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State Post-Convictions

Representation in Tennessee and North Carolina

Once you have been convicted at the state level, you have essentially three different paths you can take to try to obtain post-conviction relief:

If you plan on appealing your sentence or seeking another form of post-conviction relief, it is imperative that you contact an attorney that focuses on that field as soon as possible.

If you are in need of post-conviction representation in Tennessee or North Carolina, fill out our intake form. Questions? Contact us.

Learn More About Tennessee Post-Conviction

Learn More About North Carolina Post-Conviction

Intake Form
Intake Form

Three Paths to Relief

Direct Appeal

Your first option is to directly appeal your sentence to your state’s court of appeals. If you went to trial on your criminal charges and lost, you will be limited on your appeal to only making arguments on issues that your attorney preserved at trial. If you pleaded guilty to your charges, it is even more difficult to succeed on direct appeal; however, some defendants do succeed on appeal even after a plea is entered on a theory of ineffective assistance of counsel.

General Post-Conviction Motion

The second path to obtaining post-conviction relief is by filing a general post-conviction motion. In Tennessee, you only have one year to file this motion. In North Carolina, there is no deadline. 

Federal Habeas Petition

If you again lose on your post-conviction motion, there is still the last-ditch effort of filing a habeas petition in federal court. In every state there is a one year deadline from the date of your final conviction to file a habeas petition.