or correct sentencing errors. When requesting post-conviction relief, a petitioner is required to convince the court that there was a violation of his or her state or federal constitutional rights during the initial trial.

How to Appeal Court Errors in Chicago

November 3, 2017

Criminal Procedure in Chicago: Post-Conviction Void Ab Initio

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

After a conviction for any type of criminal offense in Chicago, the defendant is given the chance to post a criminal defense appeal. It is the right of the defendant. Often, excluding certain cases, this appeal takes place in an intermediate appellate court. Every defendant in Chicago who is condemned of a crime has the right to put in an appeal. The appellate court cannot deny hearing the case.

Let’s say the appeal is unsuccessful in the intermediary court. The defendant is convicted of the crime yet again. As such, the defendant’s further petition is not sanctioned. This was proved in one recent case. In it, the defendant filed an appeal to disqualify the trial judge from future post-conviction proceedings. But when the motion was filed, the defendant had no pending cases. The defendant’s petition was thus denied since the motion was void ab initio.

That being said, a defendant can put forward a request to appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois in hopes that the court will accord his or her request. Such requests are rarely granted. Often, the court accedes to appeals in cases in which interesting legal topics have been settled in different ways by several intermediary courts hearing the case.