Beth, what is the difference between an appellate attorney and a criminal attorney? I feel silly not knowing...

Mary Ellen

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Answers

An appellate attorney can be a criminal OR civil attorney; it just means you handle appeals instead of trials. In other words, once the jury (or judge) has decided the case below, there may be an appeal, and the appeal is usually handled by different attorneys, at least in criminal cases. On appeal there is no jury, just a panel of judges, and there is no new evidence presented. Everything is decided on the basis of the record from the trial.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999