Criminal Appeals

The following is the complete Table of Contents with links to the "black letter" standards, which were approved by the American Bar Association's House of Delegates in August 1978. The standards are published along with commentary as Chapter 21 in ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, Second Edition,© 1980 by the American Bar Association. A 1986 supplement contains updated commentary. 

Copyright by the American Bar Association. This work (Criminal Justice Standards) may be used for non-profit educational and training purposes and legal reform (legislative, judicial, and executive) without written permission but with a citation to this source.  Some specific Standards can be purchased in book format.

PART I. BASIC ASPECTS OF A SYSTEM OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

Standard 21-1.1      The defendant's right to appeal from conviction in a criminal case
Standard 21-1.2      Purposes of criminal appeals; appellate court structure
Standard 21-1.3      Limitations on defendants' appeals; final judgments and interlocutory appeals
Standard 21-1.4      Prosecution appeals

PART II. TRANSITION FROM TRIAL COURT TO APPELLATE COURT

Standard 21-2.1      The notice of appeal
Standard 21-2.2      Trial counsel's duties with regard to appeal
Standard 21-2.3      Unacceptable inducements and deterrents to taking appeals
Standard 21-2.4      Procedural devices intended to eliminate frivolous appeals before determination of their merits
Standard 21-2.5      Release pending appeal; stay of execution

PART III. PROCESSING APPEALS

Standard 21-3.1      Supervision during the preparation of cases
Standard 21-3.2      Counsel on appeal
Standard 21-3.3      The record on appeal
Standard 21-3.4      Expediting handling of appeals

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