Deadlines
The clock starts at the judgment
Why the time to appeal is so short, what starts it, what a post-trial motion does to it, and why a missed deadline almost never comes back.
Theodora Wakefield6 min read
Appeals and post-conviction, Tallahassee
The verdict is not always the last word
Theodora Wakefield takes civil and criminal appeals and post-conviction motions, and works beside trial lawyers who want a second reader. The time to appeal is short and starts when the judgment is entered, so call while there is still time.
Read
Every page of the transcript and every exhibit, before a word of the briefWeigh
A candid view of which errors a court will hear, and which it won'tWrite
Briefs short enough to read twice, argued by the lawyer who wrote them
Where the briefs go
The courts that review a trial
- District courts of appeal
- The state supreme court
- Federal court of appeals
- Federal district court, on habeas
Practice
Three ways into an appeal
Some people call the week the judgment comes down. Others call years later, with a sentence that never sat right. Trial lawyers call before the jury is picked.
Civil appeals
Judgments in contract, property, business and family cases, and the orders before them that can be appealed early. Appealing a loss, or keeping a win the other side has appealed.
Civil appealsCriminal appeals and post-conviction
The direct appeal after a conviction or sentence, and the motions that come later: counsel who failed, evidence found after trial, a sentence the law doesn't allow.
Criminal appealsFor trial lawyers
Jury instructions, objections and post-trial motions that keep the issues alive, written with the appeal in mind. Then co-counsel or a handoff when it comes.
Working with trial lawyers
Sample matters
How three appeals ended
Reversed
Contract dispute, judgment for the other side
The trial court read a notice clause against its plain terms. The appellate court read it as written and sent the case back for judgment for our client.
2025 · Sample matter
A reversal sends a case back to the trial court; it doesn't always end the dispute.
Remanded for a new trial
Burglary conviction
A juror's answers in jury selection were never followed up. The objection had been made at trial, and the court ordered a new one.
2025 · Sample matter
A new trial is a second chance at the case, not an acquittal.
Affirmed for our client
Boundary judgment, appealed by a neighbor
We defended a win from a bench trial. The court affirmed without a written opinion, and the judgment stood.
2024 · Sample matter
Affirmance keeps the result; the cost of defending an appeal is its own.
Sample matters written for this template; an owner replaces them with real ones. Past results don't guarantee a similar outcome, and every appeal turns on its own record.
Writing
Two things to know before you decide
Plain notes for people weighing an appeal, and for the lawyers who tried their case.
The recordWhat the record is, and why it decides your appeal
An appeal isn't a second trial. The court reads what was said and filed below, and nothing else. What that means for you.
Theodora Wakefield7 min read
Bring the judgment and the date it was entered
Send the case number and the date on the judgment or order, or call. Theodora will tell you where the deadline stands and whether an appeal is worth taking.
A call doesn't make Theodora your lawyer; a signed engagement letter does.
