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Maine Post-Conviction and Criminal Appeals Attorney

Your fight for freedom doesn’t have to end after you receive a guilty verdict. If you or someone you know has been convicted of a crime in Maine, there are options to challenge the conviction.

Each criminal appeals attorney at David J. Bobrow Office of Law, LLC, understands the serious impact a criminal conviction can have on your life, and we work hard to set the people of Maine free. We provide award-winning counsel and protect the rights of individuals in criminal court. Below, we explain criminal appeals and post-conviction relief and how we can help.

The Stakes Are High

When a court convicts you of a crime, you may feel trapped by the weight of the conviction, worried about the future, and unsure of what steps to take next. However, it’s essential to know that convictions are not always the final word. Mistakes can happen during trials, and unjust outcomes can occur. The legal system provides ways to correct these errors and get justice.

The Path to Challenge Your Conviction

Criminal appeals and post-conviction relief are the main ways to challenge a criminal conviction in Maine. These methods serve different purposes, but they share common goals: to serve justice and give relief to victims of legal mistakes. 

Criminal Appeals

In a criminal appeal, you ask a higher court to review a lower court’s decision. Appeals focus on legal errors that happened during the trial, such as:

  • Wrong rulings by the judge, 
  • Wrongful admission or excluding of evidence, or 
  • Misconduct by the prosecution.

If the court agrees that a harmful mistake was made during your arrest, during the investigation of your case, or during the trial, the court might reverse your conviction. Our office can work to find all errors made in your case and quickly take action to correct them.

Deadline for Filing an Appeal

Under the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, you typically need to ask for an appeal within 21 days after entry of the judgment. If certain motions are filed after trial (like motions for a new trial, arrest of judgment, or correction of sentence), the deadline to file an appeal extends to 21 days after the court makes a decision on the motion.

Common Reasons to Appeal

Maine has many rules that parties in criminal cases must follow. These rules are meant to help people receive a fair trial. However, some prosecutors, police officers, and judges make mistakes. Some defense lawyers also miss things, which may cause their clients to face unwarranted punishment. Our experienced team is here to help you reverse the effects of those bad acts and give you another chance.

The following issues may be reasons for a criminal appeal:

  • Admitting inadmissible evidence. If the court considered evidence it shouldn’t have, in violation of the state’s rules of evidence, that may be a reason to appeal.
  • Wrongful suppression (exclusion) of evidence. You may challenge a court’s improper ruling to exclude evidence that could have supported your defense.
  • Improper statements by the prosecution. Prosecutorial misconduct (or wrong acts by the prosecution), such as inappropriate statements made during closing arguments, may be a reason for an appeal.
  • Failure to disclose evidence. Under the Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure, prosecutors must disclose (tell the defense about) all favorable and unfavorable evidence the prosecution has and let the defense see it. The prosecution’s failure to tell you about or show you evidence violates your rights and may be  a reason to vacate (cancel) your conviction.
  • Ineffective assistance of counsel. If your attorney’s attempts to defend you at trial were so bad that they made the fairness of your trial questionable, this could be a reason to appeal your conviction.

A criminal appeals attorney reviews the trial record to find errors and makes strong arguments for reversing the conviction. This requires a deep understanding of both trial and appellate law.

Post-Conviction Relief

If you’ve used up your appeal options or missed the filing deadline for a standard appeal, post-conviction relief may give you another way to challenge your conviction. There are multiple kinds of post-conviction relief, including habeas corpus claims and requests to expunge or seal prior convictions. Let’s look at what these types of relief could mean for you.

Habeas Corpus

In a habeas corpus case, a convicted person in jail or prison tells the court that they should not be in jail or prison because there was a mistake in their conviction. If the court agrees that the trial court made a harmful mistake when convicting the habeas corpus applicant, the court sets the applicant free. A habeas corpus applicant can use many of the same reasons to prove their right to freedom that a person uses when appealing a conviction.

Expunging or Sealing Criminal Convictions

For those who have completed their sentences, expunging or sealing a criminal record may give them a chance to rebuild their lives. Sealing your record means that you don’t have to say anything about a past conviction on employment or other applications. This makes looking for a job and other opportunities easier than it might have been before. 

Criminal record sealing is not available to everyone. Only certain records can be sealed, including:

  • Convictions for Class E crimes, except for Class E crimes that count as sexual assault; and
  • Certain convictions involving marijuana that happened before 2017.

Also, to ask for sealing, you must have fulfilled all your sentencing requirements at least four years ago. When you work with an expungement lawyer from our firm, we can identify all your rights to record sealing and clean up your record quickly.

Post-Conviction and Appellate Relief in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Our office also defends cases out of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. If you’re up against law enforcement issues in one of those places, we can help you there, too.

Massachusetts Rules

In Massachusetts,  people who want to appeal criminal convictions must appeal within 30 days after the judgment or order being appealed. Massachusetts law also allows people with no more than two records of conviction and those not convicted of certain crimes to ask for expungement.

New Hampshire Rules

In New Hampshire, defendants typically have three days after a guilty verdict to appeal their conviction. But if a defendant misses the three-day deadline and the failure to appeal within that time is not negligent (unreasonable), they have 30 days from their sentencing to appeal. 

Regarding annulments (also called expungements), many defendants may ask the court to annul their conviction records if they have fulfilled their sentences and haven’t been convicted of any other crimes within a year. However, this depends on the defendant’s criminal history.

It’s important to note that some offenses may not be eligible for annulment or expungement in New Hampshire or Massachusetts, and you must follow specific rules. New Hampshire has a specific process for expunging DWI cases. A post-conviction and criminal appeals lawyer can give you guidance that is tailored to your needs.

The Importance of Skilled Representation

 Properly handling an appeal or post-conviction proceeding requires skilled attorney help. Our lead attorney, David Bobrow, has a proven track record of getting justice for his clients.

Ford v. State: A Case of Justice Restored

In Ford v. State, David Bobrow and Jamesa Drake represented a wrongfully convicted client after they received ineffective assistance of counsel. By going over the details of the trial record and making strong arguments, David and Jamesa overturned a conviction. The conviction was vacated, and the client received much-deserved relief. This case stands as strong proof of David’s skill and knowledge.

State v. Moses King: A Case of Bad Evidence Exposed

In State v. Moses King, David Bobrow fought the court’s denial of a motion to suppress improper evidence, which had resulted in a misdemeanor conviction (the jury found Mr. King not guilty of the very serious felony). Because of David’s work, the Maine Law Court overturned the denial of the motion to suppress and granted relief to the client.

David J. Bobrow Office of Law, LLC: Your Partner in Justice

If you or someone you know has been convicted of a crime in Maine, Massachusetts, or New Hampshire, don’t give up on your future. Call our office right away to challenge your conviction. We have years of experience, numerous successes under our belt, and award-winning skills. We can explore your options together, fight for justice, and work toward a brighter tomorrow. Call or contact us online to schedule a case review.

Resource List

  • State of Maine Judicial Branch, Sealing Your Criminal Record, link.
  • Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, Chapter 609, §5501, link.
  • Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, Chapter 310-A, §2262, link.
  • Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, Chapter 310-A, §2261, link.
  • Massachusetts Rule Appellate Procedure 4(b), link.
  • General Laws of Massachusetts, §100G, link.
  • General Laws of Massachusetts, §100J, link.
  • New Hampshire Rule of Criminal Procedure 21, link.
  • New Hampshire Criminal Code, §651:5, link.