Post Conviction Relief: What are the Grounds?
Let's imagine that you had a criminal charge, that ended up with a trial, and the criminal trial didn't go as you had wanted it to go. You are convicted. You perhaps tried to appeal but if you didn't, the time to appeal has now run out. What now? Are you out of options?
Post Conviction Relief
In fact, you may not be out of options, because of what is known as post-conviction relief or PCR. Because PCR is a drastic remedy—it essentially overturns what a judge or jury decided in a full-blown criminal trial, even after you may have lost an appeal—it is not available to all, but it is an option.
PCR exists because the law recognizes that there are some errors in the criminal system which are so fundamental, and which so affect our constitutional and due process rights, that they should be able to be brought up before a judge, to have your prior conviction overturned, or at least, to get a new trial.
Getting PCR From a Court
While any of these by themselves warrant their own discussion, briefly, here are some reasons why PCR is often asked for, and granted:
Law Changes – Sometimes, criminal laws change, and what could have or should have been the law when your criminal trial happened is no longer the law. So, for example, imagine the court in your case found that the police legally searched your home, and later it turns out that that kind of search is unconstitutional. Or, imagine the legislature decriminalizes something that was once criminal.
In these cases, a Defendant can often ask the court to reopen their case, and relieve them of the conviction, based on the new law or changes in the law.
New Evidence – Usually, for new evidence to warrant PCR, the new evidence must have been unavailable at the time of the original trial. But it does happen – think of the "exonerated (Central Park) 5" in New York's Central Park in the 80s, who were convicted, only later to have someone else confess to committing the crime.
Sometimes, science itself changes. This was the case when DNA evidence became more widely used, and it revealed that many people had been wrongfully convicted.
New evidence could have existed, but not been produced by the state during your criminal trial. This is illegal; the state must provide the Defendant with all evidence, even if the evidence tends to acquit or exonerate the Defendant. This is sometimes called the Brady Rule.
If there is new evidence that, if known by the jury, could have influenced the outcome of the case, a Defendant can ask a court for PCR to reopen a criminal case on that basis.
Problems with Witnesses or Jurors – It often happens that long after a case is done, it turns out that a witness was influenced, or that a juror had a secret bias, or that a juror was getting information about a case, from the outside world. These irregularities can be the basis for PCR.
This is not an exhaustive list. Almost any procedural or substantive irregularity in a case can form the grounds for PCR if it fundamentally affected the outcome of the case and if it affected a Defendant's right to due process.
For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams today. We are top-rated, relentless, and aggressive Louisiana criminal defense lawyers. Complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may significantly benefit by having an attorney with legal competence and experience assist you with your Louisiana criminal case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle criminal defense cases throughout Louisiana.