Title: Why Appeals in Death Penalty Cases Take So Long | Lawyers.com
Headings: Why Appeals in Death Penalty Cases Take So Long
Why Appeals in Death Penalty Cases Take So Long
The Typical Path of State Criminal Appeals
Appealing a State Court Conviction: A Direct Appeal
Appealing a State Court Conviction: Filing a Writ of Habeas Corpus
Appealing a State Court Conviction: Going to Federal Court
The Typical Path of Federal Criminal Appeals
Death Penalty Appeals
Delays Caused by the State
Is the Long Appeals Process a Waste of Time?
Questions for Your Lawyer

Content: This article examines the first phase: Why does it take many years to complete the appeals process for death penalty cases, when non-death cases take a fraction of that time? Death penalty appeals leave no stone unturned simply because the stakes are so high, and to state the obvious, a mistaken execution cannot be corrected later. The Typical Path of State Criminal Appeals
To appeal a criminal conviction, a defendant (now known as the appellant) follows the steps described below, though most cases don’t take all of them. Defendants who receive the death penalty, however, usually pursue each one. Appealing a State Court Conviction: A Direct Appeal
In any felony criminal case in a state court, the convicted defendant has the right to appeal the judgment and sentence to the intermediate appellate court, which must hear and decide the case. If the appellant loses, he can ask the state’s highest court to review the case (the states’ highest courts accept only a few such appeals). The appeals are limited to the evidence and rulings in the trial court and (if appealed to the highest state court) to the decisions of the intermediate court. In short, the appellant is limited to arguing about issues that are apparent “in the record below.”