How do criminal appeals work?

The answer could take an entire book. Here are a few of the main steps: The defendant files a notice of appeal in the Superior Court where the conviction occurred. In a felony case, it has to be filed within 60 days of sentencing. Two transcripts are prepared: the reporter's transcript, which is everything that was said in court, and the clerk's transcript, which is a copy of all of the documents in the court's file. Within 40 days of the date the transcripts are filed with the court, the defense must file an opening brief. This includes a summary of the case, a list of legal errors identified by the defendant's appellate attorney, references to statutes and court decisions to support those arguments, and the appellate attorney's suggestions of what the court should do with the case, such as overturning the conviction or reducing the sentence. The Attorney General then has thirty days to file a response, stating why the defense is wrong and the conviction should stand. The defense gets the last word -- a reply brief, which has to be filed within 20 days of the response. The court can grant extensions on all of these deadlines -- and in a murder case, the record is usually so big that both sides ask for extensions. Note that most of an appeal is done on paper. There is no new testimony; everything is based on the records of the proceedings in court. The only time the attorneys actually appear before a judge is during oral arguments. After both sides have filed their briefs, the Court of Appeal will notify them that it is ready for oral arguments. Sometimes the court sends out a letter saying it is ready to decide the issue without oral argument, but both sides have a right to argue the case if they want to. The court then issues a written decision. Criminal appeals can take a very long time. I have a case on appeal where all of the briefs were filed over a year ago and the Court of Appeal hasn't set the case for oral argument yet.