You finally had your day in court.  You put on your case, told
the judge everything you wanted to, put in all your evidence,
and everything was obviously in your favor.  But for some
reason beyond understanding, the judge decided against you.  
Even if you had a lawyer this may happen.

If you are unhappy with the result of your court case, you
can (in most instances) appeal it.  Although it is easy to note an
appeal, and although you are allowed to represent yourself in
an appeal, you will find it difficult to do the
appeal without a lawyer.

For one thing, there are a number of rules governing how and
when an appeal done.  These rules require certain things to be
done within certain periods of time, and even have
requirements for the size of the print
of your brief (you will generally be required to file a brief), and
the color of the paper on its cover.

Many people start their own appeal, only to have it dismissed
for failure to follow the rules.

In addition to technical and formal requirements, an appeal
(with the exception of an appeal where you are
given a new trial) is "on the record."  This means that you are
not allowed to put on any evidence, or to tell the appellate
court any facts that were not presented at the trial.  You may
only show the court the record from the trial, which includes
the transcript and the papers or things put into evidence, and
make legal argument as to why the decision below was wrong.

And it's much more complicated than that.  For example, to
have the court decide an issue, it has to have been properly
preserved on the record (which is one reason you need a
lawyer to do the trial in the first instance).  This means that
you needed to have objected at the trial.  So, if someone puts
evidence into the record at the trial that is hearsay, you can't
appeal on that basis unless you objected at the trial.

And you have to convince the court that the judge below was
clearly erroneous, not simply that another person might have
come to a different conclusion.

The most difficult part of an appeal on the record, however, is
constructing a brief showing the court why the decision of the
trial court should be reversed.  This requires narrowing of
issues, proper presentation of the facts and the law, and
construction of a coherent argument.  It requires finding the
law, which is usually in the form of cases that support your
position.  These are the things lawyers are trained to do.

Willis & Henderson, P.A., has experience appealing cases and
making argument before the appellate court.

Below is an example of an appellate brief and the resulting
court opinion in a case argued by Michael Henderson.

State v. Stoddard.  This case was an appeal of the circuit
court's denial of a petition for expungement of a criminal
record.  It is an example of a case where no matter how clear
the law, the judge does not care to listen to or fairly consider
counsel's argument.  Mr. Henderson appealed this case to the
Court of Special Appeals, and the Court of Appeals, on its own
motion,  took the case up and heard it, skipping the
intermediate step.  The Court of Appeals reversed the circuit
court, and remanded the case back to the court with
instructions to expunge the applicable criminal charges.

Henderson's Brief

Opinion of the Court
Willis & Henderson, P.A.
Attorneys at Law
3290 North Ridge Road
Suite 210
Ellicott City, MD 21043

410-461-9400
Appeals     
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