As is the case with most legal inquiries, the answer to the above question is “it depends.”
Whether or not you should appeal your DC DUI conviction depends on what you are looking to get out of the situation. If you are only trying to avoid the trial court’s sentence, maybe an appeal isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you would like to have your conviction overturned and your conviction removed from your record, maybe an appeal is for you. Obviously, all three results are preferable. However, avoiding your sentence is impossible due to time it takes for the parties to brief the appellate issues and the time it takes the DC Court of Appeals to issue a decision.
Having dealt with your DUI at the trial level, you have probably realized that the judicial process is lengthy and time-consuming. The appellate court process is tedious and time-consuming as well. On average, DUI appeals take approximately a year to resolve.
In the District of Columbia, you have 30 days from the trial court’s judgment to note your appeal. After you note your appeal, you must file your Appellant’s Brief within 40 days. The government has 30 days to respond to your brief. Then, you have 21 days to file a reply. At this point, your appeal has already taken 121 days—not including weekends or national holidays. If you factor in the numerous motions for extension of time, which is common for both parties to ask for in order to file briefs, the timetable nearly doubles. Finally, once the parties have filed everything, the case is submitted to the DC Court of Appeals and it issues a decision in months or even a year.
Any jail sentence imposed for a DC DUI conviction will most likely take you less than a year to complete. However, probation could take a year or longer. Thus, even if the DC Court of Appeals ruled in your favor, you may have already served your sentence. Nonetheless, you have a lot to gain from appealing your DUI conviction.
Winning an appeal could result in your conviction being overturned and erased from your record. There are numerous reasons why having your conviction cleared from your record is ideal such as future employment and educational opportunities. Or maybe having your conviction erased from your record is more of a moral victory to you. Just think of the weightlessness you would feel without a conviction hanging over your head.
While the facts of every case are different and winning a DUI appeal is never a guarantee, there are various issues that you can attack to ensure the best possible result for your appeal. For instance, it has recently come to light that the Metropolitan Police Department has a history of problems with their breathalyzer program which resulted in a multitude of wrongful DUI and DWI convictions. Wrongful DUI conviction is just one example of the many issues an experienced appellate lawyer could challenge in your DUI appeal.
It is important that you hire a skilled DC criminal appellate lawyer who will carefully examine your appellate issues and zealously advocate to have your conviction overturned. At Scrofano Law PC we have successfully appealed many DC DUI convictions. If you or someone you know has been convicted of a DC DUI or DWI, contact Scrofano Law PC immediately for a full consultation.
