How Do I Get a Public Defender to Appeal My Case?
If you are a current public defender client and wish to appeal a conviction, adjudication, sentence, restitution order, or other appealable order, the attorney in the regional office who handled your case in the trial court will either do the appeal or transfer the case to the appellate division.
The office that handles your appeal depends on the nature of the case and to which court the case is being appealed. Generally:
- The appellate division handles appeals from convictions on felonies
- Misdemeanor convictions and other mid-case appeals are typically handled by the trial offices
Appealing Cases Handled by Private Counsel
If you were represented by private counsel in the trial court, but are now financially eligible for representation by the public defender, you have the option of having the public defender handle your appeal. To request our assistance with an appeal in a felony case, the client or private trial counsel must ask the district court to appoint the public defender for appeal and should submit an appellate packet within 20 days of the sentencing date or of the order being appealed.
For misdemeanor cases, clients will need to apply for a public defender at the regional trial office that covers the county where the case was heard.
If the public defender determines that it has a conflict of interest in pursuing the appeal, the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel will be appointed to work on the appeal.