Appealing Alabama Felony Convictions
As a former staff attorney to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Alabama appellate lawyer William L. Pfeifer, Jr., (“Bill Pfeifer”) knows the issues an appellate court judge considers important when reviewing an Alabama felony conviction. Pfeifer has been rated an AV Preeminent appellate attorney (the highest lawyer rating available) by other Alabama attorneys through the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer rating system, Avvo ranks him with a perfect 10.0 Superb Rating (their best attorney score), and the National Trial Lawyers Association named him one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Alabama for his work in the field of criminal defense. Pfeifer has extensive knowledge of Alabama criminal law, and has published articles on criminal defense issues that have appeared in legal publications such as The Alabama Lawyer (published by the Alabama State Bar Association) and The Guardian (published by the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (ACDLA)). He has also taught continuing legal education (CLE) courses to other criminal defense lawyers on topics such as the right to a speedy trial, the assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege, defending juvenile defendants being prosecuted in adult court, and the impact of social media on jury trials. For a free telephone consultation with Mr. Pfeifer about your case, call (800) 737-3702 Ext. 1 or send us an email using our Contact form.
In Alabama, appeals from every county are decided by appellate court judges in Montgomery, Alabama. The appeal of a felony conviction will be argued first to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, and it may also be argued later to the Alabama Supreme Court, by submitting lengthy appellate briefs explaining to the court why a conviction should be overturned or reversed. In some situations the request is for a new trial, while in other cases the request is for the appellate court to completely dismiss the charges against the defendant. The kind of remedy that can be requested from the appellate court will depend on the legal issues that exist in the particular case. In rare situations, it may even be possible to successfully appeal the entry of a guilty plea in a felony case. More often, appeals will be based on a conviction that resulted from a jury verdict at the end of a felony trial. To talk to Mr. Pfeifer about your options in the appellate court process, call him at (800) 737-3702 or fill out our Contact form.
In most criminal appeals, the appellate courts do not schedule the cases for oral argument. There are rarely any court hearings in the criminal appeals process and it is very likely that the defendant will never even see the appellate judge who is ruling on his or her case. Exceptions occur when the appeal involves a particularly complex issue of law, an unusual set of circumstances that creates a new legal issue, or when the defendant received a death sentence. Appealing a death sentence in a capital murder case is when a defendant is most likely to be granted oral argument in a criminal appeal.
When a deceitful prosecutor or an unfair court process have gotten you convicted of a crime, what kind of attorney do you want to see fighting to keep you out of prison? Do you want a random court-appointed lawyer, a lawyer that a friend of a friend heard was good, or someone who merely created a catchy ad? Or do you want to hire an attorney with the criminal defense experience and appellate court skills to challenge your conviction and who will fight for you to get a second chance in court? When you are trying to overturn a felony conviction, you should choose your attorney very carefully. You should hire an attorney who has been recognized for his skills in handling criminal appeals, and who understands how important your case is to you and your family.
Pfeifer’s appellate law office accepts clients who need to appeal criminal convictions from every circuit court in every county in Alabama, including: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, Dekalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, and Winston. No matter what Alabama county handled the trial of your case, your appeal will go to the appellate courts in Montgomery. Call Bill Pfeifer at (800) 737-3702 Extension 1, or use the online Contact form on this website to send him an email about your case.
Alabama State Bar rules require the following disclaimer in all attorney advertisements: “No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of services provided by other attorneys.”
