Q: how much would it cost to get a case checked by a lawyer after conviction to see if it makes sense to go to court again?
we were told he has to serve his minimum sentence and his ERD is 2033. my friend says he just needs a lawyer and he will be free within 1 year. i don't want to get his dad's hopes up if there is no way he can go home sooner.
A: Every case is different, but let's look at statistics: the Court of Appeals takes action on probably less than 20% of criminal appeals. Of those, very few result in a conviction being over-turned. Without knowing the particulars of the crime, the applicable sentencing guidelines, or whether he went to trial or plead guilty, I can say that if the ERD is 2033, he is serving time for a serious felony and/or he has a substantial criminal history. Even if there are appealable issues, it's completely unrealistic to expect that sort of sentence to be reduced down to a year.
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