Raising what the trial record can’t
A direct appeal looks only at the trial record. Some problems are not in it: advice a lawyer gave in private, evidence no one found in time, a plea entered on a mistake. Post-conviction motions and petitions are where those are heard.
The rules are strict and differ from court to court: what can be raised, how soon, and where. Many petitions fail on timing alone, so the first thing Adaline reads is the calendar.
She takes a small number of these at a time, because each one starts with the whole file. After a first reading she tells you whether there is a claim worth filing and what it would have to prove.
What a review looks for
Three claims that belong outside the appeal
- 01
A plea no one understood
A guilty plea is supposed to be knowing. If the advice about its consequences was wrong, the plea may be set aside and the case begun again.
- 02
Counsel who missed something
A witness never called, a motion never filed, a deadline passed. The claim has to show the mistake mattered, not only that it happened.
- 03
Evidence the jury never saw
Something found after trial that couldn’t have been found before. The standard is high, and the file has to show it was out of reach.
Before you ask for a review
How is this different from an appeal?
An appeal reads the trial record and asks whether the court made a legal mistake. A post-conviction filing can reach facts outside the record, but only certain kinds of claim, and only within a strict time.
Can I file more than one?
Courts usually allow one full round, and treat later ones with suspicion. That is a reason to raise everything the first time.
What do you need from me?
The judgment, the sentence, whatever you have from the trial and any earlier appeal, and the names of the lawyers who handled each stage. Missing pieces can usually be requested.
Do you promise a result?
No. Adaline will tell you what she sees, including when she sees nothing she can honestly file.
Send the file, or what you have of it
The sentence, the dates and the names of earlier lawyers are enough to begin. She will ask for the rest.