Criminal Appeals Guide and Descriptions for Criminal Case

An Appeal in a process for requesting a formal change to a legal decision.  In the criminal case context, an appeal after a criminal trial generally asserts that a decision or act in the lower trial court was erroneous or wrong.  The appeal serves as an attempt to correct the error in the hope that the problem will be corrected, resulting in the proper outcome (generally a dismissed case or new trial that had ended in a guilty verdict).

Appeals are partly based on the legal right and concept of Due Process, meaning that each person stepping foot into the courtroom will be treated fairly throughout the process.

Common errors that are appealed in the criminal case include mistaken rulings on issues of law, witnesses testifying in an improper way or revealing improper infomration, the jury hearing evidence that should have been supressed, or not allowing an expert witness to testify concerning a specific area of expertise.

Only errors that are considered prejudical will give rise to an appealable claim. If there is an error in a trial, but that error would not have altered the hearing or outcome of the case, it is not a reversable error, meaning the act would not be appealable.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal cases in Texas.

 

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