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| Michael Skinner is “an expert in Michigan appellate law.” The Detroit Free Press, February 9, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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What Our Firm Does Overview Criminal Appeals & Habeas Corpus Civil Appeals Character & Fitness Issues Driver's License Appeals Bar Exam Appeals |
Overview
Our firm practices appellate law exclusively. It is important to get an experienced appellate attorney to handle your appeal, and very few attorneys have the experience that our firm has. We concentrate on both criminal appeals and civil appeals.
Our attorneys are very experienced in the handling of criminal appeals and post-conviction claims, including motions for relief from judgment (also known as "6500 motions") and federal habeas corpus cases.
Our attorneys also handle civil appeals on a wide range of subject matters. If you have lost at the trial level and need to appeal, or if you have won and need to protect the judgment, we can provide you with experienced representation.
The attorneys in our firm are committed to providing professional, effective, and aggressive representation to you, with personal attention to your case and your goals.
Criminal Appeals & Habeas CorpusWe concentrate our practice on representation of clients on appeal from criminal convictions. We are committed to giving every case a thorough review and preparation for appeal, and we consult closely with our clients to determine the best options available to meet the client's goals. Appellate law requires clear writing, sound logic, and a great attention to detail. We pride ourselves on providing the best possible representation for our clients on appeal. We handle all aspects of post-conviction matters, including:
If you are considering an appeal, you should contact an attorney immediately. There are strict deadlines for filing an appeal. Many people contact us after important deadlines have passed. We will schedule a first appointment for free, so please call so that we can meet with you and explain the appellate process. Outside appellate counsel is essential in criminal cases. A regularly occurring issue in criminal appeals is the ineffective assistance of a defendant's trial attorney. Only an outside attorney can provide the objectivity necessary to decide whether an ineffective assistance claim is warranted. Indeed, a lawyer who appeals a criminal case he has handled at trial may very well have a conflict of interest if he was ineffective. Please call us to set up a free consultation at our offices. We look forward to hearing from you.
Civil AppealsOur firm is devoted almost exclusively to appellate litigation. We are committed to giving every case a thorough review and preparation for appeal, and we consult closely with our clients to determine the best options available to meet the client's goals. In addition to pursuing or defending an appeal on your behalf, we can review your case and advise you of our opinion on your prospects for success on appeal. If an appeal is advisable, we provide professional representation throughout the process to maximize your chance for success. We provide appellate representation in all areas of the civil law, including:
If you have any questions about our services, please give us a call. We will set up a free initial consultation at our offices during which you can give us the full details of your case and we will advise you about the appellate process. We look forward to hearing from you.
Character & Fitness IssuesIn addition to an assessment of your intellectual ability to practice law, the State Bar examines your character and fitness. The State Bar is concerned with many character issues:
The State Bar may have already notified you that it wants to investigate some issue in your past, or you may already know that you have a blemish that may be a problem. I can guide you through the State Bar's investigation and represent you at all the hearings necessary to secure a favorable resolution. Please call me for a free consultation. I want to help you put your character and fitness problems behind you and start the practice of law.
Driver's License AppealsThe law says that you have a privilege to drive, not a right to drive. Unfortunately, when that privilege is taken away, you may find yourself unable to get to work or get your kids to school or the doctor. It may be a privilege to drive, but you definitely have certain rights that the Secretary of State must honor when granting or revoking this privilege. If you have had your driver's license revoked because of drunk driving convictions or other traffic violations, call us for a free appointment. We will consult with you to learn all the facts necessary to protect your rights and tell you what your options are to restore your driver's license. Again, the initial consultation is free. We can represent you before the Secretary of State or, if you have already lost there, we can appeal that decision to the Circuit Court. Some people come to us after they have tried and failed to get their licenses back themselves. The Secretary of State is looking for very specific information in a specific format. Be careful if you decide to represent yourself to consult the Driver's License Appeal Manual very carefully before filing your appeal. We recommend that you consult an attorney before deciding to represent yourself. Please call us. We look forward to hearing from you and helping to get your driving privilege restored.
Bar Exam AppealsYou have a limited window of opportunity to appeal your Bar Exam Results. Once the results are released, you have only thirty days to obtain your answers, evaluate your Exam, and prepare and file an appeal. You will also find that attorneys who practice in this area will limit the number of clients they take for Bar appeals because of the time constraints. Therefore, if you are going to hire an attorney, it is important to move quickly to secure representation and begin the appellate process. The best appeals are frank – they do not attempt to hoodwink the Board of Law Examiners with complex or strained legal arguments, but rather provide a brief and plainspoken assessment of the appellee’s Exam. It is a fine line to walk, between the strong advocacy needed to achieve a passing score and the candor necessary to maintain one’s credibility before the Board. We will evaluate your Exam with this same sort of candor. If an appeal is advisable, you may retain us to prepare and file the appeal. We will provide our own analysis of your Exam, but we keep in regular contact with our clients and welcome all input on possible approaches or arguments. Please call us for a free consultation. We hope that we can help you put the Bar Exam behind you and begin the practice of law.
Michael B. Skinner
 Mr. Skinner founded the firm after serving as an associate attorney at a prominent and well-respected Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, law firm. Before he became an attorney, he spent five years as a law clerk in appellate practice at a downtown Detroit law firm, gaining the experience that allowed him to devote his work to appeals and to jump ahead of his peers when he became an attorney. Mr. Skinner is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and the state and federal bars of Michigan. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, and the Catholic Lawyers Society.
Contact Information
How a State Criminal Appeal WorksContents
Appeal from Recent State Court Conviction and SentenceYou have a right to appeal if you have recently been convicted in any criminal court in Michigan. To preserve your right to appeal, you must do one of the following:(1) You or your family may hire an attorney to represent you on appeal, who will file a claim of appeal in the Court of Appeals within 42 days of sentencing. (2) If you are indigent, you may fill out the petitions given to you at your sentencing, and file them with the Court within 42 days of sentencing. If you fail to do (1) or (2) within the required 42 days and still wish to appeal your conviction or sentence, you can still appeal your felony conviction by hiring a lawyer and having him prepare and file a Delayed Application for Leave to Appeal. This must be completed within one year of the date of your sentence in the Trial Court. The primary goal in conducting most Appeals is to reverse your conviction and have the Appellate Court remand your case to the Trial Court for a new trial or resentencing. Our firm reviews all trial transcripts to identify all issues in an appeal for the purpose of reversing a conviction or obtaining sentencing relief. An issue can be anything that took place during the course of your case from arrest to sentencing that violated your Constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial. Typical issues can be testimony which should have been disallowed by the Court, evidence that may have been admitted contrary to case law and statute, conduct on the part of the prosecutor or trial judge that was prejudicial to you and contrary to the law, improper instructions given by the judge to the jury, illegally obtained evidence and/or confession in violation of your Fourth or Fifth Amendment rights, and many other possible errors too numerous to list here. After the issues are identified in your case, our firm researches these issues for the cases and statutes that would support a reversal of your conviction or change your sentence. When the research is completed, an Appellate Brief is filed at the Michigan Court of Appeals which seeks reversal of a conviction, sentencing relief, or any other type of relief that is appropriate under the particular case. Our firm is not a court-appointed appellate office. Our firm is a law office that can represent you, if you or your family contacts us and retains us anytime during your appeal process. Remember, if you cannot hire a lawyer, you have a right to appointed appellate counsel by filing your petition in the trial court within 42 days of sentencing. Appeal from the Michigan Court of AppealsIn the event the Michigan Court of Appeals affirms your conviction, you have a right to file an Application for Leave to Appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the State of Michigan. The Michigan Supreme Court will then consider your Application for Leave to Appeal if it is persuaded that the issues in your case warrant its consideration.Time requirements in the Michigan Supreme Court are most important. You must file within 56 days from the date of your Court of Appeals decision, otherwise you lose any right to file an Application in the Michigan Supreme Court. You should know that only those issues that you brought in the Michigan Court of Appeals can be raised in your Application for Leave to Appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. Motion for Relief from JudgmentIf you do not have Federal issues for Habeas Corpus or you have missed deadlines for filing Habeas Corpus, you may be able to file in the Trial Court a Motion for Relief from Judgment also known as a 6.500 Motion. Any issues brought in a Motion for Relief from Judgment must not have been brought in the Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court in your previous briefs. There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to file a Motion for Relief from Judgment, pursuant to MCR 6.500.The preparation of a Motion for Relief from Judgment is done by reviewing once again your entire Court file, all of your trial transcripts, Evidentiary Hearings, Motions, and your Sentence. Any new issues, that is, issues that have never been brought before, will be researched and briefed. Once a brief is prepared, the Motion for Relief from Judgment is filed in the Trial Court where it will be heard and considered. In the event your Motion for Relief from Judgment is denied, our firm can appeal that denial to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
How a Federal Criminal Appeal WorksContents
Federal Criminal ConvictionsIf you have been convicted in a Federal Court (in any U. S. District Court in the United States), you have ten days to file a Claim of Appeal or a Motion for a New Trial. The best time to hire your appeal lawyer is that period between the time a jury found you guilty and your sentence date. This time is generally long enough to hire an appellate lawyer and prepare for filing timely a Claim of Appeal and decide how best to proceed after you are once sentenced in Federal Court. The complex nature of most Federal trials makes it essential to work with a client well before his sentencing date, to review the trial file, and debrief you before you are sentenced and transferred sometimes hundreds of miles away.After the Claim of Appeal is filed, our firm prepares a brief to be filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. If you are denied relief by the United States Court of Appeals, it is possible to seek a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
How Habeas Corpus WorksContents
Appeals to the Federal CourtsIf you have appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court, and have been denied relief in both of these State courts, you have a right to appeal to the Federal Court by filing a Writ of Habeas Corpus, if the issues raised in the State Courts violate Federal Constitutional Rights. This means that the issues must be Constitutional, such as a violation to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution.The preparation of a Writ of Habeas Corpus is done by reviewing your case file, transcripts, and briefs that were filed and turned down by the State Appellate Courts to determine if any of the allegations of error raised in the State Courts also infringed on your Federal Constitutional Rights. The Petition is filed before a Federal Judge and must be filed within one year after the Michigan Supreme Court denied you relief. In the event the petition is denied or dismissed by the Federal Judge, you may appeal that decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; and, if necessary, to the United States Supreme Court. Motion for Relief from JudgmentIf you do not have Federal issues for Habeas Corpus or you have missed deadlines for filing Habeas Corpus, you may be able to file in the Trial Court a Motion for Relief from Judgment also known as a 6.500 Motion. Any issues brought in a Motion for Relief from Judgment must not have been brought in the Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court in your previous briefs. There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to file a Motion for Relief from Judgment, pursuant to MCR 6.500.The preparation of a Motion for Relief from Judgment is done by reviewing once again your entire Court file, all of your trial transcripts, Evidentiary Hearings, Motions, and your Sentence. Any new issues, that is, issues that have never been brought before, will be researched and briefed. Once a brief is prepared, the Motion for Relief from Judgment is filed in the Trial Court where it will be heard and considered. In the event your Motion for Relief from Judgment is denied, our firm can appeal that denial to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Character & Fitness
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Office (248) 693-4100 · Fax (248) 814-8231 · Email MSKINNER@MICHIGANAPPEALS.COM
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Michigan Criminal Appeals and Civil Appeals
