If you lose your case in New Mexico, an attorney could help you file for an appeal. Not all cases can be appealed, and an appeal doesn’t automatically mean that a judge will overturn your case. However, the higher court could possibly give you a new judgment.
How do you appeal your case?
To start the appeal process, talk to your criminal defense attorney. Only certain cases can be appealed, and you typically have to file for an appeal within a certain time frame. Your attorney could tell you if your case qualifies for an appeal in the first place.
Once you’ve done that, you can file a Notice of Appeal with your local court. You’ll have to pay application fees, so make sure you have enough money when you arrive. You might also want to file a “stay” of judgment so the prosecution can’t start collecting their judgment. Otherwise, they might start garnishing your wages shortly after you lose your criminal defense case.
When you’ve started the appeal process, your attorney could help you fill out the rest of the necessary paperwork. The paperwork might be different depending on the type of judgment that you’re trying to appeal. Ultimately, a higher court will review your case and decide whether they should overturn the ruling. You won’t be able to provide new evidence this time–the higher court will simply look at your case and see if the court made an error in judgment.
Is filing an appeal worth the trouble?
If your appeal is successful, the higher court will change or overturn the previous ruling. They could even order a new trial in extreme circumstances. If not, the ruling will remain the same. Either way, you don’t have much to lose by hiring an attorney and filing an appeal.