Answers to common questions about Wisconsin and federal criminal appeals, including deadlines, appeals after a plea, postconviction relief, and the cost of appellate representation.
In Wisconsin state courts, you generally have 20 days from the date of sentencing to file a notice of intent to pursue postconviction relief. In federal court, notices of appeal must typically be filed within 14 days of the judgment. However, these deadlines can vary based on specific circumstances, so it's crucial to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after conviction.
Yes, but your appeal options may be more limited. When you accept a plea agreement, you typically waive certain rights to appeal. However, you may still be able to challenge issues such as the voluntariness of your plea, the legality of your sentence, or ineffective assistance of counsel. Each case is unique, and a thorough review is necessary to identify potential appellate issues.
A direct appeal challenges errors that appear in the trial record, such as improper evidence admission or legal errors by the judge. Postconviction relief (like a 974.06 motion or habeas petition) often addresses issues outside the record, such as newly discovered evidence, constitutional violations, or ineffective assistance of counsel. Different deadlines and procedures apply to each type of proceeding.
Fees vary based on the complexity of your case, the court involved, and the specific proceedings required. After an initial consultation and review of your case materials, we can provide a fee estimate tailored to your situation. We offer various fee arrangements, including flat fees for certain types of proceedings, to provide clarity about costs from the beginning.
Most appellate proceedings do not require the defendant's physical presence in court. Appeals are primarily decided on written briefs and the trial record. However, if oral argument is scheduled or if your case involves an evidentiary hearing (such as in some postconviction proceedings), your presence may be required or beneficial. We will advise you well in advance if court appearances are necessary.
Often, yes. Depending on the circumstances, options may include a collateral attack under Wis. Stat. § 974.06, a Knight petition challenging the effectiveness of your appellate attorney, a motion for sentence modification based on a new factor, or a federal habeas corpus petition. Each has its own requirements, and some are time-sensitive even when Wisconsin law imposes no deadline, so it is worth having the full case history reviewed promptly.
Generally one year from the date your conviction became final on direct review. The clock pauses while a properly filed state postconviction motion is pending, but it keeps running during the gaps between proceedings. Because Wisconsin's collateral attack statute has no deadline of its own, many people unknowingly lose the ability to seek federal review by waiting. If federal review may matter in your case, the timeline should be evaluated as early as possible.
Investigations involving computers and phones often take months before any charging decision is made. What happens during that window matters. You should not speak with investigators or consent to anything without first consulting an attorney, and early representation can affect whether and how a case is charged. All consultations are confidential.
When an internet or technology company detects suspected child sexual abuse material on its service, it submits a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which forwards the information to law enforcement. Many state and federal prosecutions begin this way. How that information was gathered, and whether the searches that followed complied with the Fourth Amendment, are often central issues in the defense of these cases.
Freenet, now known as Hyphanet, is an anonymous peer-to-peer network on which every user's computer relays encrypted traffic for others. Law enforcement cannot directly observe downloads and instead relies on statistical inferences drawn from specially configured nodes. Whether those inferences are reliable, and whether search warrants accurately described their limitations, are technical questions few attorneys have litigated. Brad Novreske handles these cases directly and consults with defense attorneys on them nationwide.
Wisconsin state cases are handled statewide, and federal representation is available in the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin and the Seventh Circuit. In Freenet/Hyphanet and other internet-based child pornography cases, Brad also serves as a consultant to defense counsel in state and federal courts across the country, and certain federal matters, including certiorari petitions, can be handled nationwide.