Criminal Law

questions & answers

Question: after signing a plea bargain is there a possibility to appeal? If the police report shows contradictions who do i contact to investigate entrapment?

Answer:

The following is general legal information and is not a substitute for talking with an attorney directly. To find out how the law applies to a specific situation, speak with an attorney directly.

To find out whether there is a right to appeal in a specific situation, contact an attorney.

Rule 32 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure discusses post conviction relief. That rule states:

Subject to the limitations of Rule 32.2, any person who has been convicted of, or sentenced for, a criminal offense may, without payment of any fee, institute a proceeding to secure appropriate relief .

Any person who pled guilty or no contest, admitted a probation violation, or whose probation was automatically violated based upon a plea of guilty or no contest shall have the right to file a post-conviction relief proceeding, and this proceeding shall be known as a Rule 32 of-right proceeding.

Grounds for relief are:
a. The conviction or the sentence was in violation of the Constitution of the United States or of the State of Arizona;
b. The court was without jurisdiction to render judgment or to impose sentence;
c. The sentence imposed exceeded the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise not in accordance with the sentence authorized by law;
d. The person is being held in custody after the sentence imposed has expired;
e. Newly discovered material facts probably exist and such facts probably would have changed the verdict or sentence. Newly discovered material facts exist if:

1. The newly discovered material facts were discovered after the trial.
2. The defendant exercised due diligence in securing the newly discovered material facts.
3. The newly discovered material facts are not merely cumulative or used solely for impeachment, unless the impeachment evidence substantially undermines testimony which was of critical significance at trial such that the evidence probably would have changed the verdict or sentence.
   

f. The defendant's failure to file a notice of post-conviction relief of-right or notice of appeal within the prescribed time was without fault on the defendant's part; or
g. There has been a significant change in the law that if determined to apply to defendant's case would probably overturn the defendant's conviction or sentence; or
h. The defendant demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient to establish that no reasonable fact-finder would have found defendant guilty of the underlying offense beyond a reasonable doubt, or that the court would not have imposed the death penalty.

A Notice of Appeal must be filed within 90 days of a sentencing date.