I'm sorry but didn't know where is the right place to ask this question, so I'm trying here.
My son has been given a plea bargain and in it it says he CANNOT appeal the case afterward. Is this the norm? Without going into all the details, he is being screwed left, right, up, down and diagonal. Nothing his 'high priced' lawyer told us from the beginning has actually happened, and everything has gone to the bad side. Too late and too broke to hire a new attorney, and I just can't believe that he's being denied even the right to appeal. This is in the 11 circuit court in Florida. I thought everyone had the right to appeal?
Anyone else been given this type of plea bargain.
Thank u to all and anyone who will answer :)

Bloodhound, I am really really sorry to say that waiving appeal is a standard part of most plea bargains and that it is legal. Your best avenue here may be to contact the ACLU or an Innocence Project in FLA to look into whether or not there was fraud or misconduct on the part of the attorney or the DA, there is some possibility that a Habeus writ could be executed, but yeah, the appellate option is probably gone.
I wish you the best of luck.

He needs to think about whether it is worth his while in accepting the plea, for example if he thinks he will get convicted then it may be worth it. Remember, not many appeals actually are successful. Another thing to remember, it doesnt matter how much you cant afford a new attorney, go with your gut. I felt the same way about my husbands attorney, like I had nowhere else to go since we had used all our money on him. He screwed us royally, and we would have been better represented by a public defender.

If I read it correctly, he has already accepted the plea. So, if he agreed that he'd not appeal the decision and the plea has been accepted by the court, he can't change his mind now. Sorry about that. I hope his sentence isn't terribly long.

His lawyer says the way his appeal was written, she believes there's a loophole and he Can appeal. She put in for it the day we left his sentencing. Now I've paid for the 'right' to appeal, (over $500.) plus I've now had to send another ($600) for the transcripts! This firm just wants money and I see that now, but when it's your boy, you try and grasp at every avenue available!!
We owe the lawyer firm $2,000 for a P.I.'s investigation which we have been disputing for a long time now. (I could have gotten the same info he did on Yahoo search for about $45.00 and 1/2 hour worth of time! long story) I'd like to Demand the transcripts and find out how to get a public defender. After all, "I'M" the one who paid for them!!! A friend told me that as long as I 'owe' the firm, they won't turn over anything to me. I Definitely plan on writing to the 'bar' about this firm when I know they 'can't' do anything to my son anymore. Any further advice?

Bloodhound: (1) There are some issues that survive a waiver of appeal. For example, in most jurisdictions, if one was denied his constitutional rights to a speedy trial, and if he objected to that before the trial court, he can usually still appeal on that ground, despite waiving right to appeal.
The severity of a sentence can often be appealed in the face of a waiver also.

(2) Attorneys routinely hold back records from clients and their families when the bill is unpaid. This is called an attorney work product lein. There are still ways to get those records from the attorney without paying the balance.

,,,,I just can't believe that he's being denied even the right to appeal. This is in the 11 circuit court in Florida. I thought everyone had the right to appeal? Anyone else been given this type of plea bargain. Thank u to all and anyone who will answer :)

Dear Bloodhound:

I took this from a case off Lexis. It is an excerpt from a plea agreement in a case I found there. I highlighted the part about the exceptions.

The defendant understands and acknowledges that defendant's sentence will be determined and imposed in conformance with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 and the federal sentencing guidelines. Defendant is also aware that a sentence imposed under the sentencing guidelines does not provide for parole. Knowing these facts, the defendant agrees that this Court has jurisdiction and authority to impose any sentence up to the statutory maximum set forth for the offense and pursuant to the sentencing guidelines and expressly waives the right to appeal defendant's sentence, directly or collaterally, on any ground, . . . except for

an upward departure by the sentencing judge,
a sentence above the statutory maximum,
or a sentence in violation of the law apart from the sentencing guidelines;

provided, however, that [**3] if the government exercises its right to appeal the sentence imposed, as authorized [*1296] by 18 U.S.C. § 3742(b) (http://www.lexis.com/research/buttonTFLink?_m=783c4142aa884c4852db1c3500323c0e&_xfercite=%3ccite%20cc%3d%22USA%22%3e%3c%21%5bCDAT A%5b399%20F.3d%201294%5d%5d%3e%3c%2fcite%3e&_butType=4&_butStat=0&_butNum=3&_butInline=1&_butinfo=18%20U.S.C.%203742&_fmtstr=FULL&docnum=1&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkAt&_md5=ae14bfe4a523a33bcd6b7d3ff3b6b6d8), the defendant is released from this waiver and may appeal the sentence as authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) (http://www.lexis.com/research/buttonTFLink?_m=783c4142aa884c4852db1c3500323c0e&_xfercite=%3ccite%20cc%3d%22USA%22%3e%3c%21%5bCDAT A%5b399%20F.3d%201294%5d%5d%3e%3c%2fcite%3e&_butType=4&_butStat=0&_butNum=4&_butInline=1&_butinfo=18%20U.S.C.%203742&_fmtstr=FULL&docnum=1&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkAt&_md5=994689baac36c9ce1e79255f0f0297dc).


If I may ask what were his charges? Do you know if he was sentenced with in his guidelines?

Regards,
Lynne

His lawyer says the way his appeal was written, she believes there's a loophole and he Can appeal. She put in for it the day we left his sentencing. Now I've paid for the 'right' to appeal, (over $500.) plus I've now had to send another ($600) for the transcripts! This firm just wants money and I see that now, but when it's your boy, you try and grasp at every avenue available!!
We owe the lawyer firm $2,000 for a P.I.'s investigation which we have been disputing for a long time now. (I could have gotten the same info he did on Yahoo search for about $45.00 and 1/2 hour worth of time! long story) I'd like to Demand the transcripts and find out how to get a public defender. After all, "I'M" the one who paid for them!!! A friend told me that as long as I 'owe' the firm, they won't turn over anything to me. I Definitely plan on writing to the 'bar' about this firm when I know they 'can't' do anything to my son anymore. Any further advice?
my fiance just got sentenced on the 2nd to a year in jail, this is his second time in fromt of this judge, we have a baby on the way in less then 3 months, can he appeal or try to get early parole

Bloodhound: (1) There are some issues that survive a waiver of appeal.
Correct, in that errors reaching a constutional level can often survive appeal waivers. Illegal searches that have been upheld at teh trial level is a primary example.

It's also possible to have nothing to appeal where there is no waiver of rights. That's because an appeal is challenging errors of law. If there was no search motion because none was available; if the DA played by the rules and the Judge followed the law; then there's simply nothing to appeal from. Also, if motions weren't brought for tactical reasons (to leverage a plea bargain, for instance), those issues are deemed waived.

if the DA played by the rules and the Judge followed the law; then there's simply nothing to appeal from.

Gryphon: After being involved in postconviction litigation for a number of years now, it is my finding that rare is the felony prosecution in which both the judge and D.A. follow the letter of the law. Just look at all the times a prosecutor fails to disclose discovery material by the statutorily created or court ordered deadline. And how often is a D.A. sanctioned for untimely disclosure upon motion of the defense?

In my experience, in almost every trial and in a good many plea cases, there are one or more arguable issues for appeal. It's the knowledgeable lawyer who can think creatively who can give a defendant the best chance on appeal from either.

That just doesn't match my 20 years of trial experience here in N.CA. I've done dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of jury trials. I figure I've won around half. Of the losses, each had an automatic appeal. On teh felonies, quite experienced attorneys who write felony appeals for a living handled the cases. Twice, the appelate court ruled I was right and the Judge was wrong. On each of those, it was ruled "harmless error", so the case wasn't overturned but the Judge was yelled at for being a bozo. All the rest had convictions upheld.
That's because if I'm right about a legal argument, the Judges and the DAs have the good sense to listen carefully. They don't want to screw up, and when an experienced attorney is in front of them they sit up straight and take good notes. No, a DA has never once screwed around with discovery on one of my cases. If that happened just one time, I'd be certain tha the DA paid pennance for many years. It's only because I'm a nice guy that the DAs have an opportunity to go home on weekends and have a relationship with their children. While a Judge might not take on a DA to impose sanctions, it gets around when a certain DA has to be in court until 5 o'clock for 4 weeks, and on top of that has to spend weekends writing response motions. I've worn out more than a few DAs, who've gone on to nice quiet state jobs.
I'm not alone. A few times we've had DAs who misbehaved, and other attorneys were the ones who dished out the consequences.
It all depends on your local court culture. No doubt things are terrible in some places and worse in others.
The thing is, defense attorneys have volume on their side. It's a powerful weapon, and can be used to make certain people suffer, or it can even shut down an entire court system. If I simply confirm just one day's cases for trial, the system can't handle it; and I'm just one lawyer. When the system overloads, all the other defense lawyers are setting cases with so much enthusiasm you'd think the court was giving away free scotch. Negotiating on a busy day results in otherwise impossible to get probation grants on state prison cases.
Anyways, I'd say that there are certainly parts of the world that don't seem nearly as corrupt and dishonest as teh picture you paint. hang in there, and hope that some good things things start to seek your direction.

wanna move to NY, big boy;)?

That just doesn't match my 20 years of trial experience here in N.CA. ... That's because if I'm right about a legal argument, the Judges and the DAs have the good sense to listen carefully. They don't want to screw up, and when an experienced attorney is in front of them they sit up straight and take good notes. No, a DA has never once screwed around with discovery on one of my cases. If that happened just one time, I'd be certain tha the DA paid pennance for many years. It's only because I'm a nice guy that the DAs have an opportunity to go home on weekends and have a relationship with their children ... I've worn out more than a few DAs, who've gone on to nice quiet state jobs ... Anyways, I'd say that there are certainly parts of the world that don't seem nearly as corrupt and dishonest as teh picture you paint. hang in there, and hope that some good things things start to seek your direction.

Gryphon: (1) Far be it from me as a lowly "jailhouse lawyer" -- albiet a jailhouse lawyer with an extensive legal education -- to ever question the amazing powers of bar members ... to grandstand. (2) I can't say as though I'm so damned good that I wore down DAs or made judges sit up straight and take notes, but I can say that I have given back two felony convictions I was personally saddled with, together a good number more once belonging to others. (3) things have been coming my direction ever since I have back my last conviction, pro se.

OK I take it back, NY got da Renegade already

Gryphon: (1) Far be it from me as a lowly "jailhouse lawyer" -- albiet a jailhouse lawyer with an extensive legal education -- to ever question the amazing powers of bar members ... to grandstand. (2) I can't say as though I'm so damned good that I wore down DAs or made judges sit up straight and take notes, but I can say that I have given back two felony convictions I was personally saddled with, together a good number more once belonging to others. (3) things have been coming my direction ever since I have back my last conviction, pro se.
I suspect we'll learn something from each other.
I wasn't trying to say you'r advice might not be good. I've agreed with many things you've had to say. On the other hand, although you seem to have a decent substantive understanding of the procedural appelate law; your ideas regarding trial tactics are (in my view) sometimes out to lunch. I think you are coming at the world with a very personal perspective, so your viewpoint sometimes has blinders on it. (That probably can be said for any human being, certainly including myself.) If you have been put on a railroad and had to derail the train yourself, I certainly can understand where you are coming from. Sometimes people aren't crazy when they think everyone is out to get them; there are times when that's really the way it is.
In your world many DAs, many judges, and lots of cops are crooks. I understand why you think so, given that railroad experience. In my world, the vast majority of DAs, judges, and cops are highly pricipled (although frequently misguided and damaged human beings). In your world, most defense lawyers are dumb and lazy. In my world they are by and large creative and zealous.
I know I'm right, based on my perspective. You know you are right, based on your perspective.

BTW, t'aint grandstanding where what I've said is true and where I have nothing to gain. I thought you might like to know that your view of the world might be a little more cynical than what might be justified; and I hoped that'd come as good news. If not, carry on.

I suspect we'll learn something from each other.
I wasn't trying to say you'r advice might not be good. I've agreed with many things you've had to say. On the other hand, although you seem to have a decent substantive understanding of the procedural appelate law; your ideas regarding trial tactics are (in my view) sometimes out to lunch. I think you are coming at the world with a very personal perspective, so your viewpoint sometimes has blinders on it. (That probably can be said for any human being, certainly including myself.) If you have been put on a railroad and had to derail the train yourself, I certainly can understand where you are coming from. Sometimes people aren't crazy when they think everyone is out to get them; there are times when that's really the way it is.
In your world many DAs, many judges, and lots of cops are crooks. I understand why you think so, given that railroad experience. In my world, the vast majority of DAs, judges, and cops are highly pricipled (although frequently misguided and damaged human beings). In your world, most defense lawyers are dumb and lazy. In my world they are by and large creative and zealous.
I know I'm right, based on my perspective. You know you are right, based on your perspective.

BTW, t'aint grandstanding where what I've said is true and where I have nothing to gain. I thought you might like to know that your view of the world might be a little more cynical than what might be justified; and I hoped that'd come as good news. If not, carry on.

No hard feelings at all counselor. You are ever so right about our respective truths being the product of our own individual experiences.

when my nephew made deal with the fed., he had to waive right to appeal the sentence he made deal to but was able to reserve right to appeal the additional "career offender" thing (which was the majority of time he was looking at)....they then stuck the career offender sentence on him using a non-violent conviction that the judge decided to call "violent"...so what it turned out to be was he'd made deal for 5 yr and thought that was what he was going to get but he got 19....so he then appealed just the career offender portion of the sentence which, unlike my husband's appeal, has easy issue to appeal with b/c US vs Hoults/etc already set similar precedence...i understand what you are saying about the lawyer b/c he had 3 that were quite similar...he had to file papers to say he couldn't afford another lawyer and then they appointed him one that works for good firm and is good attorney....so what you might do is read the fine print and see if he has agreed to not appeal any of the sentence or just part of it....