DUI Appeals

If you have been convicted of DUI, you know the devastating affects that come with it. But a DUI conviction doesn’t have to ruin your life. It may be possible for you to appeal your conviction to a higher court with the help of an experienced DUI appellate attorney.

An appeal is simply when you ask a higher court to look at your case again, in an effort to see if any legal errors occurred. Legal errors may have happened during your trial or even while you were being sentenced. Typically, you should file an appeal immediately following your sentencing as this process can take several months.

When you file an appeal, you are no longer considered a defendant. Rather, you are the appellant. You should state the reason for your appeal and where you believe legal errors to have occurred (whether during your trial or sentencing), which may have affected the judge or jury’s ruling. This is known as a brief.



You should also state whether you believe your case should be re-tried or re-sentenced or even dismissed altogether. Obviously you should consult an attorney before starting the appeal process as there are many important decisions to make. The court will then file its own brief that may state why they believe the ruling should stand. If this is the case, you will likely be able to file one more brief to argue against their points.

Keep in mind that if the higher court does grant you an appeal, new evidence will not be introduced. This is the time when the court will review the records of your case. For example, the court reporter’s transcripts of the entire trial process will be examined to see if any legal mistakes occurred.

The record of your case will also consist of everything that was said by the prosecution, the defense team, the judge and any witnesses that were called to testify. Many times, DUI cases will also consist of evidence such as blood alcohol test results and field sobriety test results. The higher court will reexamine the evidence to again ensure that legal errors were not made.