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Public defender tells me to wait after deadline to file claim

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Wonderwell

Junior Member
California State

I have a question about appellate court. I have a public appellate attorney for my appeal. I have numerous arguments I want to be raised and preserved for my appeal. My attorney is going to be filing my appellate opening brief for my criminal appeal this week. I have given him all of the claims that I want him to raise during my appeal. He has informed me that he thinks that they all are meritorious and valid claims. But he said to me that he thinks that some of them should not yet be presented during in the opening brief because it will tip the prosecuting attorney's off to my claims. He told me that we should wait to present these claims because they were not necessary until the D.A. raises the issue. He said that if the D.A. brings up in his reply brief the aspects that are damaging to my appeal, then we could respond in the 2nd reply brief filed after the D.A. files its original response. My question is as follows: Is an appellant allowed to raise new claims in his response to the prosecuting attorney's reply brief to the appellate court?

Please help... I think my public defender is attempting to tell me to withhold crucial claims until it is too late to raise them.... Would I still be able to raise them in my 2nd brief filed after the DA files its responsive brief?

Any advice would be appreciated....Thank You
 


Ohiogal

Queen Bee
California State

I have a question about appellate court. I have a public appellate attorney for my appeal. I have numerous arguments I want to be raised and preserved for my appeal
Preserving issues for appeal needs to be done at the TRIAL level.

My attorney is going to be filing my appellate opening brief for my criminal appeal this week. I have given him all of the claims that I want him to raise during my appeal. He has informed me that he thinks that they all are meritorious and valid claims. But he said to me that he thinks that some of them should not yet be presented during in the opening brief because it will tip the prosecuting attorney's off to my claims. He told me that we should wait to present these claims because they were not necessary until the D.A. raises the issue. He said that if the D.A. brings up in his reply brief the aspects that are damaging to my appeal, then we could respond in the 2nd reply brief filed after the D.A. files its original response. My question is as follows: Is an appellant allowed to raise new claims in his response to the prosecuting attorney's reply brief to the appellate court?
No. An appellant needs to file in his original brief all of his claims. In his reply brief he is REPLYING to what the prosecutor argues.


Please help... I think my public defender is attempting to tell me to withhold crucial claims until it is too late to raise them.... Would I still be able to raise them in my 2nd brief filed after the DA files its responsive brief?
Not usually. But CA is a different creature from other states. Even so I will stick with my original answer of NO.
 

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