Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: juvenile appeal

Your question is a bit ambiguous. Did the P.D. say you couldn't appeal because you were not the one convicted, or because there was a legal bar on such an appeal? If the latter, did he explain his reasoning?

I'm not sure whether you can appeal your daughter's case without her approval. Most people in her situation want to appeal, but some don't and you may not get very far on your own.

You shouldn't be concerned that the P.D. is unwilling to handle the appeal. His decision probably has nothing to do with how he feels about the case. In California, P.D.s only work in the trial courts; they only handle appellate matters in very unusual cases.

If your daughter does want to appeal but your family can't afford an appelate attorney, you should ask the Court of Appeal to appoint one for her. She is entitled to have a lawyer throughout the appeal process, and one will be appointed for her at public expense if she is deemed indigent.

There are strict time limits for filing the notice of appeal, so don't delay. These notices are filed in the trial court, and most PDs do this before they close their file. If the PD hasn't filed one it is probably either because your daughter told him not to or because she waived her right to an appeal.

Your question refers to your daughter's sentence and not to her conviction, so my sense is that she was sentenced after pleading guilty or no contest. Such a plea waives most of the arguments that would be available after a trial, but sentencing issues are not among them.

You say that you don't agree with the sentence, but you don't say why. Judges have limited discretion in sentencing, and it is possible that your daughter received the lightest sentence available to her. An appeal will not get her a sentence reduction if she already has the minimum sentence for her crimes; this may be what the PD had in mind when he said you couldn't appeal.