There are two popular ways to challenge a conviction in an appellate court: a direct appeal and a writ of habeas corpus.
DIRECT CRIMINAL APPEAL: Our office no longer do Direct Appeals
A direct criminal appeal is basically challenging issues arising during any point in the trial. A direct appeal is usually limited to issues that are part of the official trial record, clerk & reporters transcript, exhibits, etc..These issues can include: pretrial motions, jury selection, evidentiary rulings, and opening and closing arguments. Timing is extremely important in a direct appeal. The trial court must be given written notice of appeal NORMALLY within 30 days after the judgment and sentence are entered.
WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (WHC: Our office Limit the intake of these.
A post-conviction WHC (mostly used by Lifers) attacks a conviction that has already been upheld on appeal. A WHC is used to appeal factors outside the official trial record. To succeed the defendant (or inmate) must have suffered from some sort of fundamental, constitutional error. These can include: the DA improperly withheld exculpatory evidence, a defendant’s plea was involuntary, or newly discovered evidence exists which could not have been reasonably discovered earlier AND if the evidence is assumed true that such evidence would serious undermine the conviction. A new court precedence (new law) which due to its retroactive application would render the conviction unlawful. The most common form of error alleged in these types of Appeal format is ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC). We no longer review these case. We only do WHC to Appeal a Parole Hearing Denial that was illegally Arbitrary and Capricious.
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Our office realizes that financial resources for inmates and their family/friends may be limited. But, on the other hand, we cannot do all our work on a pro bono basis, or we could not survive as a firm. As an alternative plan, our office is willing to perform an analysis of the issues in your case for a fee (call our office at 619-233-3688), depending on the complexity. This includes a review of all pertinent documents (transcripts, relevant legal pleadings to date, etc.), followed by a an Opinion on the potential merit. The Review fee does not include preparation of your appellate pleadings, but will give you information from which you can make a decision whether to invest further financial resources to pursue your claim(s) in the appropriate court(s). There is an additional litigation fee is to draft, file, litigate the pleadings, and brief any opposition to the DA or AG, representing the State. The litigation can be through all levels (Superior, Appellate and Supreme) of the California State courts- IF WE FIND MERITS to your case.
A defendant with two or more ** “Strike” priors (a third striker) faces a minimum of 25-years-to-life in prison. After serving the 25-years on a 25-to-life sentence, he is then eligible for, but not guaranteed, parole. Whether and when an eligible life prisoner is paroled is up to the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH). The BPH is made up of members appointed by the Governor and they tend to be very conservative about paroling eligible long-term (Lifer, etc. ) inmates. 3-Striker life inmates has become eligible for parole; BPH will hold 3-Strike inmate hearings in the same way they do the other Lifer Parole Hearings.
It MAY be possible to eliminate a previous “Strikes,” and possibly get a sentence reduced. Keep in mind that 3-Strikers under the 3-Judge Panel mandate (60/25) are eligible for the Elderly Parole Hearings, once they turn 60 years old and have been incarcerated 25 years but not eligible under the Elderly Statutory Law 50/20.
There are a few ways to potentially eliminate previous “Strikes” which have been utilized by the sentencing court. Among those which have been successful are: ineffective assistance of trial counsel (IAC), inadequate proof of priors, a trial judge determining facts of the prior offense, when those facts must be determined by a jury, breach of a previous plea bargain, assigning multiple “Strikes” for an offense which involved a single course of action, a conviction from a different jurisdiction which does not qualify under California law as a “Strike.” Each case must be individually evaluated, based on its own unique facts. If you have been sentenced illegally, a court always maintains jurisdiction to correct that illegal sentence.
** STRIKES: (aka Violent felonies) include murder, mayhem, rape, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and first-degree burglary. Violent felonies also include any felony punishable by a life sentence or the death penalty. And any felony where the defendant inflicts great bodily injury or uses a firearm is a violent felony.