Appellate Courts Flashcards
Convictions in the Circuit court are
appealable as of right to the court of appeals
Typically, the Commonwealth cannot appeal an
acquittal
What is a Pre-Trial Appeal ?
A pretrial appeal is designed to avoid double jeopardy issues. It allows the commonwealth to appeal pre-trial issues before Jeopardy attaches (VA can appeal dismissal of charges or suppression of evidence)
What is a Post-trial appeal ?
Commonwealth can appeal the Defendant’s sentence, that has violated mandatory sentencing.
Appeals are heard by
a 3 judge panel
Decisions by the Court of Appeals can be appealed to
The Supreme Court
An appeal to the Supreme Court is
Discretionary, either party can file for a petition for appeal
Pretrial appeals to the court of appeals are
Final (they cannot be appealed to the SC)
On appeal from CC or VA Questions of Law are reviewed
De Nowo
Appeals challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction are reviewed
In the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, and asks whether any rational trier of fact could have found all elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt
Matters of Credibility of evidence
is not resolved by the court of appeals
Issues raised on appeal must be
Properly preserved
To preserve a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence
The D must make a motion to strike the commonwealth’s evidence on the grounds of insufficient evidence
Plain Error
If Error is manifest, the court can determine the error even if not preserved (rare)
Venue is proper
In any county or city where the offense or part of the offense occurred
In homicide cases, if the location of the crime is unknown
Venue is proper where the victim is found
in Credit Card Fraud Cases Venue is
Both where the D lives and where the crime occurred
A D may seek a change of venue..
Upon motion for good cause (prejudice against D in the venue prevents a fair trail)
SOL
None for felonies
1 year for most misdemeanors
Arrest and Search Warrants may be issued by
Any judicial officer, in including magistrates
The Standard for issuing a search warrant is
Probable Cause that a Crime was committed and that the designated location may contain evidence
The Standard for issuing an arrest warrant is
Probable Cause that the person named in the warrant committed the offense
For Felonies, cops may make warrantless arrests based on
Probable Cause
For Misdemeanors, a police officer may make a warrantless arrest
With probable cause when the misdemeanor occurred in the officer’s presence; OR
in other cases specified by statue (domestic violence, shoplifting, car accidents
