Successful Criminal and Civil Appeals

From Federal Defender Appeals Unit to Private Practice

In the late 1970s, when I got a job in the Federal Defender Appeals Unit in New York City, I found out that I loved writing and arguing appeals. I discovered that I loved legal research and that I completely enjoyed weaving the facts of a case and legal research into an argument. I also discovered that writing effective appeals takes a great deal of experience.

 

To be effective, I had to learn over time how appeals judges think, what they want to know, what influences them, how they decide cases, how to attract their attention.

 

At the Federal Defender Appeals Unit I handled more than 75 appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. These were from convictions of federal crimes or habeas corpus cases arising from convictions in state courts. They were very hard to win. And I did win occasionally . I also had a unique, 5-year experience in which I learned a great deal about appellate practice.

 

When, later on, I found out that a lot of lawyers simply dreaded writing appeals, or did not feel confident writing them, I began to make arrangements to handle other lawyers' appeals in both civil and criminal cases. This was economical for both of us: because I am in Columbia County and have a low overhead, I can write an effective appeal for significantly less than it will cost a small firm in New York City to produce a similar document. On request, I can provide references from small firms about my work.

 

In the past 30 years, I've handled more than 100 appeals in which there are reported decisions. The following is a listing of my favorite dozen decisions, a half dozen criminal and a half dozen civil. Reading these favorite decisions, the texts of which are available in law libraries and on-line, gives an idea of the scope of my appeals practice. These favorite cases change as my perspective changes and as different decisions become more interesting to me. It's a peculiar fact that my current favorite case is always the argument I've just finished writing. I think this happens because of the intensity of my focus on making the argument work.

 

Favorite Criminal Appeals

  1. State v. Moffett, 456 So.2d 714 (Mississippi. 1984), reversing death penalty and conviction on evidentiary grounds.
  2. People v. Espinoza, 253 A.D.2d 983, 680 N.Y.S.2d 122 (3d Dept. 1998), vacating guilty plea to second degree robbery.
  3. People v. Mason, 248 A.D.2d 751, 669 N.Y.S.2d 712 (3d Dept. 1998), granting new trial in felony DWI case.
  4. People v. Williams, 198 A.D.2d 547, 603 N.Y.S.2d 96 (3d Dept. 1993), suppressing evidence seized with a search warrant and dismissing indictment.
  5. People v. Kerns, 66 A.D.3d 1084 (3d Dept. 2009), a rare reduction of a sentence because it was "harsh and excessive."
  6. Hendrix v. Smith, 639 F.2d 113 (2d Dept. 1981), reversing state court conviction on trial error of Constitutional magnitude.


Favorite Civil Appeals

  1. Brown v. Jaquith, 318 So.2d 856 (Mississippi 1975), requiring Mississippi to follow US Supreme Court mandate in commitment of people accused of crimes who were deemed unfit to stand trial.
  2. Costa v. Callahan, 41 A.D.3d 1111, 840 N.Y.S.2d 163 (3d Dept. 2007), reversing a Supreme Court decision about zoning law and prior non-conforming uses.
  3. Mehmood v. Wong, 18 A.D.3d 518, 795 N.Y.S.2d 86 (2d Dept. 2005), reversing a jury verdict because of failure to provide an interpreter.
  4. Martin v. Columbia Greene Humane Society, 17 A.D.3d 839,793 N.Y.S.2d 513 (3d Dept. 2005), upholding plaintiff's torts claims for abuse of process and Constitutional torts.
  5. Warner v. Village of Chatham, 194 A.D.2d 980, 598 N.Y.S.2d 863 (3d Dept. 1993), upholding a verdict won by a pro se litigant against the village for "conversion" of a car.
  6. Beck v. Ross, 72 A.D.2d 867, 421 N.Y.S.2d 718 (3d Dept. 1979), a very rare granting of unemployment insurance benefits by the appeals court.