What does the appellate court determine?

The appellate court does not decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. Rather, the question before the court of appeals is whether there are one or more legal errors that affected the verdict. If these legal mistakes are important enough, then the case is sent back to the trial court, usually for a retrial. On fewer occasions, where the law prohibits further prosecution, a case will be reversed with directions to dismiss it. If the legal mistakes only concerned a sentence, then the defendant may be entitled to resentencing.

What issues can be raised in an appeal?

Examples of issues raised in criminal appeals are arguments that the evidence does not support the verdict, or that the evidence was improperly admitted or excluded. A judge's pretrial and trial rulings also can be raised on appeal. Other issues for appeal include problems with jury voir dire, such as when a prosecutor exercises peremptory challenges based on race, or when the district court improperly refuses to excuse a biased juror.

Can new evidence be presented to an appellate court?

Because the Court of Appeal does not consider evidence not presented to the district court, claims that require outside record support cannot be presented on direct appeal. Unfortunately, even if a defendant can establish that the district court committed legal error, he or she may not have his conviction reversed unless the error was prejudicial. If the error is harmless, i.e. one that does not affect the outcome of the case, the error will not result in reversal of the conviction or the sentence. Constitutional errors usually result in reversal unless the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless. Nonconstitutional errors only result in reversal if it is reasonably probable that the error affected the verdict. In short, "no harm, no foul."

How are appeals filed?

An appeal is started by the filing of a notice of appeal with the clerk of the court in which the case was tried within ten days after the district court enters the judgment of conviction, or within ten days after the government files a notice of appeal.
A notice of appeal may be filed immediately after sentencing, even if the judgment has not yet issued.

The ten-day time limit is mandatory and jurisdictional. However, within the thirty days after the ten-day period has expired, a defendant may move for leave to file a late notice of appeal based on excusable neglect. The denial of a motion for leave to file a late appeal is itself a final appealable order.

After filing the notice of appeal, the record must be prepared. The record on appeal consists of the reporter's transcripts (the word-for-word record of all proceedings before, during, and after trial), and the clerk's records (composed of written pleadings such as motions, court orders and jury instructions).

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