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Criminal Appeals Procedure Stages
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An appeal can be viewed as having four main stages: (1) preparation of the appellate record; (2) brief writing; (3) oral argument; and (4) appellate decision.
Preparation of the Record
After an appeal is initiated, the first few months are spent preparing what is called the "record on appeal." The "record" is composed of transcripts of what happened in court, and copies of the legal papers which were filed in the trial court. In state court appeals in Washington State, the transcripts are called the verbatim report of proceedings, and they consist of transcripts of literally every word which was spoken while court was in session. The appellate attorneys have to decide which transcripts to order, however.
The party who is appealing, called the "appellant," makes the initial decision as to what transcripts to order. It is not necessary to order a transcript of every single court hearing. For example, unless the appellant plans on raising some issue regarding some action which was taken at the arraignment hearing, there is no reason to order a transcript of it. Similarly, usually one does not need to order a transcript of the jury selection process which occurs at the outset of the trial. On the other hand, generally one does have to order a complete transcript of every single day of the trial. After the appellant orders those transcripts which he believes are necessary for appellate court review, the prosecution has an opportunity to order additional transcripts if it believes they are necessary.
The appellant also decides which legal papers on file with the trial court need to be copied and sent to the appellate court. These papers are called the "clerk's papers," and the appellant designates which ones are to be copied. The prosecution then has an opportunity to designate additional papers to be sent to the appellate court.
After the transcripts have been ordered and the clerk's papers have been designated, there generally is a waiting period while the court reporters prepare the ordered transcripts, and the trial court clerks copy the designated legal papers. When the transcripts are completed and filed, the appellant's attorney goes to work reading them, and the second major phase of the appeal process begins.
Writing the Appellate Briefs
The appellant's attorney writes and files an opening brief with the Court of Appeals. That brief must contain what are called assignments of error." This is simply an itemization of those errors which the appellant believes were committed in the trial court. The brief also contains a statement of the issues which the appellant is raising, a statement of the facts of the case, and legal argument.
Once the appellant's opening brief is filed, the prosecution has a two month period in which to write and file an answering brief. When the prosecution's brief is filed, the appellant has the option of filing a reply brief which responds to the prosecutor's arguments.
The brief writing process requires the appellate attorneys to summarize and synthesize a case which may have taken three or four weeks to try, into a written brief that may not exceed 50 pages in length (although special permission may be obtained to file an over length brief if the circumstances warrant it).
The Oral Argument
After the appellate judges read the briefs, an oral argument is scheduled. The appellate attorneys appear before a panel of three appellate judges. Usually the attorneys have only ten minutes per side in which to make their arguments. The arguments are open to the public. Usually there will be somewhere between three and five oral arguments scheduled for the same day, and the arguments will take place one right after the other. The appellate judges generally will ask questions of the appellate attorneys, but not all judges will do this, and frequently one of the three judges will take a leading role in questioning the attorneys.
The Decision
There Court of Appeals does not rule immediately, but will instead take the case under advisement and will issue a written decision later. There is no specific time period in which the decision must be rendered. On average most cases are decided within four or five months of the oral argument, but some are decided more quickly and some are not decided for nine or ten months, or even longer.
The decisions of the Court of Appeals are available on line as soon as they are filed. Written copies of the decisions are mailed to the appellate attorneys.
The filing of a written decision triggers new time limits. The losing party has the option of making a motion for reconsideration so long as it is filed within 20 days. Alternatively, the losing party has 30 days in which to file a petition seeking further appellate review from the Washington Supreme Court. A motion for reconsideration is not required as a prerequisite to filing a petition for review. However, if a reconsideration motion is filed, then the 30 day time limit for filing a petition for review does not start until there is a ruling on the motion for reconsideration.
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Criminal
Appeals Procedure
 Overview
Stages
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"The criminal justice system is
not perfect by any means. Mistakes are made
and innocent people are wrongfully convicted.
Trial judges make serious errors, and
prosecutors and police sometimes engage in unfair
and illegal conduct in a misguided zealous effort
to punish the bad guy.”
— James Lobsenz
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