Legal Question in Criminal Law in Louisiana

How to Appeal

My son was incarcenated for armed robbery and not able to afford an attorney, was appointed a court appointed attorney. My son had poor legal representation. He was sentenced to 30 yrs. at hard labor without the benefit of probation,parole, or suspension of sentence and was givin 3yrs. to appeal. There were 2 others involved and one is already out and the other received 7 yrs. with good time eligibility. My son states his conviction obtained by plea of guilty was unlawfully induced or not made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea and denial of effective assistance counsel. When you enter a plea bargain, this means for a lesser charge and was not the case for my son. My son is disabled with epilepsy and dislexia and is entitled to be granted his relief. Please help us in this matter and let us know what to do. He only has 3 months left to appeal.


Asked on 4/01/03, 1:31 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Nick Pizzolatto, Jr. Pizzolatto Law Office

Re: How to Appeal

You need to get a copy of his file and get it to a qualified criminal defense counsel. While you may think your son was "wronged" in all of this, an objective opinion is necessary to find out if he was fairly represented. I may be mistaken, but it seems that your son had 2 years within which to seek post conviction relief, and not 3. At any rate, if you are not prepared to pay for the services of a qualified criminal attorney, then you probably will not be satisfied with the outcome.

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Answered on 4/01/03, 1:59 pm
Austin Nimocks Austin R. Nimocks & Associates, P.L.L.C.

Re: How to Appeal

I am unable to discern from your question whether your son pled guilty in MS or LA. Either way, poor legal representation does not necessarily equal ineffective legal representation as a matter of law. To discern whether your son received ineffective assistance of counsel, you need to obtain a copy of the court transcript that was made when he pled guilty. That transcript then needs to be evaluated by a criminal attorney in either MS or LA, depending on where your son pled guilty. The transcript will cost money and you should order it from the court where your son pled as soon as possible. To pursue post-conviction relief, you should also be prepared to tender to the attorney that you hire a retainer. Contact me if I can be of further assistance. Good luck.

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Answered on 4/01/03, 11:24 pm


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