Appeals from
trial courts
Appeals involve a process unlike that in
the trial courts. In the appellate courts, there are no juries and no live
testimony. The record which the appellate court reviews is paper: the
pleadings filed in the court below and the transcription of the trial testimony. The
questions which the appellate court must answer are unique to the law -- it sometimes must
determine whether the trial court reached the correct legal result, but it is sometimes
limited to determining only whether the trial court did things the "right" way.
Therefore, appeals require a different approach than do trials.
The ability to communicate with the twelve people in the jury box is supplanted by
hours in the law library and the need to communicate clearly and efficiently in writing.
Often the process begins in the trial court, with the presentation of or defense
against a motion for new trial, because important issues can be raised there which will
affect an appeal.
R. Perry McConnell, P.C. provides appellate representation from its
starting point in the trial court through the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court.
However, when representing appellants who are seeking a new trial, the firm does
not accept representation with the intention of representing the client at trial if the
appeal is successful. The firm's goal in such cases is to return control to the
trial lawyers at the end of the appellate process.
Extraordinary
remedies
Some cases require special petitions to be filed in the courts of
appeal or the Supreme Court. For example, on occasion it is necessary to request that a
court of appeals order a trial judge to correct an action before the case reaches the
appellate stage. This request, called an application for writ of
mandamus is a specialized pleading.
R. Perry McConnell, P.C. provides representation in the courts of appeals and the Supreme
Court for these types of extraordinary requests for relief.
Dispositive
motions at trial
Dispositive motions, such as motions for
summary judgment, occur at the trial level yet have great impact on activities at the
appellate stage. It is often helpful to have an appellate lawyer involved in the
offering or defense of these types of motions so that attention is given to the way the
result will be reviewed on appeal.
R. Perry McConnell, P.C. provides legal representation and
trial-level support to trial lawyers for tasks such as review of pleadings, motion
drafting, and legal research which can aid in effectively dealing with dispositive trial
motions.
