Criminal Appeals Lawyer

What you should look for in a Criminal Appeals Lawyer

In choosing a criminal appeals lawyer to handle your appeals, how can you ensure you make the right choice? Use this advice:

• Experience truly matters. Filing an appeal is a multi-step process and meeting the standard required can be difficult. The more your criminal appeals lawyer knows from their extensive experience in criminal appeals, the better.
• Take your time. Take an appropriate amount of time when making your decision and choose the firm that is the best fit for you and your appeal case. Don’t rush. Choosing your criminal appeals lawyer is the first step in your appeal journey.
• Ask the questions. Ask for information about cases handled by the firm similar to yours, or about recent successes in their legal efforts. This ties in to the importance of experience — these conversations with criminal appeals lawyers can illuminate just how experienced a team of lawyers may be — but also affords you the opportunity to consider how their successes are similar to your circumstances.

What You Can Expect from Galbally Parker as Your Appeals Lawyers

At Galbally Parker, we take our role in handling criminal appeals very seriously. Correcting errors and preventing unfair outcomes are essential to us. With that in mind, here’s what to expect when working with us:

• A highly proficient team of experienced criminal appeal lawyers which exhibits decades of combined experience. With an in-depth understanding of the complex legal proceedings that surround appeals, we can coordinate with our clients to examine all angles and possibilities to understand the strategies which have the highest likelihood of success.
• A compassionate criminal defence team. We understand that our clients are often under a considerable amount of stress and pressure, as anyone would be when facing the appeals process. We take our time to invest in transparent communication and the forging of strong lawyer-client relationships so that you can place your full trust and confidence in our efforts.
• A strong track record of success, including our most recent victory, the freeing of Faruk Orman and Zlate Cvetanovski following the vacation of their convictions as a result of the Lawyer X scandal. Unfairly convicted and imprisoned, we worked tirelessly to gather and present the evidence necessary to demonstrate that Orman and Cvetanovski were the subject of a miscarriage of justice. We’ll deliver the same level of dedication to all our clients.

Be Informed About What An Appeal Can Mean for You 

Appeals are the final chance to have a case reviewed. Accordingly, they need to be properly prepared by trusted criminal appeals lawyers experienced in preparing and running Appeals.  It is also important that individuals progress their appeals as soon as possible. In the recent Court of Appeal decisions in Bolton (a pseudonym) v The Queen [2021] VSCA 117  and Cavanaugh (a pseudonym) v The Queen [2021] VSCA 347 , the Court of Appeal made very clear that inordinate and unexplained delay may lead to a refusal of an application for extension of time. It is imperative to engage experienced and competent criminal appeal lawyers who can act promptly to progress your appeal from its earliest stage.

Appeals can be filed on two bases: appeals against sentence and appeals against conviction.

Sentence appeals are filed with the County Court or Court of Appeal. In Court of Appeal matters, a sentence appeal can be filed by either the accused or the prosecution.

Conviction appeals are filed with the County Court or Court of Appeal when a person has pleaded not guilty at Trial and are ultimately convicted by a jury. The conviction appeal is filed because the person is of the view that:

• a significant error occurred in the Trial (either in the form of the evidence that was admitted, a mistake made by a party or by the judge at the conclusion of the Trial);
• new evidence has arisen since the Trial, which significantly affects the safety of the conviction; or
• because the convicted person argues that no reasonable jury properly instructed could have come to the verdict that was delivered.

Appeals are What We Do

Our firm is regularly engaged in complex conviction appeals by those who argue that their trials were unfair and the jury’s verdict flawed.  We are an industry leader in successfully preparing and running appeal matters. It is imperative that if your loved one has been convicted and incarcerated following a Trial that you immediately retain experienced criminal appeal lawyers to commence the appeal process as time limits apply .

With the exception of the most unusual circumstances, where compelling fresh evidence has arisen that raises overwhelming doubt about a verdict of ‘not guilty’, the Crown has no right of appeal in relation to a verdict of not guilty. In other words, the Crown cannot appeal a verdict because they do not like the outcome.

Ruth walked Mr. Dib free from Goulburn Prison.

The appeal process can be daunting, confusing and emotional for convicted persons and their families and many questions are usually asked about the avenues available once a Trial or Plea is over. The answers to these questions ultimately depend on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. However, if you or a family member is anticipating appeal proceedings, including those filed out of time, please contact our office for an appointment with one of our experienced lawyers.

In recent years, our firm has prepared and instructed in some significant appellate cases. For example, we instructed in the conviction appeal of Moustapha Dib. In 2012, he was convicted of murder and attempted murder after pleading not guilty at Trial. In February 2016, after exhaustive appeal proceedings, Moustapha was released from prison a free man, after the Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously overturned the convictions and entered verdicts of not guilty.

‘Lawyer X’ Appeals

Faruk Orman

Our firm made legal history in the case of Faruk Orman, a young man whom our firm represented for 10 years throughout his appeal proceedings. On 26 June 2019, after exhaustive representations by our office and Counsel assisting, the Attorney-General of Victoria announced that she had agreed to refer our client, Faruk Orman, to the Court of Criminal Appeal following a Petition for Mercy. This was extraordinarily rare. Mr. Orman was represented by Nicola Gobbo between 2007 and late 2008. During that time, she was a registered human source with the Victoria Police and informed on our client. In agreeing to refer his matter to the Court of Appeal, the Attorney-General recognised that there was credible evidence available which raised concerns that a miscarriage of justice had occurred in Faruk’s case.

Our office worked tirelessly to have his matter revisited after the atrocious behaviour of Ms. Gobbo and the Victoria Police was revealed in December 2018. On 27 July 2019 (exactly one month after his matter was referred), Faruk walked free from prison surrounded by our team who had fought so fiercely for him. You can watch the judgment here. It made legal history and resulted in a significant change that now benefits every criminal appellant. In October 2019, the Attorney-General announced that no one would have to go through what Faruk did. Now every person has the opportunity to have a ‘second chance appeal’ even when they have previously exhausted all avenues, due to changes in legislation which arguably would not have come about without Faruk’s case. We are proud that our legacy could achieve such a monumental change in our State. We call it ‘Orman’s Law’.

Zlate Cvetanovski

Since the case of Orman, our office has represented another person affected by Nicola Gobbo and the Victoria Police: Zlate Cvetanovski. He is the second person to have his conviction overturned as a result of the ‘Lawyer X’ scandal. To date, our office is the only office which has achieved such results. In Mr. Cvetanovski’s case, we uncovered that the Victoria Police (Purana Taskforce) was secretly paying the key prosecution witness against Mr. Cvetanovski in order to make him comfortable and encourage him to give evidence against a number of people including Mr. Cvetanovski. These payments were intentionally concealed, by being made using money order from Post offices in the name of the witness’s sister. The existence of these inducements, which took place over the course of year, were not disclosed by Police to Mr. Cvetanovski at any time during his trial proceedings.

Future ‘Lawyer X’ Appeals…

Our office is arguably the firm most experienced in Lawyer X appeals. To date, we are the only firm to have successfully appealed convictions for serious criminal offending as a result of the revelations about Nicola Gobbo and the corruption that was committed by Victoria Police. We have had, and continue to receive, expressions of interest from individuals wishing to retain our office to represent them in their proceedings. Now that the Final Report of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants has been released, and affected persons provided with case studies in relation to how their cases were affected, we expect more individuals will come forward. Accordingly, if you believe that your case has been affected, please contact our office to arrange an Initial Client Consultation.

How to Find a Criminal Appeals Lawyer in Melbourne to Help You

With a criminal appeals lawyer in Melbourne working on your behalf, an initial judgement does not have to be the end of the road for your case. In fact, there may still be the potential for a more positive outcome than the one you initially experienced. While there are no guarantees, putting experienced legal minds on your case can make a world of difference in what happens next.

Why Trust Galbally Parker for a Criminal Appeals Lawyer in Melbourne?

Because we are the best at what we do. From our track record of successes in the recent and the more distant past to our highly qualified team of criminal appeal lawyers proficient in many areas of law, Galbally Parker represents one of the top options for assistance with appeals in the Melbourne area. By believing in you and the possibility of reversing an error for a fairer outcome, we can transform the appeals process experience. Take a moment to learn more about us, or contact us to arrange for a consultation or answers to some of your initial questions.