Post-Conviction Relief + Post Conviction Hearings
If you were unfairly convicted of a crime due to trial errors, you may have grounds to appeal your conviction. Even If you have already lost your appeal, there may still be ways to oppose your conviction through the state post-conviction process or the federal habeas corpus process.
Post-conviction relief (PCR) refers to a specific legal remedy after all appeals are exhausted and can be obtained if you received the inadequate and ineffective assistance of counsel. In non-legal speak: your attorney messed up and it mattered.
A PCR petition must be filed within two years of the completion of the petitioner’s direct appeal or the date that the sentencing judgment was entered, or the appellate judgment became effective. That said, it is generally wiser to file a post-conviction petition within one year from the effective date to preserve your federal habeas timeline in the event the state post-conviction proceeding is unsuccessful.
PCR hearings are open to the public, and most of the evidence consists of written material, including affidavits/declarations, a witness’ sworn statement and other documentary exhibits, such as transcripts from prior court proceedings, depositions or legal memorandums.
All PCR cases are different, but there are generally two possible outcomes:
- The petition for relief is denied (meaning the conviction and sentence are upheld)
- The petition for relief is granted, which could result in release, a new trial, modification of the sentence or other relief deemed just by the court.
The court could make supplementary orders to the relief granted concerning such matters as re-arraignment, retrial, custody and release on security.
I have worked on post-conviction matters ranging from bigamy to aggravated murder. This is a highly specialized area of law and the defense attorney you hire should have a deep bench of experience in appellate and post-conviction law