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Appeals

The Judge has ruled against you.  What do you do?  You have a right to an appeal.  Most people do not realize that a Judge may hear your case only on one morning or afternoon.  The Judge may have ruled incorrectly.   An appeal though can be a maze with many procedural requirements. Sometimes though the Judge was wrong and you should appeal.  There are a number of things that must be done on your behalf if you are going to appeal from a decision by a judge.  The court reporter has to be contacted to obtain transcripts of what happened in court.  The appeals court – which in Pennsylvania the first appeals court is either the Pennsylvania Superior Court or the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court – will require that there be transcripts.  Secondly your counsel will be required to file with the trial court what is called Statement of Matters Complained Of.  The Statement of Matters Complained Of is critical.  It is a written document directed to the Judge which states the reasons why the court should not have ruled against you.  The Judge will then write an Opinion justifying the results of what the judge or jury did.

Once an Opinion is written by the Judge Mr. Earl writes a brief.  The brief is the written argument Mr. Earl makes on your behalf which requests the appeals court to rule in your favor and reverse the trial judge.

At the Law Office of Douglas Earl LLC, we represent clients in a variety of appeals, emergency appeals, injunctions, requests for reconsideration of trial court orders, post-conviction matters, Federal Habeas Corpus cases, issues that may arise after their initial legal proceedings.  Serving Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery Counties, and throughout Pennsylvania. Mr. Earl has even gone to Norfolk, Virginia for a Federal Habeas Corpus case.

Douglas P. Earl, Esquire has over 34 years of experience handling appeals and post trial matters.

Results

Civil Forfeitures
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. 1992 Chevrolet, 844 A2d 583 (Pa.Cmwlth.2004). Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins an appeal from a forfeiture order. The client Theresa Hill was an innocent owner of a vehicle that was seized by the police.

Child Custody
• A.S v. M.K In the Superior Court Of Pennsylvania No. 3009 EDA 2012, Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins an appeal of a bitterly fought custody case for the step-mother in a case where the father died.

Child Support
• Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins on an appeal of a child support case from an order where half of the father’s income was garnished.

• Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins two appeals (No. 1443 EDA 2016 and No. 3364 EDA 2017) from two Family Court Judges who ordered father to pay child support based upon what the court claims his income should have been. The Superior Court agrees that Family Court was wrong. Mr. Earl represented father.

Adoption Cases

Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins adoption case brought by mother and step-father.  In the Interest of: S.E.E., A Minor, Appeal of: M.S, Mother, and S.S, Step-Father, Superior Court of Pennsylvania No. 1779 EDA 2017, decided January 8, 2018. Court agrees that Family Court Judge abused his discretion when denying the Petition to Involuntary Terminate Parental Rights and allow the step-father to adopt the child.

Criminal Cases

• Commonwealth v. S.J.; Douglas P. Earl, Esquire takes over case after jury convicts S.J. of Aggravated Assault on her baby. S.J. and her boyfriend were arguing in bed. Child was stabbed in the head resulting in serious injury. Boyfriend had the knife. The District Office agrees on appeal that S.J. should not have been convicted of Aggravated Assault.

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. D.A.P., In the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, No. 3226 EDA 2013. D.A.P. was convicted at trial of ethnic intimidation. Mr. Earl wins the appeal. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reverses the conviction ruling that the conviction of ethnic intimidation must be vacated because D.A.P. was found not guilty of harassment at his trial.

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. R.V., No. 2053 EDA 2015 Firearms conviction reversed. Client was chased by police, arrested in the bathroom of a barber shop. Firearm recovered by the police from the ceiling. Superior Court vacates the conviction holding that there was not enough evidence of client possessing the gun.

Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA)
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. T.P., CP-51-CR-0010919-2010. Mr. Earl wins the reinstatement of T.P.’s appeal rights and also the Court agrees to review his sentence. T.P. had been convicted by a jury on April 28, 2011 with possession with intent to deliver of crack cocaine and possessing an instrument of crime (a sub machine gun).

Let 34 years of experience, effectiveness and hard work go to work for you.

If you want to appeal your case Mr. Earl will do whatever he can to help you. Our firm carefully examines all police reports, court records and transcripts looking for important information that may have been overlooked or mistakes that may have been made during the trial. Relevant evidence that was undiscovered or not allowed at trial and many types of legal malpractice (such as failing to bring forth witnesses or make pertinent objections) can be cause for an appeal. We may be able to request a new trial even after the time for an appeal has run out. Our actions are determined by the details of your individual situation.

Criminal, Family, Guardianship Law Appellate Lawyer in Philadelphia

Ask the man convicted of Ethnic Intimidation following a heated argument with his neighbor during which strong words were exchanged. The Trial Court convicted him. He came to Mr. Earl to represent him in his appeal. Mr. Earl represented the man on appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The Superior Court reversed the trial court and vacated his conviction. Why? Mr. Earl listened to the client and pored over the police reports and transcripts from the trial. Mr. Earl did legal research and discovered that in order to convict someone of Ethnic Intimidation in Pennsylvania it was also required for him to be convicted of Terroristic Threats. The client was not convicted of Terroristic Threats. It is this painstaking attention to detail that wins the day.

Ask the father in a child support case who was told that he owed over $20,000 in back child support case and had half of his income garnished. Douglas P. Earl, Esquire appealed. Now the order is vacated and the client does not owe his ex-girlfriend.  He ended up overpaying and is getting a refund!  A Family Court Judge ordered that half of his social security benefits be garnished. The judge also ordered that the mother’s attorney be provided information regarding father’s Mercedes Benz.  Mr. Earl appeals.  It is discovered that the arrears – that is the amount of support owed – was incorrect!  The children had turned 18 several years ago.  There was no arrears.

A Family Court Judge terminated rights of woman who was girlfriend of father to children and awarded custody to birth mother.  Mr. Earl appeals. Superior Court of Pennsylvania reverses the decision of the judge because the woman acted like a parent – what is called parens patriae – and the birth mother had not been involved in the child’s life.

Douglas P. Earl, Esquire has won an appeal in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for a step-mother where her boyfriend who was the biological father died.

Criminal Law Appellate Lawyers in Philadelphia

The criminal justice system offers a second chance for justice for those who were not given a fair chance the first time around. At Law Office of Douglas Earl, LLC, we have successfully handled many appeals for people who have been convicted of state and federal crimes. We are equipped to help you make the most of your second chance.

Douglas P. Earl, Esquire represented an individual on a Federal Habeas Corpus petition in Norfolk, Virginia.

Contact us today online or by telephone at 215-627-5970 to speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer. We represent clients throughout Pennsylvania.

Property forfeitures – Money, homes, cars, other property.  Douglas P. Earl, Esquire wins.   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. 1992 CHEVROLET Seized from T.H. Seized from W.S. Appeal of T.H. (Philadelphia 2004).  Mother T.H.’s automobile ordered seized by a Common Pleas Judge under Controlled Substances Forfeiture Act (Forfeiture Act).   Douglas P. Earl, Esquire appeals for T.H.  T.H.wins! Judge reversed.

Was evidence overlooked or was there a Mistake in Your Trial?
At the Law Office of Douglas Earl, LLC we help people with criminal appeals for a wide range of offenses. An appeal can be filed when mistakes are made by judges, attorneys or jurors in the original trial. We will carefully explore all facets of your original trial, asking these important questions to determine whether or not there are grounds for appeal:
Was evidence used against you that should have been thrown out?
Was evidence that might have helped you not admitted?
Were there procedural mistakes made during the course of your trial?
Did the judge overlook critical information that should have been considered?
Was the prosecution allowed to make arguments it should not have?
Was the jury given clear and appropriate instructions?
Was your sentence excessive or inappropriate?

Douglas P. Earl, Esquire has extensive experience practicing in state and federal appeals courts throughout Pennsylvania. He understand the special rules and procedures of appellate trials and are prepared to help you seek a successful result.

If you file a lawsuit and lose the case, you can appeal the decision to the next highest court, which is called the appellate court. Appellate lawyers often specialize in arguing appeals; that is, they specialize in arguing why the decision of the lower court was wrong (or why it was right, for the party that won). Appellate attorneys specialize in appeals because they understand the specific and detailed rules that must be followed. It is possible to lose an appeal on technicalities, even when the law is on your side. If you want to appeal the outcome of the trial court, or if you need to argue against another person’s appeal, you should work with an appellate attorney.

Post-Conviction Matters

We also handle a wide range of post-conviction matters for individuals who have been tried and found guilty of a crime. Some of the types of post-conviction matters that our firm handles includes (but is not limited to) the following:

  • Writ of Habeas Corpus
  • Expungement
  • Probation Violations
  • Parole Matters

Contact a Philadelphia appeals lawyer at our office today. We can schedule an appointment for you to have the possibilities for your case assessed by principal lawyer and accomplished criminal defense attorney Douglas Earl. We are committed to aggressively standing up for your rights in order to see that justice is served.

Contact Me Now For A Free Consultation

Phone: (215) 627-5970.  Telephone is answered 24 hours a day.  Available all hours when there is an emergency.