The criminal justice system is supposed to be fair, protecting your rights throughout the investigatory and prosecutorial processes. Yet, egregious errors may not come to light until after your conviction. When that happens, you may be warranted in seeking post-conviction relief. And if you’re successful here, then you could have your conviction overturned and obtain a new trial.
But what circumstances warrant seeking said relief? Let’s dive in a little deeper.
Circumstances that warrant seeking post-conviction relief
There are a lot of ways that you can be cheated out of fairness in your criminal case. Many of those issues won’t be discovered until after your conviction, though, such as:
- The prosecution’s withholding of exculpatory evidence that by law should’ve been turned over to you prior to trial.
- Ineffective assistance of counsel that prejudiced you and may have led to your conviction.
- The discovery of new evidence that’s material to your case, is reliable, and likely would’ve changed the outcome of your trial.
- Other violations of your Constitutional rights that couldn’t have been raised at the trial level and on appeal and that denied you a fair trial.
As time progresses, you’ll learn more about how your investigation and prosecution played out. This may lead to the uncovering of crucial information that, if it had been known at the time, could’ve changed the direction of your case. This is the information that you’ll want to discuss with your attorney to see if it would qualify you to seek post-conviction relief.
Continue to fight to protect your rights and your freedom
It’s easy to give up after you’re convicted and your case is affirmed on appeal. But you should continue to fight for fairness and to protect your rights. So, if you think seeking post-conviction relief is right for you or your loved one, then now is the time to start discussing how to approach the matter.