If someone believes that an appeal could help their case, there are several factors they should consider before they go through the process of filing. They should consult with a local attorney who understands the Virginia fraud appeal process. An attorney can help them determine whether an appeal will be beneficial in the long-term.
If you want to file an appeal for your fraud case, it is essential that you attain a legal representative who can determine the best course of action. If you are facing a conviction for fraud charges and believe there was a mistake, it is imperative that you reach out to an experienced fraud lawyer who can assist you in building a defense strategy. They can determine if you have grounds to file for Virginia fraud appeals.
If a person is found guilty in general district court, a person does have an appeal as a right, if they wanted to pursue that to circuit court. That gives them a clean slate and a new chance to get heard and to have another trial, meaning nothing that happened in general district is going to carry over to circuit court. If the case involves felony level types of charges, a person has a preliminary hearing in general district court and then a trial in circuit court, according to Virginia law. A preliminary hearing is called a probable cause hearing and it is a chance for the general district court to determine if there was probable cause for the case.
If there is a trial then it goes up to circuit court. If the trial takes place in a circuit court, that is a court of record and after their determination, there is a lengthy procedure if a person decides to appeal their circuit court conviction. They have to pay a fee and has to request that the appeal in writing and obtain a copy of the record, so it becomes a little bit more tedious. An appeal from the general district court would probably be the most likely appeal to be granted versus other types of court levels.
It happens more frequently that one might imagine, because, quite easily, people could be charged by a mistake. For that reason, an accused person should not really go on and represent themselves but should try to find a very good attorney who is experienced and can represent the person in those situations. An attorney can help someone who is innocent navigate Virginia fraud appeals.
There could be a likelihood that a person would be more harshly penalized as compared to the time before. So, if there’s a situation in which it’s likely a person would face a higher or harsher penalty they should go ahead and just try to live with the existing penalty versus trying to appeal it. If there is a good likelihood that a person would get a better sentence, then they should definitely be filing for an appeal.
Appeals cases or due process entails a slightly different set of skills from a trial level. For that reason, a client should find somebody who is experienced with fraud appeal cases because of the difference in the procedures that are entailed. Appeals courts are generally a lot more formal, a lot more procedure-based as compared to the trial level court, which is general district court. Also, appeals must pinpoint a specific error that took place in the original trial, and Virginia fraud appeals lawyers are sharp and have experience in pinpointing those issues. So, an individual should find a lawyer who is very sensitive to spotting those issues and being able to articulate the error that took place, backed up by case law.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
