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Appeals

A conviction at trial is not the end of the case. Every person convicted in an Arizona trial court has the right to appeal.

An appeal is not a new trial. No new witnesses are called and no new evidence is presented. The Arizona Court of Appeals reviews the record of what happened in the trial court, the transcripts, exhibits, and rulings, to decide whether legal error affected the outcome: a motion to suppress that should have been granted, evidence that should never have reached the jury, a faulty jury instruction, misconduct by the prosecutor, or a sentence the law does not allow. The case is decided on written briefs, sometimes with oral argument. If the Court of Appeals affirms, a petition for review may be filed with the Arizona Supreme Court.

Appellate work is a different craft from trial work. It demands a complete reading of the record, a command of the case law, and the discipline to choose the few issues that can actually win.

Ms. Jakobe has written many appeals over two decades of practice, in both the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court. She reads every page of the record herself and writes briefs built to persuade the judges who will decide the case.