Appealing a criminal charge has two components. The first involves requesting a trial instead of pleading guilty. The second involves asking a higher court to consider mistakes or injustices that led to a conviction. Explaining everything that happens while contesting an initial charge and pursuing appeals would take a library full of books. Here, the Columbus Ohio criminal defense attorneys will just highlight the most important reasons why you should always consider asking for your day in court and why you may have grounds for appealing a conviction.

Why Contest a Criminal Charge

Every person charged with committing a crime in Ohio and across the United States has the right to request a trial. Exercising that right allows the accused person and his or her criminal defense attorney to do the following things:

• Examine and analyze all the evidence collected by the police
• Question law enforcement officials who conducted the investigation and made the arrest
• Question witnesses who will be called to speak against the defendant
• Prepare a defense based on evidence and testimony that supports the defendant’s innocence or calls the prosecution’s case into question
• Enter into discussions with the prosecutor and judge about pleading to a more minor offense that carries a lesser penalty

Going to trial also makes it easier to file an appeal of a conviction. While Ohio does allow a person to ask for a new trial after pleading guilty, succeeding with such a request is exceedingly difficult.

Why Appeal a Criminal Conviction

People convicted of crimes have several opportunities to appeal. The most common is a direct appeal, during which the evidence against the defendant is reconsidered or the way the first trial was conducted is examined. Ohio permits a defendant and his or her defense attorney to file a direct appeal on any of the following grounds:

• Police and prosecutors collected, stored, analyzed, or presented evidence improperly.
• Statements made by the defendant during interrogation or by prosecution witnesses were coerced, false, or inadmissible for other reasons.
• The original judge’s rulings on pretrial motions and objections to courtroom proceedings were incorrect under law or trial guidelines.
• The sentence imposed exceeded maximum limits spelled out instate statutes.
• The judge’s instructions to jurors regarding how to interpret relevant laws, weigh different kinds of evidence, or recommend a sentence were unclear or not followed.
• Violations of the defendant’s civil rights occurred. Examples of this could include not being informed of the right to an attorney or hearing racist comments from law enforcement officials or jurors.

A notice of intent to file a direct appeal must be delivered to the court within 30 days of the original conviction. State law also strongly recommends hiring a new Criminal defense attorney to handle the actual appeals case.

Mike

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The best way to start answering a question about which criminal charges you can have removed from your record in Ohio is probably to list the offenses that would remain publically searchable for your entire life. Per Section 2953.36 of the Ohio Revised Code, convictions for the following crimes cannot be expunged:

• Felony or first-degree misdemeanor assault
• Operating a vehicle while intoxicated/Drunk or drugged driving
• Most first- and second-degree felonies
• Rape
• Murder
• Aggravated murder
• Sex crimes in which the alleged victim was younger than 18 years of age
• Sexual battery
• Felonious sexual penetration
• Inducing panic (e.g., causing a riot, making terroristic threats)
• Inciting to violence
• Jailed for failure to pay child support to a legal dependent younger than 16 years of age
• Jailed for not paying traffic fines

Traffic violations also generally do not qualify for expungement since few of them are treated as crimes.

This list of exclusions leaves all virtually all other types of lower-level felonies and misdemeanors as candidates for expungement. A final consideration regarding expungements in general is that a sealed criminal record can often be reopened by court order. Ohio law grants state and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, parole and probation officers, and government officials to request access to expunged records. In Ohio, sealing a criminal record does not always equate with destroying it. can you get a dui expunged in ohio

Determining Eligibility for Expungement

To apply for having a conviction placed off-limits from a public records search, you must

• Satisfy (“discharge” in legalese) all the terms of your sentence, including probation after release from incarceration and making restitution
• Complete a waiting period of one year after discharging your sentence for a misdemeanor offense or of three years after discharging your sentence for a felony offense
• Submit a petition and fee to the court that convicted you

Ohio courts also have the authority to automatically seal juvenile records. This can happen after the person who was convicted of an expungable offense while under the age of 18 turns 23 or at any time after five have passed since the person discharged his or her juvenile sentence. Avoiding arrests and convictions following a first conviction goes a long way toward ensuring your juvenile record will be expunged.

Be aware that as of 2016, Ohio allowed people to ask for expungement of only one felony, one felony, and one misdemeanor, or two misdemeanors. What counts as a felony or misdemeanor for the purposes of an expungement petition can get complicated. Rules vary depending on whether the offenses were related and if the sentences were handed down in different jurisdictions. Hiring a Columbus expungement attorney to figure this out will increase your chances of having your request to get your record sealed approved.

Your expungement attorney will also make sure you fill out all the paperwork correctly, collect and attach all necessary supporting documents, and file your petition with the appropriate court. Your lawyer will then represent you during the hearing on your expungement petition.

Mike

Find top rated attorneys and law firms profiles with Find Attorneys Directory, the best and free online attorney directory. Guest bloggers can also publish their articles here as other bloggers are doing.