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: A case decided by a federal judge in California in 2013 ( Jones v. Chappell, 31 F.Supp.3d 1050 (2013), reversed on technical grounds) eloquently makes the case. As explained in the opinion, in California, the state appoints a lawyer to represent the condemned. The lawyer must have a minimum number of years’ experience handling felony cases and be willing to work for very low pay. As a result, it takes three to five years to find one willing to take the case (during that time, the case just sits). It takes another four years for the lawyer to become familiar with the case and file the brief. The Supreme Court won’t schedule a hearing for another three years and won’t issue an opinion for up to another three months after that. Assuming the Supreme Court upholds the verdict and sentence, the inmate will almost surely file a writ (if he hasn’t already), alleging newly-discovered evidence or incompetence of counsel, or both. The defendant is entitled to a new lawyer, and if he asks for one, more time passes while the state looks for a lawyer willing to take the case. All in all, it can take an average appellant over 17 years to get through just the state system. If the defendant files the writ next in federal court, that’s on average another ten-plus years.