Grounds for a Criminal Appeal in Pennsylvania: What You Need To Know
Were you unfairly convicted of a crime in PA? You might have grounds for a criminal appeal.
The reasons or “grounds” upon which a criminal conviction may be overturned or a sentence changed vary from case to case. Common grounds for appealing a criminal case after sentencing include:
- Misconduct by law enforcement
- Refusal of the judge to exclude tainted or otherwise inadmissible evidence
- Mistakes or incorrect rulings by the trial judge
- Conviction not supported by the evidence
- Ineffective assistance of counsel
- Errors made by trial judge while instructing the jury
- Sentencing errors including sentences in excess of legal maximums
- Misconduct by jurors
- Misconduct by prosecutors
Not every error will result in overturning the conviction or a new trial. Appellate judges rule that some trial errors are harmless errors that did not affect whether the defendant was convicted or not.
To find out whether you have grounds for appeal and get help with the criminal appeals process in Pennsylvania, contact us for a consultation. We can help you with your PA criminal appeal, your federal criminal appeal in PA, or your PCRA petition in PA. If you’ve been unfairly treated by the court system in Pennsylvania, we can help you.
