If you took your misdemeanor case to trial in district court, you have what’s called an appeal by right in the county circuit court. That means you get to take your case to that court and they have to hear your appeal and issue a decision.

Your appeal is not automatic, though. You first need to claim your appeal by right. You need to do this within 21 days after your sentencing. Generally speaking, there are two ways to do this: (1) hire an attorney to file the claim of appeal for you or (2) if you cannot afford an attorney, submit a request in the district court for a court-appointed appeal attorney. The request for a court-appointed appeal attorney effectively serves as your claim of appeal. The appeal will then be assigned to a circuit court judge.

The claim of appeal will trigger the production of the transcripts in your case. A lot of my clients believe that a transcript is being produced during the trial, but this isn’t the case. Instead, all the testimony at trial is recorded and then once the claim of appeal is filed, the court reporter (also known as the transcriptionist) will begin to type up the transcripts. This usually takes a few months.

Once the transcripts are complete, the district court will transmit the complete record of the district court proceedings to the circuit court. The appeal attorney will then have 28 days to prepare what’s called the “brief on appeal.” A brief on appeal is essentially an essay that explains to the court what happened in the case and why you think the case should be overturned. To learn more about common issues that are raised on appeal, click here.

After the defense brief is filed, the prosecution will have a chance to file their brief on appeal to respond to the defense’s brief. The defense will then have the option of filing a “reply brief,” a rebuttal of the prosecution’s brief.

Eventually, the case will be scheduled for oral argument before the circuit court judge who is hearing the appeal. This is the attorneys’ opportunity to make their pitch to the judge in person. The tenor of oral argument will depend on the judge who’s hearing the appeal. Some judges are very engaged and will ask the attorneys a lot of questions about the case. Other judges are less active and will ask few or no questions. It depends on the judge and the case.

The judge may make his or her decision on the day of oral argument. Otherwise, the judge may choose to issue a written decision after oral argument. If the judge decides to issue a written decision, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few months.

If your appeal in the circuit court is unsuccessful, you will have an opportunity to file an application with the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Although no statistics for misdemeanor appeals are kept, it’s no secret that the majority of such appeals are ultimately unsuccessful. I tell all my clients that although an appeal is always going to be an uphill battle, I will do everything in my power to win. All in all, I’ve been able to obtain relief for clients in all kinds of situations, even when the odds of winning were long.

This is a very broad overview of how an appeal after a misdemeanor trial works. Every appeal is unique. Consult an experienced criminal appeals attorney to learn more about the process in your case.