Filing a notice of appeal for a federal conviction

A person wishing to appeal from a conviction in a federal court must file multiple copies of a notice of appeal with the district court clerk within 14 days of the entry of judgment. Oftentimes judgment is entered on the date of sentence and in that event the defendant would have only 14 days from the date of sentence within which to file the notice of appeal. Federal rule of appellate procedure (FRAP) 3(c) states what must be included in the notice of appeal and FRAP 3(a)(1) and FRAP 3(d) state the number of copies of the notice of appeal that must be provided to the clerk.

The notice of appeal must actually be received by the clerk within the 14 day deadline. Simply putting the notice of appeal in the mail within the 14 day deadline is insufficient. The attorney must actually go to the clerk’s office and personally file the notice of appeal and come away with a stamped copy indicating that it has been filed. Some district courts actually have blank notices of appeal on a preprinted form which the lawyer can simply fill out. In that case, the lawyer simply procures one of those forms, fills in the necessary information and hands it to the clerk. However, certain district courts may require the lawyer to file the notice of appeal electronically. If that is the rule promulgated in a given district court then it must be complied with.

As with state cases, it is very important that the client tell his lawyer that he wants to appeal the case and specifically instruct the lawyer that he wants him to file a notice of appeal. If the conviction was after trial, most lawyers have the common sense to know that they should file a notice of appeal. But some attorneys neglect their obligation. Other attorneys may intend to file a notice of appeal after trial but may be unaware of the very short time period within which such a notice must be filed. If the defendant is convicted as a result of a guilty plea, most lawyers do not bother filing a notice of appeal. In these circumstances it is especially important to tell your attorney that you want him to file a notice of appeal if you wish to preserve your right to appeal your conviction.

If the defendant is incarcerated and files the notice of appeal on his own by mail then the notice will be deemed filed on the date that it was placed in the mail so long as the defendant complies with FRAP 4(c). However, even if the defendant chooses to file the notice of appeal on his own, he should not relieve the attorney who represented him at sentencing from that obligation. The defendant who chooses to file a notice of appeal on his own should still instruct his sentencing attorney to proceed with filing the notice of appeal. There is no harm done if two notices of appeal are filed.

Often times when defendants take a guilty plea they are required to waive their right to appeal. However, agreeing to such a waiver does not in any way preclude you from still proceeding with an appeal. The possibility exists that the waiver could be defective. Furthermore, there are some rights which by law cannot be waived. If either of these two circumstances exist with respect to your plea then your appeal will be allowed to proceed despite the waiver but only if you have first filed a proper notice of appeal within the time limit allowed.

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One of the first steps that must be taken to preserve a defendant’s right to a direct appeal is to file a notice of appeal. In this article, federal criminal appeals lawyer Tom Theophilos describes the process and procedure for filing a federal notice of appeal after conviction in a New York federal district court.

Appealing a federal criminal conviction is a complicated process that should only be undertaken with the assistance of a federal criminal appeals lawyer. Tom Theophilos has the necessary experience and knowledge in federal criminal appeals to help you as he has helped many others in similar circumstances.

Call 716-447-7899 or 716-447-7901 to speak with Tom Theophilos about your Federal Criminal Appeal.