Michigan Sex Crimes Appeals

 An appeal is not a second trial. Appellants do not get to present witnesses and evidence and try to convince the appellate court judges that they are not guilty or should have been found not guilty. Instead, as explained more fully below, the appellant tries to show that the trial judge made procedural mistakes that resulted in an unfair trial, that there was not enough evidence to support the verdict, or that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction power to hear the case.


A Michigan Sex Crimes Appeals may involve many legal issues, such as arguments that there was insufficient evidence for an element to the crime charged. For example, a defendant may claim that he did not commit the sexual act, or that the victim consented to the act, if the victim was capable of consent. A criminal sex crimes appeal may also raise errors that happened before the trial, such as a challenge to the application of the sex crimes statute. There may be errors in a sex crimes trial that happened during the trial, such as rulings by the trial judge that wrongfully permitted harmful evidence or wrongfully excluded helpful evidence. Sex crimes appeal may raise errors that happened after the trial or at sentencing.


Even if there could be evidence sufficient to show the defendant committed a non-sexual crime, there may be cause for an appeal if jury instructions could be corrected or excluded evidence is stricken on appeal, because this may provide a defendant with leverage to plead to a less serious charge on retrial, which would not carry the same stigma and additional consequences of a sex crime, as well as not carrying the same actual punishment.


Being convicted of a sex crime is a very serious matter that can stain someone’s life forever. An experienced sex crimes appeals lawyer can look for any and all possibilities for you to appeal your case and will stand besides you every step of the way during the fight for your fair trial.

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