Criminal Appeals in Texas State Courts
What an appeal can and cannot do, how long you have, and what we would need to tell you whether you have one.
Thirty days from sentencing
The notice of appeal — and any motion for new trial — is due 30 days from the day the sentence was announced in open court. Not from the day paperwork arrived. If you are close to that date, call before you finish reading this page: (469) 828-9017
An appeal is not a second trial
There are no new witnesses, no new evidence, and no jury. The appellate court reads the record of what already happened and decides one question: whether a legal error occurred that entitles your family member to relief.
That relief takes one of three forms, and which one depends entirely on the error found — a new trial, a new sentencing hearing, or an acquittal. This is why the first thing we do is read the record. Until someone has read it, nobody can honestly tell you what your case is worth pursuing.
The brief is the case
Ninety percent of an appeal is the written brief. It is a long, developed legal argument addressed to the judges — not a form, and despite the name, not brief: state courts allow up to 15,000 words.
The audience for that document is the court, which means the writing can be difficult for a family to follow. The ideas in a brief may be complicated. The writing should not be. You are entitled to have your lawyer explain, in plain language, what is being argued on your behalf.
What we would need from you
• The county and court where the case was tried
• The date the sentence was announced
• The charge and the sentence
• Whether trial counsel has already filed anything
That is enough to establish your deadlines and to tell you what the next step is. It is not enough to tell you whether the appeal will succeed — nobody can tell you that before reading the record, and you should be cautious of anyone who does.
Call and tell us the court and the sentencing date.
The first call is free — a conversation to find out whether we are the right firm for your case, and whether yours is a case we can help with. Someone answers between 8:30 and 6:00 — Lauren, Niles or Grace.
We work either hourly or on a flat fee, and we will tell you which one fits your case on that first call.
If it is easier to write than to talk, email help@appealstx.com. Emailing us does not create an attorney-client relationship, so please do not send confidential details until we have agreed to represent you.
Who would handle it
Niles Illich is board certified in criminal appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His first job out of law school was as a briefing attorney for a justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston, where he drafted opinions and read an enormous number of briefs. Sitting in conference with the judges is where he learned which arguments actually move an appellate court — that is not taught in law school. He has practiced appeals only for fifteen years.
Grace Shin spent twenty years responding to criminal appeals for the State in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. She knows how the other side reads a record, because for two decades she was the other side.
If you want the full procedure
The complete route a direct appeal takes — motion for new trial, notice of appeal, the record, the briefing schedule, submission, opinion, and what follows an opinion — is set out step by step here: Appeals Explained →
That page also covers how to track a case yourself through the court’s online system, if you would like to follow the docket while the appeal is pending.