Losing a case is never good news, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.  Judges can and do make mistakes, and the appeal process is the way in which you can have another judge or group of judges look at the way a case was handled by the trial court.

An appeal can be taken from any final judgment in a civil or criminal case.  In  addition, there are some situations where an appeal can be brought before a case is completely over, such as when a preliminary injunction is issued or in the case of anti-SLAPP motions.  Nonetheless, in the vast majority of cases, the right to appeal begins at the point when a final judgment has been rendered in a case.

The Appeal process can take a long time to complete.  To get from the initial Notice of Appeal to an appellate decision will take a year or more.  During that time, it may be possible to delay execution of the judgment being appealed.  This is particularly true in cases where enforcement of that judgment would lead to irreparable harm.

If you recently lost a civil or a criminal case, and you believe that an error was made during your case, you need to move quickly.  Appeals have very strict deadlines for when things must be filed, and appellate courts are notoriously unforgiving when a deadline is missed.  That’s why it is important, if you’re interested in appealing a judgment or other court order, to contact The Law Office of Cliff Dean Schneider as soon as possible.