Criminal Appeals

The Attorney General’s Office represents and defends the prosecution in all criminal appeals within state and federal courts. The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division has attorneys located statewide who work closely with State Attorneys. The Criminal Appeals Division handles felony appeals from basic sentencing guidelines cases to non-capital murder cases in the District Courts of Appeal, as well as habeas corpus litigation in the federal trial and appellate courts. The Criminal Appeals Division litigates more than 10,000 of these appeals each year.

Since the Attorney General’s Office represents the State in these appeals, the Criminal Appeals Division has the important responsibility of ensuring that all victims of crime are fully informed of all litigation that occurs in a criminal case. Capital and criminal assistants in the division constantly communicate with the victims and their families throughout the duration of the criminal cases.

The most complex of these criminal appeals is capital murder where first degree murder has been committed and the death sentence has been imposed. A separate, statewide Capital Appeals Bureau exists to handle these cases. All capital murder cases are appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.