Criminal appeals represent the last hope for defendants who have been wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced in trial court. The appellate process is fundamentally different from trial court proceedings, focusing on legal errors rather than factual disputes. Appellate courts do not retry cases or hear new evidence; instead, they review the trial court record to determine whether legal errors occurred that affected the outcome of the case.

The grounds for criminal appeals are limited to legal errors that occurred during the trial court proceedings. These may include constitutional violations, improper jury instructions, evidentiary errors, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, or sentencing errors. Not every mistake rises to the level of reversible error; the error must have been preserved for appeal through proper objection and must have affected the outcome of the case.

The appellate process is governed by strict procedural rules and tight deadlines that must be followed precisely. In Georgia, defendants generally have 30 days from the date of sentencing to file a notice of appeal. Missing this deadline can result in the permanent loss of appellate rights. The preparation of appellate briefs requires extensive legal research, careful analysis of the trial record, and persuasive legal writing skills.

Ineffective assistance of counsel claims are among the most common issues raised on appeal. To succeed on such a claim, defendants must show that their trial counsel's performance was deficient and that this deficiency affected the outcome of the case. These claims require careful analysis of trial strategy decisions, investigation conducted, and the legal arguments raised at trial.

Post-conviction relief procedures, such as habeas corpus petitions, provide additional avenues for challenging convictions based on newly discovered evidence, constitutional violations, or other extraordinary circumstances. These proceedings are separate from direct appeals, and have their own procedural requirements and deadlines. DNA evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and newly discovered evidence of innocence are common grounds for post-conviction relief.

Federal appeals and habeas corpus petitions involve complex jurisdictional and procedural requirements that differ significantly from state appellate procedures. Federal habeas corpus is generally only available after state remedies have been exhausted, and requires demonstration of constitutional violations or actual innocence. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) imposes additional restrictions and requirements for federal habeas corpus petitions, making experienced federal habeas counsel essential.