Post Conviction Remedies & Challenges
The term "post conviction remedies" is used to
described three distinctly different due process points of time during
the criminal trial, conviction,
sentencing, and appeal
process.
A post conviction remedy can mean the due process procedure
of asking for reconsideration of a sentence after all other appeal
procedures have been unsuccessfully exhausted.
A post conviction remedy can also mean the right to an automatic
direct appeal, which is a right available to any person convicted
of a crime in the state of Wisconsin, [See Direct
Criminal Appeals] and which must be filed within the specified time
limits imposed by law.
Lastly, it can mean the legal procedure available upon conviction
or sentencing in which a defendant challenges the conviction or the
sentence to the trial court.
Van Wagner & Wood Successful Criminal Appeals
Successful Post Conviction Challenges
For more than two decades, the attorneys
at Van Wagner & Wood have successfully represented people who
have already been convicted of a statutory crime in the state of Wisconsin
or a federal crime in any state in the United States.
In a post conviction direct
appeal, Attorney Tracey Wood
won an appeal in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals overturning her client's
prior conviction for a third
offense drunk driving. The two prior convictions were from another
state. The Court of Appeals agreed with Attorney
Wood that the two prior convictions should not be considered under
Wisconsin law. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction
for a third offense, and her client was charged with a first
offense OWI. A third drunk driving offense is a misdemeanor
under Wisconsin law subject to mandatory fines and jail time. In Wisconsin,
courts often sentence a convicted third offense with a greater sentence
than provided by the sentencing guidelines. A first drunk driving offense
is not a crime under Wisconsin law (but it does carry mandatory fines).
Challenging Prior Convictions
Challenging prior convictions
is not limited to drunk
driving cases. For example, a second offense possession of controlled
substance case is a felony in Wisconsin. If the prior offense was uncounseled,
that conviction is subject to a collateral attack.
Collateral Attacks On Prior Convictions
A collateral attack of
a prior conviction is not an appeal of that conviction; it is simply
a mechanism for defense attorneys to use to prevent the prior conviction
from enhancing the penalties the clients faces in the current case. For
example, if a person is charged with fifth
offense OWI (a felony), and the client did not have an attorney or
waived counsel in his fourth offense case, he should be sentenced as a
fourth offense misdemeanant, as opposed to a fifth offense felon. The
conviction for fourth offense OWI will remain on his record, but it cannot
be used for sentencing purposes if it is properly
challenged.
Acting Quickly Can Make A Difference
Direct appeals to the Wisconsin Court
of Appeals are automatic as a right, which serves to eliminate a step
from the appellate process: the application to have a case heard by the
appellate court. However, it does not eliminate the time restrictions,
and appeals must be filed within the statutory time period [see Appeals].
Time is a critical factor in any post-conviction action, and any challenges
that may be available should be made immediately.
If you have been convicted of a crime and believe your conviction
or sentence were wrong, please contact call (608-284-1200) or email
(
) the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood
right away.
Experience
An automatic right to appeal also does not eliminate the
strict guidelines that must be followed by an appeal to the appellate
court. Those guidelines include terminology, the paper on which the appeal
is filed, and even the margins. Attorneys who file many appeals are very
familiar with those guidelines and able to file the appeal quickly and
correctly.
The US Court of Appeals mandates distinctly different guidelines
from those mandated by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Again, experienced
federal appeals attorneys are quite familiar with those guidelines and
able to handle the appeal quickly and correctly
Van Wagner & Wood's attorneys represent people in both
state and federal Court of Appeals
cases. In fact, Attorney
Chris Van Wagner successfully filed and argued an appeal to the federal
Court of Appeals on subject matter than the appellate court previously
claimed it would not hear. They heard the case, and they decided in favor
of Attorney Van Wagner's clients.
Honest Opinion
When your time is limited, when your options are quickly
being exhausted, and when you feel as though you have no place left to
run and the walls are crumbling at your feet, you do not have time for
hopes and wishes seated in dreams; you need brief, professional, accurate
analysis of your case. Attorney Chris Van Wagner
and Attorney Tracey Wood will provide you with an honest straightforward
analysis of your case.
Tough, Clear & Convincing Argument
When your appeal is filed, you have one shot at having your
case overturned by the appellate court, and one shot at having it overturned
by the Supreme Court. When your options are that limited, you may want
to consider placing your case in the competent hands of Van
Wagner & Wood. Those attorneys
have exemplified sound strategic and intellectually creative approaches
to appellate cases and won post conviction challenges that the trial attorney
lost.
Contact Criminal Defense Attorneys Van Wagner & Wood
If you have already been convicted of a crime and believe
your conviction or sentencing were wrong, please call (608-284-1200) or
email (
) right away. There are lawyers, then there are criminal defense lawyers,
and then there's Van Wagner & Wood,
the lawyers that can really help.
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