Tallahassee Appeals Lawyer

DSK Law provides appeals services to Tallahassee residents whose trials ended in an unsatisfactory way. Judges don’t always make the right the call. When this decision impacts the result of the trial, you can appeal the decision. While many need to retain separate counsel because their attorneys aren’t authorized to argue in these courts, DSK Law has the ability to pick up right where we left off. This saves you valuable time and money in billable hours as your attorneys will not need to familiarize themselves with your case to move forward. We also have appeals cases referred to us by attorneys who don’t argue appeals cases.

Appeals cases operate under different rules and require special knowledge of the law to press forward with the case. DSK Law has attorneys who have argued before the Florida Supreme Court. You can trust our Tallahassee appeals lawyers to launch the best possible appeal for your case.

Appeals Can Happen at Both the State and Federal Level

Those who have had their cases tried in state court must appeal the decision through the state appellate courts. Those who have had their cases tried in federal court must appeal the decision through the federal courts. DSK Law can help clients appeal in both state and federal courts.

Criminal vs. Civil Appeals

In addition to state and federal appeals, there are also criminal and civil appeals. Criminal appeals involve criminal cases tried by a prosecutor against a defendant. Civil lawsuits involve litigation or tort claims of injury against a defendant. DSK Law has experience with both criminal and civil appeals.

What Exactly is an Appeal?

Most folks have seen courtroom dramatizations of an appeal and have a basic understanding of what it is. What most people don’t know is that verdicts themselves cannot be appealed. The sole purpose of the appeal is to determine if the courtroom proceedings had a legal error that impacted the outcome of the case.

For instance, in Florida, verdicts in which defendants invoke stand your ground are often subject to appeal. This is because there are some ambiguities under the law that lead to inconsistency in verdicts. For instance, a defendant must be “reasonably in fear for their lives” to invoke stand your ground in a lethal shooting. But what is the standard of “reasonable fear of one’s life”? In addition, there are new provisions under stand your ground that shift the burden of proof to the prosecution. Doe this change to the court proceedings apply retroactively? These are questions that must be answered by appellate courts.

What is a Trial Court Error?

Let’s say that a plaintiff files a lawsuit against a hospital for an injury they sustained while under their care. The defense argues that the case should be dismissed because the plaintiff is barred from suing the defendant without giving them proper notice under Florida’s medical malpractice laws. The plaintiff argues that just because the lawsuit has been filed against a hospital does not mean it’s necessarily “medical malpractice”. In other words, the lawsuit can be filed under a basic negligence theory that does not require medical experts and the like to litigate. The judge dismisses the lawsuit and that decision ends up being appealed. This same type of lawsuit made its way before the Florida Supreme Court just recently. The result was that the Florida Supreme Court clarified the difference between basic negligence and medical negligence.

Talk to a Tallahassee Appeals Lawyer Today

DSK Law has the resources and experience you need to appeal either a civil or criminal case at both the state and federal levels. Give one of our appeals lawyers a call or contact us online to set up an appointment.