Theft and Property Crime Appeals Attorney in Lansing

A wrongful criminal conviction can alter your life forever. Theft and property crime can lead to high fines and extensive jail time, pushing back the goals you have for your life. If you or a loved one have been wrongfully convicted of a theft or property crime you have to fight that charge. Appealing your case is a common practice among people who are wrongly convicted by the justice system. It is a second chance, an effort to re-examine the facts of your trial and the surrounding investigation against you.

Unlike drug or sex crime charges, theft does not have the emotional punch that other allegations do. If you take these accusations lightly though, it will hurt you in the long run. Even something simple as a shoplifting charge can cause problems for you down the road. A conviction with no jail time still will give you a criminal record and possibly several hundred dollars in fines. The criminal record can and will be seen by any potential employers and school admissions boards. When they evaluate you as a candidate, what will that criminal record say?

To win an appeal for a theft conviction you need a veteran legal team who has won these cases before. They can be very difficult to win, as the nature of evidence and witnesses are often stacked against the accused. Eye witness testimony is one of the harder factors to combat. It has been proven to be a not entirely reliable form of evidence in the court of law. However, it is still relied upon in cases to lock away the guilty. Unfortunately, the changing and biased eye witness testimony can be easily mistaken so that a witness could point the finger of blame at the wrong person.

In addition to that, if a conviction has already been decided against a suspect, it likely means that they have the physical evidence of the crime. If it is indeed a theft crime, then there must be an item of value that was stolen. Your Lansing appeals attorneys should be able to evaluate the evidence, look at the details, and point out every connection surrounding the evidence of the case.

Appealing a Theft or Property Crime Conviction

Theft and property crime extends to a wide range of charges, including:

• Automobile Theft
• Armed Robbery
• Carjacking
• Credit Card Fraud
• Forgery
• Joyriding
• Embezzlement
• Shoplifting
• Identity Theft
• Home Invasion
• Unarmed Robbery
• Larceny from a Building

If you or a loved one has been convicted of any of these crimes, there is an opportunity to appeal their case.

The most basic thing to appeal for in your case is a reduced sentence. It is not uncommon for a judge or prosecutor to push for the max sentence for a crime and unfairly punish the accused. Examining your charges out of the environment of the trial can result in you spending less time in jail or having excessive fines reduced to match your financial capabilities.

A common practice of a prosecutor is to extend an offer to the accused. To avoid a lengthy trial, they will offer a reduced sentence for a guilty plea. This deal should be honored by the prosecution. However, if you plead guilty to your crimes and the prosecutor did not honor their agreement, there are legal grounds to have your guilty plea thrown out of court. This action is very dishonorable for a prosecutor and the courts will take that into account. You would have been duped by the public justice system and that cannot stand.

You can also appeal to have your court case extended, hopefully to avoid jail time altogether. For you to appeal for a continuation of your case, new evidence, witnesses, or other factors will need to be present that can provide a different viewpoint, provide new evidence, or confound previously held claims in your case. This can be difficult and requires investigation.

You can ask for a new trial altogether by appealing for a Ginther Hearing. This hearing is a plea that your legal representation was inadequate to protect your innocence. This can be fairly complicated as you will have to switch attorneys mid or post-trial. You should plan ahead for this hearing and be prepared. Your new, capable legal team can help you prepare for a Ginther Hearing. If you win the hearing, the case will restart with your new legal representative.

Even after you have been found guilty and served your time, there are options to reclaim a normal life. You can appeal to have this criminal action expunged from your record. In a theft case, this is a reachable goal. There is no great moral anger over theft, like there is over other types of crimes. If your case is stated effectively and the courts also see that you would be a far more useful citizen with a clean record, they will have good reason to consider expunging your record. This way, future employers will see nothing of concern on your background check.

Lansing Appellate Court

If you live in Woodhull Township, Owosso Township, Bennington Township, Cohoctah Township, Conway Township, Deerfield Township or in any other city in Livingston or Shiawassee Counties, then you will be working in the Fourth District of Appeals. There are four Clerk Office districts total, and your Clerk Office and courtroom will be located in Lansing.

The address for the Lansing Court of Appeals is here:

Hall of Justice
925 W. Ottawa St.
P.O. Box 30022
Lansing, MI 48909

District Clerk's number: (517) 373-0786
District Commissioner's Office: (517) 373-0786

The Clerk's Office and courtrooms are located on the second floor.

Contact Grabel & Associates

Grabel & Associates have experience fighting numerous theft and property crime cases and have over a century of experience amongst our legal representatives. We can help you build your appeal for a theft or property crime and get you back to living your life. Call us right now for a free consultation at 1-800-342-7896 or you can contact us online. We can start building your appeal today.