Can my sentencing be deferred while my case is on appeal?

If you’ve lost a criminal case at trial and you’re looking to bring an appeal, will the court consider deferring your sentence until the appeal is decided? Under Pennsylvania law, there are several factors that a court will consider in making this determination.

First though, we want to make sure that you know that there are two important deadlines after you’ve been convicted. The first is that you have 10 days to file a post-trial motion. The second is that you have 30 days after your conviction and sentencing (if no post-trial motion is filed) to file your appeal. If you miss either of these deadlines, you may forfeit important arguments and rights.

So, if you’ve been convicted and not yet sentenced, you have time to consider these options. If you’ve been sentenced, it’s important that you talk to a Pennsylvania appellate lawyer immediately.

Now back to deferring sentencing. Here are some factors that the court will consider when you’ve asked for deferral of a sentence.

1. The likelihood of success on appeal.

The court may consider deferring the serving of your sentence if the court agrees that you have a likelihood of success on appeal. Your first step is to ask the trial court for a stay of your sentence. You’ll need to put in information about why you believe you have a likelihood of success on the merits of your appeal. This may be much more difficult than it sounds. Keep in mind that the same judge who has declined to overturn a jury verdict and who sentenced you is the one who will have to make this determination. If you had a bench trial, the judge who convicted you will make this decision in the first instance.

If the trial judge turns you down, you can go to the Superior Court and ask them to stay your sentence. You typically have a limited timeframe to do this, and in many cases, the Superior Court is not willing to step into these matters to defer sentencing. Regardless, showing to the court that your appeal rests on solid constitutional or other legal grounds is an important first step.

2. The nature of the charges against you.

How serious are the charges against you? The seriousness of the charges also has a profound impact on whether any sentence will be stayed pending appeal. The Pennsylvania Superior Court is more likely to grant an application for stay if the charges are minor for a misdemeanor or minor felony rather than for very serious felonies that are involved. Accordingly, a petition for stay is more likely to be granted on a minor charge. This doesn’t mean that if convicted of a major charge, you can’t get a stay of your sentence; it just means that it’s more of an uphill battle.

3. How quickly you act.

One of the most important factors is how quickly you get together with an appellate team and work on putting together a proper appeal. Your appellate team will need to work through the transcripts of your trial, talk with your trial counsel and advise you of your options. Which matters you pursue on appeal requires sifting through all of the claims that were properly preserved at the trial court level and picking the ones that are strongest on appeal. This takes us back to the first factor above. Being able to show that you are likely to succeed on the merits of appeal makes it more likely that your sentence will be stayed. Accordingly, it’s important to talk to a Pennsylvania criminal appellate lawyer right away about your case.

Conclusion: Call Cornerstone Law Firm and speak to a criminal appeals lawyer

If you’ve been convicted and are looking to appeal, call the attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm immediately. Our attorneys can look through your trial record, talk with you and help advise you on your rights. There are many decisions that need to be made immediately, including whether to file a post-trial motion, whether to appeal and whether to file a petition asking the court to stay the sentence. Our attorneys can help you through this process and help you make good decisions on these matters. Call us today for a consultation.