Massachusetts Criminal Appeals
A conviction is not the end of the process: it's the point at which the written record becomes the case. This page explains what a criminal appeal is, who may have grounds, and what the process looks like in Massachusetts.
What a criminal appeal is.
A criminal appeal asks a higher court, in Massachusetts typically the Appeals Court and in some cases the Supreme Judicial Court directly, to review whether legal error occurred during the trial court proceedings. An appeal is not a new trial and does not reweigh the facts a jury or judge already decided. It asks a narrower, more exacting question: was the law correctly applied, and was the process the defendant received consistent with what the law requires.
That narrower question is precisely why the brief matters so much. The appellate court's understanding of the case comes almost entirely from the written record and the arguments made about it, not from a fresh telling of the story.
Every case is different, and not every conviction presents a viable ground for appeal. The categories below are among the more common starting points for that analysis.
The brief is not a summary of the case. It is the argument itself.
Appellate judges decide cases substantially on the strength of the written submissions before them. A brief that is clear, precisely reasoned, and grounded in the record does more to move a case forward than volume of argument or rhetorical force. That is the discipline this practice is built around: treating the brief as the primary work product, not a formality on the way to oral argument.
Not every conviction presents grounds for appeal, and outcomes depend on the specific record in each case. Nothing on this page should be read as a prediction or guarantee about any particular matter. The most reliable way to understand whether your case presents a viable appeal is a direct conversation about the record. If your appeal has already concluded, post-conviction relief may still be available.