Federal Defense

Federal Appeals

Federal Appeals follow a process that is similar to the process used in South Carolina state courts; however, federal appeals have their own set of rules that need to be closely followed.

• Timelines
  Once a person is convicted of a federal offense in the District of South Carolina, they can appeal the decisions that led to their conviction. At sentencing, a defendant is usually advised, on the record, that they have a right to appeal their sentence and, for that matter, their case. They are normally informed that they have 14 days to file a notice of appeal. A notice of appeal is a fairly uncomplicated document; however, it is critical that it be filed in the proper place and within the deadlines set out in Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 4, which sets forth the 14-day deadline. Once the notice is filed, the Court of Appeals will set deadlines for when briefs need to be filed. The entire State of South Carolina is within the Federal District of South Carolina, and the District of South Carolina is within the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is located in Richmond, Virginia.

• Next Steps

  Once a notice of appeal is filed and the Court of Appeals issues filing deadlines, an appellate brief must be drafted and filed. Federal appeals are complex and have several specific rules that must be complied with. The brief should set forth the issues that the respective parties have identified in the case, thoroughly brief the law and facts involved with the issues, and provide supporting documentation by way of the record in the case - which is usually transcripts and exhibits from earlier hearings. Once a defendant files their brief, the Government, usually represented by the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of South Carolina, will file a response brief.

• Once the briefs have been filed in a case, the Court of Appeals will consider them. It is common for the Fourth Circuit Court of appeals to rule on an appeal without a hearing, just relying on the briefs. Other times, especially when a case went to trial, the Fourth Circuit will conduct an oral argument, where the attorneys in the case argue to a panel of Fourth Circuit appellate judges. There are time limits on how long parties can argue, and the Judges can, and often do, ask questions of the attorneys. These oral arguments are normally heard at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

• After the case is heard, the Court of Appeals will issue an opinion. This can be either published or unpublished, which indicates whether the opinion will be placed in a more formal publication by the court. If the Court of Appeals reverses the lower court, the case is often remanded or sent back to the lower court to begin again at the point where any mistakes were made. If the lower court is affirmed, or upheld, then the case can be further appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court, however, is highly selective of the cases they hear, and having a case selected is unusual. Should there be no review of the Court of Appeals, there are other post-conviction remedies available to a defendant, at least where there were issues with the performance of their attorney. These proceedings, called Post-Conviction Relief hearings under 28 U.S.C. 2255, occur in the Federal District Court and generally happen after the appellate process is complete. For the most part, a 2255 hearing consists of arguments that a defendant’s attorney was ineffective. This site has a separate page discussing federal ineffective assistance of counsel claims under 28 U.S.C. 2255.