No one wants to serve time for a crime they did not commit, but sadly, this does happen in the California justice system. More often than many people want to admit, innocent people go to jail after being wrongfully convicted. However, it may be possible to get a false adjudication overturned through the appeals process.
New evidence in the appeals process
Both the state and federal judicial system appeals process can be difficult when requesting a case review. No new evidence is allowed in appeals without prior approval from the judicial panel, and then it must potentially exonerate the convicted defendant or improve reasonable doubt. Forensic evidence is typically the only infallible evidence that is accepted for reversing or remanding a verdict but not always. Finding this evidence and convincing the court of its validity is the struggle that criminal defense attorneys face regularly when filing appeals.
Remedies for malicious prosecution
Pursuing damages in a civil case against the state is possible in many cases when an individual has been prosecuted with insufficient evidence. Termed malicious prosecution in the legal system, these cases require specific proof from the plaintiff’s legal representatives just as in a standard civil claim. Attorneys must establish a recognized connection to the prosecution case along with probable cause that an erroneous conviction was rendered through the criminal process. The criminal defense attorneys are essentially requesting a writ from the higher court directed at the lower court for a compensation evaluation after the defendant is acquitted.
It is important for anyone convicted on faulty evidence to continue pursuing a release throughout the incarceration period. Legal representation does not necessarily end with conviction when bad evidence has been accepted by the court.