The Appeals and Post-Conviction Unit is assigned by the Appellate Division, Fourth Department to represent indigent appellants in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara and Orleans Counties on the direct appeals of their judgments of conviction. The Unit also represents some indigent appellants with judgments of conviction from Ontario County. Additionally, the Unit represents children, who were represented in Erie County Family Court by the Attorneys for Children Unit, at the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. These appeals arise from orders issued by the Family Court.
Legal Assistance for the Underserved
Appeals and post-conviction relief are avenues of legal assistance for underserved individuals who cannot afford private representation. After conviction, individuals have the opportunity to appeal to higher courts to review the trial court’s decision. This process can involve reviewing errors, sentence reduction, or requesting a new trial. Additionally, Legal Aid provides post-conviction relief to explore alternative legal remedies once the conviction becomes final.
Convictions can result from various legal processes such trials, jury decisions, non-jury decisions, or guilty pleas. Our unit also represent appellants under the Sex Offender Registration Act and clients pursuant to the Domestic Violence Justice Survivor Act. Most often, Appeals and Post-Conviction Unit clients are incarcerated during the process, though, exceptions exist.
What to Expect
Clients convicted in County Court or New York Supreme Court within our covered counties may be eligible, upon approval, for representation by our unit before the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department in Rochester. Each year, we receive over 150 orders of assignment confirming our clients’ financial status as “poor persons” who cannot afford private attorneys. In Cattaraugus and Genesee Counties, our unit extends representation to appellants convicted in local courts as well as superior courts.
Our Approach
Client input is crucial to our process, solicited through letters and personal visits or confidential phone calls. We review trial transcripts, conduct legal research, and prepare briefs under careful supervision. An oral argument is then presented before a five-judge panel at the Appellate Division, typically without the client present. Following a decision, usually issued within four to six weeks, we may file an application for further discretionary review with the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, particularly if significant constitutional issues warrant consideration. In cases where constitutional issues were not part of the trial record, we assess the potential for filing post-conviction motions to further our clients’ interests.
Understand your Rights:
A defendant has the right to appeal to an intermediate appellate court from a judgment of conviction entered in New York State Supreme and County Courts, as provided by Criminal Procedure Law 450.10 and the New York State Constitution (Article VI, § 4 [k]). This right remains valid even if the defendant has purportedly waived it during plea negotiations. Recently, the Appeals and Post-Conviction Unit has successfully reversed judgments of conviction at the state’s highest court, arguing that waivers of appeal were not entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. We continue to obtain permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals on the issue of the validity of appeal waivers.
To exercise this important right, a defendant’s trial attorney must file a notice of appeal within thirty days of the sentencing date. If the defendant is indigent, the trial attorney must also submit an application for poor person relief to the appellate court or obtain an order under Criminal Procedure Law 380.55 granting poor person relief on appeal.