Appeal a Nevada Criminal Conviction – 2nd Shot at Justice

In Nevada criminal law, an “appeal” is a legal process that allows you to challenge your guilty verdict and/or sentence in a trial by asking a higher court to review your case.

If the appeals court finds “reversible errors” in your case, it can remand the case for a new trial or sentencing hearing. In some criminal cases, the appeals court may even reverse the final judgment and vacate the conviction altogether.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys will address the following key issues regarding appeals:

• 1. What are appeals?
• 2. Grounds
• 3. Which court?
• 4. Time Limit
• 5. Appeals Process
• 6. Length of Process
• 7. Losing Appeals
• 8. Guilty Pleas
• Additional Reading

1. What are appeals?

A criminal appeal in Nevada is not a new trial: It is simply a review of your trial. The appellate court looks only at the records and the transcripts of what occurred in the trial court.

During an appeal, your attorney may not introduce new evidence or testimony

• in your appellate brief (the document explaining to the court why you should win an appeal), or
• during oral arguments (which is when the appellate judges ask your attorney questions about your brief)¹

You can request a new trial, but that is an entirely separate procedure typically conducted before filing an appeal. Additionally, judges rarely grant new trials because they are hesitant to admit any errors that may have occurred in their court. For more information, go to our article on motions for a new trial in Nevada.

2. Grounds

There are many possible grounds for a successful criminal appeal in Nevada, such as:

• the judge made an error;
• the prosecutors committed misconduct;
• the jurors were given incorrect jury instructions;
• your attorney was incompetent (“ineffective assistance of counsel“); and/or
• there was insufficient evidence to justify a conviction.

Your criminal appeals lawyer’s job is to comb through your “trial record” for every legal error that may have denied you your Constitutional right to a fair trial.²

3. Which court?

If your Nevada trial was for a misdemeanor, then you may appeal to the district court in your county.

Example: If you were convicted of DUI in Las Vegas Justice Court, then you could appeal to Clark County District Court/Eighth Judicial District Court.

If your trial was for a felony or a gross misdemeanor, then you may appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court – the highest court in the state.

If the Nevada Supreme Court finds against you, you can petition the Supreme Court of the United States – the highest court in the country. Though they hear very few cases, chances are they will not entertain your appeal.

For more information, go to our article on felony and gross misdemeanor appeals.³

Federal Court

If your case were in federal court (the United States District Court – District of Nevada), then your attorney may appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Failing that, your final resort is the United States Supreme Court. However, as discussed above, it is unlikely that they will hear your case.

For more information, go to our article on Nevada federal appeals law.

4. Time Limit

Your deadline for appealing your criminal conviction depends on which Nevada court your trial was in:

• county district court: 30 days after you were convicted.
• justice court: 10 days after you were convicted.
• federal district court: 14 days after you were convicted.

If you miss your deadline to appeal, you lose the right to appeal.⁴

5. Appeals Process

First, your Nevada criminal appeals attorney files a “notice of appeal” with the court where your trial occurred. Then, the trial court will file your trial’s “record” (the transcripts) with the appellate court.

At that point, your attorney usually has 120 days to review the record and compose an “appellate brief,” a lengthy document outlining all the legal arguments and case citations supporting why you should win on appeal.

After your attorney submits the appellate brief, the state’s lawyer (called the “district attorney”) will file an “opposition” challenging your arguments. In some cases, your attorney may be allowed to submit a “reply brief” in response to the opposition.

Depending on the case, your appeals lawyer may be allowed to give an “oral argument” before the appellate judges to supplement the brief. Afterward, the judges will review the briefs and oral arguments (if any) and deliver a decision in the form of a written opinion.⁵

6. Length of Process

Fast-track appeals are typically decided within only three months. Otherwise, an appeal can take over a year. All appeals in Nevada are automatically “fast-tracked” unless

• you were sentenced to life in prison, or
• you specifically request a full-length appeal.

The downside of fast-track appeals is that

• your “appellate brief” is limited to only 16 pages, and
• your attorney usually may not give an oral argument in front of the judges.

However, the court may ask your attorney for a longer brief if they believe your grounds of appeal warrant a more in-depth review.⁶

7. Losing Appeals

If you lose your appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court and remain incarcerated, you have one year to file a writ of habeas corpus. This is a type of post-conviction relief that allows you to challenge your conviction and imprisonment by raising errors that occurred during the trial.

Unlike appeals, writs of habeas corpus may introduce new evidence not previously raised at trial.⁷ Though, as with appeals, habeas writs are very technical, so do not attempt to file one on your own without a lawyer.

8. Guilty Pleas

You can appeal guilty pleas in Nevada. However, you will likely lose unless you can show the plea was unconstitutional or otherwise illegal.⁸

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Preparation and Argument of the Criminal Appeal – Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science.
• Rethinking the Constitutional Right to a Criminal Appeal – UCLA Law Review.
• Criminal Appeals: Past, Present, and Future – Marquette Law Review.
• State Criminal Appeals Revealed – Vanderbilt Law Review.
• The Court of Criminal Appeals Versus the Constitution: The Conclusivity Question – St. Mary’s Law Journal.

For more information, go to our article on withdrawing a guilty plea in Nevada. Learn more about the Nevada Supreme Court in Las Vegas and the Nevada Supreme Court in Carson City.

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Legal References