If you did not waive your right to appeal in a plea agreement, you may appeal the conviction, sentence, or both. An attorney with our office or from the CJA Panel will continue to represent you for free during the appeal. However, a notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days, so it is essential you immediately discuss your desire with your attorney. Grounds (or permissible reasons) for appeal are limited. Your attorney will review your case for instances where the judge did not follow the law or where certain Constitutional rights were denied. If they do not find any issues, and you still wish to appeal, it will be filed. However, the attorney must submit a brief to the court stating they believe there are no appealable issues in your case. The appellate court does not retry cases, entertain new evidence, or hear witness testimony. Instead, they review written arguments (called briefs), oral arguments made at their request, and the procedures and decisions of the trial court to determine if a serious error was made. If they find a harmful error occurred, they will reverse the judgment, usually sending the case back to the trial court with instructions to remedy the error. In most all cases, the defendant remains in custody while their appeal is pending.