If I plead guilty in court do I have any appeal rights?
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If I plead guilty in court do I have any appeal rights?
I was in a parked car in a apartment
complex,police pulled up behind the car
that I was not driving and I got a public
intox charge I’m 59 years old only 1 other
infraction in my life judge gave me 180
days suspended 1 year probation 50 upfront
50 admin fee 20 mo prob fee alcohol class
at 400 apparently I should of got a lawyer
is it to late?
Asked on February 15, 2018 under Criminal Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
It is very, very difficult to appeal a voluntary guilty plea--remember, you agreed to it, and said in court, on the record, that you understood and agreed to the plea--unless you can show some significant error, such as that the state (the prosecutor, that is) hid or kept from you information or documentation which they should have provided. Not having a lawyer is NOT grounds for an appeal, since it was your choice to not hire a lawyer--you could have hired one and there was nothing stopping you but your decision to not hire an attorney. Your own bad or unfortunate decision is never grounds for an appeal.
Also, appeals are expensive: even if you don't hire a lawyer for one, you have to buy and provide copies of the transcript of your court appearance, pay the filing fee--expect you will spend several hundred dollars at least for an appeal with much less than a 50-50 chance of winning (the vast majority of appeals do *not* work). And if you do hire an attorney for the appearl, it will cost several thousand dollars. And even if you appeal and win, that will most likely just invalidate the plea--you'll get a new trial date, and could end up with the same (or worse!) outcome in the end.
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