Criminal Appeals Process

In our justice system there is a process that involves a series of steps beginning with an arrest and can end with a trial. Each state criminal processing are a lot alike but they also have their differences. The first step in criminal processing is an arrest. An arrest is defined as “taking a person into custody for violating criminal law” (Wright, 2013) or “to deprive a person of his liberty by legal authority” ("Glossary", 2009). Once a defendant is arrested they are then read their rights and put into an officer car. The officer will then tell the defendant that anything you do or say can be held against you so most people will not speak just so nothing can be used against them. It is always best not to talk because at the end of the day

An appeal is defined as “taking a case which has been decided in a court of inferior jurisdiction to one of superior jurisdiction, for the purpose of obtaining a review” ("Glossary", 2009). In Virginia the appeal process is done by filing a petition which is a formal application to a court requesting judicial action on a firm matter. In Virginia the Court of Appeals “provides appellate review of final decisions of the circuit courts in domestic relations matters, appeals from decisions of an administrative agency, traffic infractions and criminal cases, except where a sentence of death has been imposed” ("About ", 2009). “Only the petitioner is allowed to address the appellate court during the writ panel. In the event the petitioner files a reply brief, the appellate court does not allow oral argument; it determines whether the petition will be granted based solely on the briefs” (Litigation Section, 2011, p. 4).

When a criminal case petition is done it is referred to one or more judges in the Court of Appeals. If a petition is granted briefs are filed by both parties and the clerk refers it to a panel of the Court but if the appeal is not granted the petitioner then has the right to appear in front of a panel to state why their petition should be granted. In the end if all of the judges agree that the petition should not be granted then the case ends and the defendant can try for another

I do not feel the system always fails us. It is not always the system that is the problem it is the people. Each case is always different but every person has their own opinions towards certain cases and certain people. For example if you had a criminal case that had to deal with a dead beat dad who is being accused of murder but there is not a lot of evidence. If you have jurors who are half males and half females who is to say those females won’t convict him just based off him being a dead beat dad and not off the fact there was a lack of evidence. A lot of the time people are also power hunger and want to make examples out of others and for that there is no fix. I do think one thing that would help is if there are cameras with audio on cops and around their cars where they could not tamper with them or turn off the sound. I also think there should be cameras around traffic lights so things around them could be caught. I just think more camera need to be in place so there can be more video footage. With technology now a days people should always be recording and never be afraid to turn it in. It is not only up to officers to keep people safe people should be willing to stand up and help each other