Phoenix Federal Appeals Attorney
4435 E. Chandler Blvd. Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85048
888-680-1745
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Former Deputy Chief, Appellate Division
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Partner & Yale Graduate
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Contact NickWhy Hire a Phoenix Federal Appeals Attorney at Oberheiden P.C.?
- Our team has been involved in over 500 federal appeals cases.
- Our attorneys have over 50 years of combined frontline experience.
- You will work directly with your senior attorney from day one — no junior attorneys or assistants.
Federal criminal defendants may have the right to appeal their conviction or sentence on various grounds. In some cases, this is an anticipated aspect of a complex criminal case that involves novel or unsettled legal issues. In most, it challenges serious errors that were committed by the trial judge who oversaw the case in Phoenix, Arizona.
In either situation, the Phoenix Federal Appeal Lawyers at the national defense firm Oberheiden P.C. can help. Our senior attorneys have represented numerous clients in federal appeals, helping them secure better and more justifiable outcomes at the appellate level than had been obtained at trial.
The Federal Criminal Trial and Appeals Process in Arizona
The federal criminal justice system is a series of ever more pressing stages. The appeals process is the last of these stages.
First, there is the investigation, the arrest, and the criminal charge. During this stage, which can last anywhere from years, for some white collar offenses, down to a mere couple of minutes, for offenses like assault or drunk driving, law enforcement officers gather incriminating evidence against you. Once they have developed probable cause to believe that you committed the crime, the investigation ends and you are arrested. If a judge agrees that there is probable cause, you will get charged and arraigned.
After this there is the pretrial stage. This is where prosecutors and your defense lawyer gather more evidence about your case. It is also where plea deals are discussed. If the evidence is in favor of law enforcement, most cases end in a plea deal. If the evidence favors the defense, prosecutors are likely to drop the case or offer a favorable plea deal.
Occasionally, the case will go to trial. A judge or jury will hear the evidence and issue a verdict. If you are convicted, the next step is sentencing, where a judge will impose the penalties of the conviction.
All of this happens at the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. For cases that begin in Phoenix, it usually happens in the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, located at 401 West Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003.
If your conviction is the result of an error during the trial, or if your sentence is disputable, you have the seek relief in a federal appellate court. In Arizona, this appellate court is the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction over the entire West Coast of the U.S., including the whole of Arizona.
While the Ninth Circuit’s main courthouse is located in San Francisco, in the James R. Browning Courthouse at 95 Seventh Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, the court has three satellite offices:
- Richard H. Chambers Courthouse (125 South Grand Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105)
- William K. Nakamura Courthouse (1051 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104)
- Pioneer Courthouse (700 SW Sixth Ave., Suite 110, Portland, OR 97204)
Most cases that originate in Phoenix, however, will be heard by the appeals judges on the Ninth Circuit in its Pasadena courthouse.
Should the Ninth Circuit’s ruling still go against your interests, you can file a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States. While fewer than three percent of these petitions are accepted by the Supreme Court, if your case involves an important legal issue that has not been resolved, you may have a chance of having your case heard by the Supreme Court.
Put our highly experienced team on your side
Dr. Nick Oberheiden
Founder
Attorney-at-Law
Lynette S. Byrd
Former DOJ Trial Attorney
Partner
Brian J. Kuester
Former U.S. Attorney
Hon. Kevin McCarthy
55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)
Government Consultant
Mike Pompeo
Of Counsel
Former U.S. Secretary of State
John W. Sellers
Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney
Linda Julin McNamara
Federal Appeals Attorney
Nicholas B. Johnson
Former Prosecutor
Roger Bach
Former Special Agent (DOJ)
Chris J. Quick
Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)
Michael S. Koslow
Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)
Ray Yuen
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
What to Expect During Your Federal Appeal
Relatively few people understand how criminal appeals work in the United States. Many of them think that appealing a case means that it gets retried: A new jury will seated and the trial will be conducted all over again.
That is not the case.
Instead, it is up to you (or your federal appeals lawyer) to find grounds for an appeal. Potential examples include:
- The trial judge at the District Court did not correctly apply the law
- An error was made that prejudiced your presentation of your case during trial
- The jury’s verdict is not supported by the evidence
- Your case involved a legal issue that has not been settled yet
Your appeal focuses solely on this issue that you present to the Ninth Circuit. The appeal process relies exclusively on the court record created during the trial, so no new evidence is gathered in most cases.
Most of the work during an appeal happens behind the scenes. Your appellate attorneys conduct extensive legal research on the particular topic that you are appealing. This work culminates in a legal brief, or written paper, that is submitted to the Ninth Circuit that explains why your appeal should be granted. This process is especially intense when your grounds for appeal are that an important legal issue is unresolved. In some cases, the Ninth Circuit will schedule an oral argument during which your attorneys and the prosecutors will present their arguments to the judges.
The Ninth Circuit will then issue its opinion of the case. If they side with you, they will either:
- Overturn your conviction,
- Toss your conviction out but order a new trial, or
- Reverse the trial court judge, remand the case, and include instructions on how to resolve the errors that were made.
If the Ninth Circuit denies your appeal, the next step will be to consider the viability of seeking review by the Supreme Court.
The Types of Criminal Appeals We Handle
The Phoenix federal appeals lawyers at Oberheiden P.C. handle cases involving a wide variety of criminal charges that are filed in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona. Some of the most common include those for:
- Tax evasion
- Healthcare fraud
- Securities fraud
- Public corruption and bribery
- White collar crimes, like embezzlement or forgery
- Mail and wire fraud
- Conspiracy
- Drug crimes
We provide legal representation for these offenses at both the trial and the appellate levels. This allows our trial attorneys to work closely with our appellate team so the correct legal issues are preserved during the trial and the groundwork is set for the best possible outcome on appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Appeals and Oberheiden P.C.
Why Doesn’t an Appeal Lead to a New Trial?
If the appeals court conducted a brand new trial, with a new jury and a rehashing of the testimony from the District Court’s trial, it could create a conflicting result due to nothing other than the jury believing different witnesses. This would not solve anything, and would just take up large amounts of the judiciary’s time and resources.
Instead, the appellate courts largely adopt the factual determinations of the trial court so they can revisit only a small slice of the case that is still at issue.
What Reputation Does the Ninth Circuit Have for Criminal Appeals?
The Ninth Circuit is widely regarded as the most liberal of all of the 13 appellate courts in the federal system. For criminal defendants, this is extremely good news. Liberal appellate judges take civil rights seriously and do not care much for being seen as a “hard on crime” judge. This means they are more likely to adopt expansive views of the Constitutional provisions that protect criminal defendants from government overreach, like the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eight Amendments.
Why Should I Entrust My Appeal to Oberheiden P.C.?
There are two main reasons why you should consider hiring Oberheiden P.C. to handle your appeal in Phoenix, Arizona.
First, our attorneys have extensive experience in federal courthouses across the country, including the District Court of Arizona, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. Our lawyers have experience defending federal criminal defendants from serious charges of wrongdoing. Many of our attorneys also have years of experience prosecuting these same cases for the federal government, giving them invaluable insight on how the prosecutors in your case are likely to proceed.
Second, unlike in other appellate law firms, the lawyers with the experience that we tout are the same ones that are going to represent you throughout your case. We do not have junior associates who will handle the majority of your defense work. This is something that sets us apart from many other defense law firms.
Why Doesn’t Oberheiden P.C. Call Itself the Top Federal Appeals Law Firm in the Country?
Because we prefer to let our track record of success do the talking for us. Our experienced lawyers have provided legal representation at both the trial and the appellate levels that have left our clients extremely satisfied with the results. Many of them have left great reviews about the abilities of Oberheiden P.C. to get the outcome that they wanted from their federal criminal appeal.
Speak with a Phoenix Federal Appeals Lawyer at Oberheiden P.C.
Appealing an adverse outcome in a federal criminal trial can be essential for avoiding unnecessary and unwarranted consequences. However, if you have grounds to file an appeal, you must do so quickly. Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 4(b)(1)(A), you only have 14 days to file a Notice of Appeal.
Call the federal appeals lawyers at Oberheiden P.C. at (888) 680-1745 or contact us online to get started on your appeal today.
