Friday, August 28, 2020

Pro Se Criminal Appeals, Odds of Success

 

https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html

 

Am I allowed to appeal if I represent myself pro se?  . . . Is there anything I cannot appeal by going pro se? Or am I granted the same rights as a lawyer when it comes to appeals? . . .

 

Jay’s Answer (Jay Nixon, Criminal Defense Atty. with Offices in Janesville & Kenosha, WI)

 

You check the percentage of pro se appeals which are won; my guess is that it is less than one thousandth of one percent. Even with seasoned appellate counsel, reversals probably occur in less than 5% of all cases, so despite a win being unlikely with either option, your odds with counsel are thousands of times better than without counsel. So, if you really want to win rather than merely entertaining yourself and the judges with frivolous proceedings (with the judges being far less entertained than you), you should get represented right away, since time limits are very short and very strict. Odds are that you will be immediately eligible for state public defender representation merely by the fact of your incarceration, so you should take advantage of that fact.  The answer to your question about whether there are things you can’t appeal which a lawyer could appeal, the answer is definitely “yes.”  Since you won’t know what to look for, nor how to “preserve” issues and objections properly, you will very likely rule out further post judgment on many issues by doing it yourself. 

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