If you’ve been convicted of a crime, an appeal may be your best chance at obtaining a better outcome. Likewise, if you’ve lost your family law or civil case at trial, you may have grounds to turn it around on appeal. However, appeals in Kentucky are complicated, and not many attorneys handle them. They require a nuanced understanding of legal standards and technical details. You need a lawyer who can identify and articulate the strongest grounds for appeal in your case.
Our Louisville-based appeals lawyer at Pharr Law Group has many years of experience representing civil plaintiffs, civil defendants, and criminal defendants in state and federal appellate courts. Even if your case was originally handled by other attorneys, we’re here to take your case and move it in the right direction.
Many law firms have limited experience in appeals cases, or they prefer to focus on high-paying and corporate clients. When you work with our appellate lawyer, you can be sure that your legal interests are front and center at all stages of litigation. Our attorney, Sean Pharr, has vast experience at trial, which is essential for identifying errors and abuses of discretion at the trial court level. His award-winning work in criminal defense also gives him an advantage in criminal appeals.
Our appeals experience includes:
- Writing appellate briefs
- Preparing the appeal record
- Appellate motions
- Briefing
- Oral arguments
- Assisting attorneys who handled the case at the trial level
We handle appeals in a wide range of cases, including:
- Criminal charges such as DUI/DWIs, violent crimes, drug offenses, sex offenses, and other crimes at the state or federal levels
- Family law cases such as child custody, CPS (Child Protective Services) cases, EPOs (Emergency Protective Orders), and DVOs (Domestic Violence Orders)
- Other civil cases such as workers’ compensation claims, employment and labor law, and civil rights cases
You can put this valuable experience to work for you.
In Kentucky state courts, the deadline to file a Notice of Appeal begins at sentencing and can vary—but it's vital to verify exact timelines as they are often very short.In the U.S. federal system, the window is typically 10 to 14 days from the entry of judgment or order being appealed Appeals generally challenge legal errors—such as incorrect jury instructions, improper admission/exclusion of evidence, or constitutional violations.Some jurisdictions allow new evidence or ineffective assistance of counsel as grounds via collateral appeals or post-conviction petitions As a rule, you have one direct appeal after your conviction or sentence.After that, you may pursue collateral relief through measures like habeas corpus or post-conviction motions, depending on your jurisdiction They’ll help prepare the appellate record, draft briefs, and may also represent you in oral arguments before the appeals court An appellate court may:- Affirm the lower court’s ruling,
- Reverse the decision,
- Vacate it, or
- Remand it (send it back) for further proceedings
In Kentucky, you can potentially withdraw a guilty plea before judgment, but you must show "good cause" (e.g., inadequate counsel or misunderstanding of consequences).Timing is crucial—requests made after judgment are usually denied. 
%201.png)
