Along the course of a criminal case, it is common for the trial court to enter a series of decisions that shape the issues and evidence that can be raised at trial. But, depending on what type of order is being appealed from, the issues that can be raised on appeal might be more limited. In other words, not every decision made by the trial court will always be something you can challenge on appeal. The biggest factor in determining what issues you can raise on appeal is the nature of the order you are appealing from. Some of the most common orders that are appealed by a defendant in a criminal case are discussed below.
Judgment of conviction following a guilty plea
Most guilty pleas in criminal cases are “unconditional” guilty pleas. These are admissions to a criminal offense that waive the right to a whole host of rights, including both the right to trial and the rights to challenge prior rulings by the trial court without reserving the right to raise specific issues on appeal If a person enters an unconditional guilty plea, most issues on appeal are waived. [iii] The remaining issues that are available on appeal from this type of guilty plea are usually related to sentencing.
Some guilty pleas do reserve the right to appeal from specific, prior decisions of the trial court. These are typically referred to as “conditional” guilty pleas. For these pleas, if a defendant raises a successful challenge on appeal to the trial court’s ruling that is reserved in the agreement, the defendant typically can withdraw his or her guilty plea after the appeal is final. [iv] Before a person can enter a conditional guilty plea, the defendant must get both consent of the prosecutor and approval of the trial court. [v] Also, the agreement itself must contain what specific ruling can be appealed, and this must be put in writing and made part of the official record in the case. [vi] A conditional guilty plea will be interpreted to allow an appeal of only those issues from the prior proceedings that are expressly reserved in writing.[vii] Because of this, it is important to be careful when crafting the language in any guilty plea that reserves the right to raise specific issues on appeal.
Judgment of conviction following a jury trial
Unlike a guilty plea, an appeal from a judgment of conviction following a jury or bench trial permits a defendant to appeal from most of the “adverse” rulings that the trial court made throughout the life of the case. An adverse ruling is one where the district court made a decision that, in whole or in part, went against the position, argument, or request of that party. This commonly includes things like rulings on motions to suppress evidence, rulings seeking to present or exclude evidence at trial, rulings made during the trial itself (such as the court’s decisions on objections made by the parties, motions for mistrial or for judgment of acquittal, or requests for jury instructions), and sentencing decisions.
Even with a judgment of conviction following a trial, there are still limits on what issues may be raised. As is discussed in the section below (see What issues can I raise on direct appeal?), another major factor for what issues can or cannot be raised is whether the issue was litigated at trial. In addition, there are some issues where the trial itself is considered to “cure” any prior error—this is primarily the case for challenges to either the judge finding probable cause for the charge following a preliminary hearing or for any alleged defects in the grand jury process. Under Idaho case law, the jury finding of guilt by a much higher standard of proof means that the appellate court will not review any of these types of errors if the defendant also received a fair trial. [viii]
Post-judgment rulings: motions for new trial, motions to reduce or modify sentence, orders relinquishing retained jurisdiction, probation revocation, and post-conviction petitions
If the appeal is only timely from a post-judgment decision or ruling, then the issues on appeal are generally limited to the merits of that ruling alone. With limited exception, these appeals do not generally permit challenges to issues relating to the original judgment of conviction. Some of the most common of these are: motions for a new trial, motions to modify or reduce a sentence, and any decision made by the trial court on a petition seeking post-conviction relief under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act.
Appeals that are timely only from an order relinquishing jurisdiction (if the trial court retains jurisdiction at sentencing) [ix] can extend the time to appeal from the original judgment for challenges to the sentence only. [x] But this does not extend the time to appeal for non-sentencing related issues. [xi]