Reader’s Question:

My friend has been found guilty and was sentenced for DWI here in Anchorage, Alaska. How many days does he have to appeal his conviction and who will hear it?

Reggie

Anchorage, AK

Your friend has twenty days to appeal his DWI conviction in Anchorage, Alaska to a higher court. His appeal will be heard by one Superior Court Judge who will rule in the DWI charge by reviewing the Trial Transcripts and written evidence presented to the lower court and at this point, no new evidence is presented. The court could not impose a more severe sentence than that imposed by the Municipal Court Judge. If your friend will be convicted again, he has forty five days to appeal to the Appellate Division which is a multi-Judge panel.

Once your friend has already filed an appeal, the process will begin for a formal change to the judge’s official decision. At this point, the Superior Court Judge will examine the record of evidence presented in the trial court and the law that the lower court applied and decides whether that decision was legally sound or not. The higher court would normally be deferential to the lower court’s findings of fact, unless clearly erroneous, and so would focus on the court’s application of the law to those facts.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DWI, DWI conviction, DWI lawyer, DWI trial