Criminal Appeal Brief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Authorities
3. Statement of the Case
4. Enumerations of Error
5. Statement of Facts
6. Argument and Citation of Authority
7. Conclusion
8. Certificate of Service
9. Certificate of Word Count Compliance

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA

Appeal from the Superior Court of [________________________________] County
The Honorable [________________________________], Judge

BRIEF OF APPELLANT

Attorney for Appellant:

[________________________________]
Georgia Bar No. [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Georgia [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant, [DEFENDANT/APPELLANT FULL LEGAL NAME], appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered on [__/__/____] in the Superior Court of [________________________________] County, Georgia.

On [__/__/____], Appellant was charged by ☐ indictment / ☐ accusation with:

[Summarize pretrial proceedings.]

[________________________________]

The case was tried before a ☐ jury / ☐ the court on [__/__/____].

On [__/__/____], the jury returned a verdict finding Appellant:

[________________________________]

(T. [____]; R. [____].)

On [__/__/____], the trial court sentenced Appellant to:

[________________________________]

(R. [____].)

Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____]. (R. [____].)

☐ Appellant filed a motion for new trial on [__/__/____], which was ☐ denied on [__/__/____] / ☐ denied by operation of law.

ENUMERATIONS OF ERROR

1. The trial court erred in [________________________________].

2. The evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction for [________________________________] under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979).

3. Trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by [________________________________].

4. [________________________________]

STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. State's Evidence

[________________________________]

(T. [____].)

B. Defense Evidence

[________________________________]

(T. [____].)

C. Sentencing

[________________________________]

(T. [____]; R. [____].)

ARGUMENT AND CITATION OF AUTHORITY

ENUMERATION OF ERROR NO. 1: [________________________________]

A. Standard of Review

☐ De novo review applies to questions of law, including constitutional issues. (Suarez v. State, 334 Ga. App. 614, 616 (2015).)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to the trial court's evidentiary rulings and sentencing decisions. (Ponder v. State, 260 Ga. 840, 841 (1991).)

☐ Sufficiency of the evidence under Jackson v. Virginia: Whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. (Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979); Smith v. State, 277 Ga. 213, 214 (2003).)

☐ Manifest weight / Thirteenth juror: On a motion for new trial, the trial court sits as a thirteenth juror and may grant a new trial if the verdict is contrary to the evidence and principles of justice and equity. (O.C.G.A. § 5-5-21.)

☐ Ineffective assistance of counsel: Appellant must show deficient performance and prejudice. (Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984); Robinson v. State, 278 Ga. 31, 32 (2004).)

B. Argument

[________________________________]

(T. [____]; R. [____].)

ENUMERATION OF ERROR NO. 2: [________________________________]

A. Standard of Review

[________________________________]

B. Argument

[________________________________]

ENUMERATION OF ERROR NO. 3: [________________________________]

[________________________________]

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse and remand for a new trial.
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Georgia Bar No. [________________________________]
Attorney for Appellant

Date: [__/__/____]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing Brief of Appellant upon the following by:

☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Electronic filing and service
☐ Hand delivery

This [____] day of [________________________________], [____].

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF WORD COUNT COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to Court of Appeals Rule 24, I certify that this brief contains [________________________________] words, exclusive of the cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, certificates of service and compliance, and that it complies with the 14,000-word limit for criminal case briefs.

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

Date: [__/__/____]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR GEORGIA

1. Notice of Appeal: Must be filed within 30 days after entry of the appealable decision or judgment. (O.C.G.A. § 5-6-38(a).)

2. Word/Page Limit: E-filed criminal briefs: 14,000 words. Paper criminal briefs: 50 pages. (Ga. Ct. App. R. 24.) Civil briefs have lower limits (8,400 words / 30 pages).

3. Filing Deadline: Appellant's brief is due within 20 days after the appeal is docketed. (Ga. Ct. App. R. 23(a).)

4. Motion for New Trial: Must be filed within 30 days of the entry of judgment. (O.C.G.A. § 5-5-40.) The appeal period does not begin to run until the motion for new trial is resolved.

5. Enumerations of Error: Georgia uses "enumerations of error" rather than "issues" or "points." Each enumeration must be specific and separately stated. (Ga. Ct. App. R. 25.)

6. No Exhibits Attached to Briefs: The Court of Appeals will reject any brief that has documents or exhibits attached. (Ga. Ct. App. R. 25.)

7. Direct Appeals to Supreme Court: Certain criminal cases must be appealed directly to the Georgia Supreme Court, including death penalty cases, cases involving the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance, and cases involving title to land. (Ga. Const. Art. VI, § VI, Para. II.)

8. Ineffective Assistance Claims: Georgia generally requires that ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims be raised in a motion for new trial before the trial court, so that a record can be developed. (Robinson v. State, 278 Ga. 31, 32 (2004).)

9. Discretionary Appeals: Under O.C.G.A. § 5-6-35, certain orders require an application for discretionary appeal rather than a direct appeal.