Maybe. Experienced attorneys can examine the circumstances of your case to see if you may benefit from filing post-trial motions.
Sometimes the circumstances that lead to convictions in magistrate or municipal are unfair. Post-trial motions (aka Motions to Reopen and Motions to Appeal) are the primary tools that attorneys can use to have courts review the outcome of your case after you have been convicted of a traffic or misdemeanor offense.
Motions to Reopen are filed in magistrate and municipal courts within ten (10) days of the original trial date and allow the same court to review the case for impropriety. (There are some exceptions to this timeliness rule, but they are rare.) The basis for filing this type of motion is more fact-oriented than law-oriented.
Motions to Appeal are filed in Circuit Court within thirty (30) days of the original trial date. These motions can also be filed after a magistrate or municipal court judge denies a Motion to Reopen on the same case. In a Motion to Appeal, one has to identity the rules of law that were violated in a trial, not just factual circumstances that seem unfair.
If you have been convicted of a crime in magistrate or municipal court in South Carolina and you believe the outcome of your case is unjust, contact Blackwelder Law now to see if you might benefit from filing a post-trial motion.
