Not everyone charged with a crime receives a fair trial. Errors are made by courts, by prosecutors who press too far, and — in more cases than the profession likes to admit — by defense counsel who were not prepared. Our appellate practice exists to identify those errors and to argue them under the standards that actually govern review.
The work is led by Steven J. Lieberman, who is Board Certified in Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and whose cases have produced published opinions in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas courts of appeals, and the Fifth Circuit.
What we handle
- Motions for new trial — the narrow window after judgment in which the trial court can still fix what happened, and the only chance to develop facts outside the trial record
- Direct appeals in the Texas courts of appeals and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Petitions for discretionary review
- Federal appeals in the United States Courts of Appeals, and certiorari practice in the Supreme Court of the United States
- Post-conviction writs of habeas corpus in state and federal court, including claims of ineffective assistance, suppressed evidence, and newly discovered evidence
- Sentencing and re-sentencing, including relief available under the First Step Act
- Parole presentations and revocation proceedings
Why the record decides everything
An appellate court reviews what was preserved. An objection that was not specific, a ruling that was never obtained, an offer of proof that was never made — each is an issue that cannot be raised, however meritorious it would have been. That is why the first thing we do on any appeal is read the entire record before forming a view of the case, and why we are also retained during trial, by other lawyers, to preserve the issues the appeal will need.
It is also why the choice of issues matters more than the number of them. A brief raising fifteen points of error tells a court that counsel could not tell which two were real. We raise the ones that can win and we develop them properly.