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Appeals Division
The Appeals Division initiates and responds to all appellate cases. The bulk of these cases are appeals by defendants who have been convicted, and appeals by this office from rulings of trial judges either dismissing cases or suppressing evidence.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys (APAs) appear primarily in the Court of Appeals and State Supreme Court, but also frequently appear in the lower courts and may even appear in the United States Supreme Court.
The division is responsible for training and for the research of complex and novel legal issues as they may arise in any division.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When will I know if a defendant’s conviction has been upheld by the Appellate Courts?
There is no way to tell how long the case will take in the appellate system. As a rule of thumb, it will likely take at least 18 months to 2 years for the case to go through the Court of Appeals. If the defendant seeks review in the Michigan Supreme Court if he or she loses in the Curt of Appeals, then another 9 months or so is typical. Only a small percentage of cases upheld in the Court of Appeals are overturned on the Michigan Supreme Court.
